Kirk Douglas

 Kirk Douglas, born Issur Danielovitch (December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020)

He made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950's, known for serious dramas, including westerns and war movies. During his career, he appeared in more than 90 movies, which include The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1954), Paths of Glory (1957), The Vikings (1958), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Devil's Disciple (1959), The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), Spartacus (1960), Lonely are the Brave (1962) and Seven Days in May (1964), among others. He received his first Oscar nomination (Best Actor) for his role in Champion (1949). In 1955, he established Bryna Productions, which began producing films as varied as Paths of Glory (1957) and Spartacus (1960). In those two films he collaborated with the then-relatively-unknown director Stanley Kubrick, taking lead roles in both films. Douglas has been praised for helping to break the Hollywood blacklist by having Dalton Trumbo write Spartacus with an official on-screen credit. Douglas received three Academy Award nominations, an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As an author, he wrote ten novels and memoirs. Douglas and his first wife, Diana Dill, married on November 2, 1943. They had two sons, actor Michael Douglas and producer Joel Douglas, before divorcing in 1951. In 1954, he married Producer Anne Buydens, together they had two sons, Peter and Eric.

He donated to various schools, medical facilities and other non-profit organizations in southern California. These have included the rebuilding of over 400 Los Angeles Unified School District playgrounds that were aged and in need of restoration. In addition, Kirk and Anne Douglas donated up to $40 million to Harry's Haven, an Alzheimer's treatment facility in Woodland Hills, to care for patients at the Motion Picture Home. Douglas died on February 5, 2020 at the age of 103. He is buried at Westwood Memorial Park along with his son Eric, who died in 2004.