Kirk Douglas was a well-known twentieth-century actor. The New York native had a tough childhood, but despite others’ attempts to discourage him, he never gave up and pursued his career in his own distinctive way.

Douglas died at the age of 103 in February 2020, yet his memory will live on. He raised a lovely family and gave back to people who had always been there for him while he climbed to recognition as an actor and worked alongside some of the best.

By the time Kirk Douglas died, he had collected quite a wealth. According to rumors, none of his children received anything, including actor Michael Douglas. Why? All you need to know can be found right here.

Douglas grew up as the sole son of Russian Jewish immigrants in a large family of seven children. Douglas had a rough time growing up. He stated that his family was the poorest household on a “block of wretched persons,” where they resided in an unheated clapboard house.

Kirk Douglas’ father, Hershel Douglas, became a junk trader because he couldn’t work at the neighboring mills because he was Jewish.

“Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest portion of town, where all the families were struggling,” Mr. Douglas wrote in his best-selling autobiography. “And I was the son of a ragman.”

As the family ran out of food, Douglas would steal from his neighbors or even vegetable stalls.

Growing up in Amsterdam, New York means “living in the East End, the other side of town from the rich people on Market Hill,” he explained in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. It meant living at 46 Eagle Street, a dilapidated two-story gray clapboard house at the bottom of a sloping street near factories, train tracks, and the Mohawk River.”

Kirk Douglas was constantly mocked and sometimes attacked by neighborhood gangs because he was Jewish. Douglas, on the other hand, was unimpressed by it and instead worked hard to support his family and improve his own life.

He estimated that he had 40 different jobs, ranging from dishwasher to newspaper boy.

“I was also a hard worker. I’d make up jobs, like selling Coke and sweets to mill workers at the end of our street. Amsterdam was one of the country’s largest mill towns. There were plenty of factories, but no job opportunities for Jews.”

Kirk Douglas was a student at Wilbur Lynch High School, which is now Amsterdam High School, when he first became interested in theater. He participated in a variety of theatrical events, gained support from his English instructor, Louise Livingston, and was introduced to the world of poetry.

“If I had ever professed to enjoying poetry or declared out loud, ‘I want to be a great actor,’ I would have been kicked out of town.” “I saved every dime and sent away for college and theater school catalogs because of her,” Douglas recalled.

“When Mrs. Livingston entered the classroom, she appeared cool and detached. She never raised her soft-spoken voice. Only when she read poetry did she feel anything. She thought I was fantastic. She supported and encouraged me after school. “Such a gleam in her eyes as she read poem after poetry with me by her side.”

Despite his best efforts, Kirk Douglas was unable to save enough money for his tuition. He made the audacious choice to hitchhike 200 miles to St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

Douglas was carrying all of his high school awards, transcripts, poetry, and a letter of reference from his teacher, Mrs. Livingston. After arranging a meeting with the faculty dean, he was able to persuade him to offer him a scholarship.

Throughout the summer, Kirk worked as an actor at the Tamarack Theater on Lake Pleasant. And it was then that he chose the name Kirk Douglas.

“One day, a number of my friends recommended that I change my name to something more American. “Someone recommended Douglas,” he recalled. “It took a little longer for me to get my new first name. Kirk, someone finally said. My new name sounded strong and macho.”

Douglas honed his craft as an actor, landing his first Broadway role in the musical Spring Again in 1941. He continued to get more Broadway jobs, but before his big break, international events changed everything.

As World War II broke out, Kirk Douglas chose to enlist right immediately. He felt “a wave of patriotism and a wave of Jewishness” and planned to join the Army as a pilot, but instead ended himself working as a communication officer on a submarine.

Unfortunately, Kirk Douglas was hospitalized with injuries after an accident on one of the submarines in 1943. He was released from the Navy as a junior grade lieutenant after being diagnosed with amoebic dysentery.

He returned to the United States and resumed his career in show business. Sadly, due to an illness, his singing voice was ruined, perhaps ending Kirk Douglas’ career. But, as we all know, it didn’t happen. A Hollywood producer called Hal Willis watched him perform at one of his performances and cast him in his 1946 picture The Odd Loves of Martha Ivers.

Kirk Douglas never looked back after that, and he went on to become a Hollywood legend. Three years later, he made his big break as boxer Midge Kelly in the 1949 picture Boxer. It gave him his first nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards.

Douglas had two additional Academy Award nominations for his performances in The Bad and the Beautiful in 1952 and Lust for Life in 1956, but he never won a competitive Oscar for either. However, he received an honorary Oscar in 1996 for “50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture society.”

Kirk Douglas had already been married once by the 1950s. He was married to actress and model Diana Dill from 1943 to 1951, and they had two children, Joel and Michael Douglas.

Only three years later, the then-respected actor would find the love of his life, with whom he would remain married for the remainder of his life.

Kirk met Anne Buydens for the first time while filming in Paris. Douglas got highly interested in her after she helped with the press. Yet, his attempts to impress her were initially futile.

“By the time I met Anne, I was a great movie star with two Oscar nominations, and I thought any woman would be thrilled if I asked her out,” he recalled. “Anne was the one who said no,” Kirk Douglas recounted.

Anne had her reasons, it turned out.

“Of course, he was charming and sexy, but I’d seen too many young women in Paris fall in love with American movie stars who went home to their lives and marriages when their films closed,” she explained. “I didn’t want to be just another location romance casualty. I had survived the war in occupied Paris and instinctively knew how to protect myself in difficult situations.”

Kirk eventually found a method to get close to Anne. They began working together after he persuaded her to conduct publicity for his 1953 film Act of Love. The two fell in love, and the couple married in 1954. They had two sons, Peter and Eric Douglas.

All of his sons became actors, with Michael Douglas becoming the most successful. The two-time Academy Award winner appeared in films such as Wall Street, for which he earned an Oscar for his performance as Gordon Gecko, Falling Down, and Wonder Boys.

Unfortunately, the son-father connection was not always harmonious. Douglas, for example, refused to call his father “dad” in an interview with the Associated Press.

“During those pivotal years, when Kirk was making five films a year… Kirk was completely consumed and overworked. Like me at a certain point in my life.”

The schism between Michael and Kirk Douglas widened further in 1975. Kirk had the rights to the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at the time, and his son persuaded him to sell them.

But, after production began, Michael – now the producer – did to put his father in the starring role of Randle McMurphy, despite the fact that he had played the part on Broadway.

“When Michael asked if he might try to make it, I answered, ‘Yes!’ The next thing I know, he has a director lined up and everything is set. So I told him, ‘Excellent! ‘When do we start practicing?’” Kirk Douglas remembered.

“Not you, Dad,” Michael said flatly. “You’re getting too old.”

“I could hardly believe it!” Douglas went on to say. “So I asked, ‘Who’s playing my part? What about Jack Nicholson? He was unknown to me. At the very least, it will be a flop.”

Their relationship did not improve as the picture went on to sweep the Academy Awards, with producer Michael Douglas winning Best Picture and Jack Nicholson winning Best Actor for his performance.

Kirk Douglas starred as Spartacus in the 1960 film, which became one of his true classics. Despite not receiving an Oscar, the film won four Academy Awards, propelling Kirk to the top of the Hollywood food chain.

Douglas appeared in almost 90 Hollywood pictures during the course of his career. His most recent appearance was in the 2008 television film Empire State Building Murders.

Kirk Douglas was a true cinematic star from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Tragically, he died on February 5, 2020, at the age of 103.

Kirk Douglas was worth an estimated $61 million at the time of his death. Yet, his son Michael Douglas and the rest of his family received no monetary compensation because he left a lifetime of donations to various charities.

Douglas donated $50 million to St. Lawrence University, where he attended as a child. A large portion of the funds were also distributed to the Sinai Temple of Westwood, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Kirk and Anne have both previously donated to the institutions listed above through the Douglas Foundation. The foundation’s mission, according to its website, is “to assist people who cannot otherwise assist themselves.”

Michael Douglas will not receive any monetary inheritance from his father. At the same time, he won’t need it because he’s estimated to be worth $300 million.

Despite their earlier disagreements, Michael complimented his father’s caring and charitable nature at the time of his death.

“Kirk’s life was well-lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will be remembered for centuries to come, as well as a history as a recognized philanthropist who fought to help the people and bring peace to the world,” Michael Douglas said in a statement.

Kirk Douglas overcame a difficult background to carve his own route to becoming a Hollywood movie star of the Golden Age. May his soul rest in peace.