Kirk Douglas
b.12/9/1916 Amsterdam New York
Father was a ragman immigrant from Russia who escaped as war spread across Europe Kirk becomes professional bodybuilder and wrestler in New York Enrolls in American Academy of Dramatic Arts and receives leading roles on Broadway World War II: U.S. Navy midshipman aboard PC-1139 sub chaser in Pacific where he was wounded when a depth charge exploded on ship deck requiring hospitalization for five months Moves permanently to Hollywood after war to pursue acting career No Academy Awards but was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 First cinematic movie “Strange Loves of Martha Ivers” 1946
Filmography:
Strange Loves of Martha Ivers, Out of the Past, Walls of Jericho, Champion, along the Great Divide, The Glass Menagerie, Detective Story, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Indian Fighter, Ulysses, Lust for Life, Gunfight at the OK Corral, The Vikings, Spartacus, Lonely are the Brave, Seven Days in May, Is Paris Burning, The War Wagon, Fury, The Final Countdown, Saturn, The Man From Snowy River