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Kirk Douglas
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Born: Dec 9, 1916
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Cleft chinned, steely eyed and virile star of international cinema who rose from being "the ragmans son" (the name give to his best selling 1988 autobiography) of Russian-Jewish ancestry to become a bona fide superstar, Kirk Douglas was actually born Issur Danielovitch Demsky in Amsterdam, New York in 1916. Although growing up in a poor ghetto, Douglas was a fine student and a keen athlete and wrestled competitively during his time at St. Lawrence University. However, he soon identified an acting scholarship as a way out of his meagre existence, and was sufficiently talented to gain entry into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He only appeared in a handful of minor Broadway productions before joining the US Navy in 1941, and then after the end of hostilities in 1945, returned to the theatre and some radio work. On the insistence of ex-classmate Lauren Bacall movie producer Hal B. Wallis screen-tested Douglas and cast him in the lead role in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. His performance received rave reviews and further work quickly followed including an appearance in the low key drama I Walk Alone, the first time he worked alongide fellow future screen legend Burt Lancaster. Such was the strong chemistry between Douglas & Lancaster that they appeared in seven films together including the dynamic western Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the John Frankenheimer political thriller Seven Days in May and their final pairing in the gangster comedy Tough Guys. Douglas once said ...[MORE]
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Kirk Douglas Nude and Sexy
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