Issur danielovitch demsky biography of donald

Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning. Simon and Schuster, I Am Spartacus! Open Road Media, Health Communications, Inc. Sources: Wikipedia , Internet Movie Database. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library. Category » Biography. Actors and Comedians. Business Icons. Medal of Honor Recipients.

Medal of Freedom Recipients. Musicians and Singers. Nobel Prize Laureates. Sports Figures. Supreme Court Justices. Members of Congress. Religious Figures. Three years later, he gave a breakthrough performance as a boxer who stops at nothing to make it to the top in Champion He amazed audiences and critics alike with his portrayal of Midge Kelly in the film, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination.

A sought-after actor, Douglas worked with many leading directors, including Billy Wilder for 's Ace in the Hole. However, it was his work with Vincente Minnelli that led to two of his greatest performances: morally bankrupt movie executive Jonathan Shields in The Bad and the Beautiful , and troubled artist Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life Douglas earned an Academy Award nomination for each of those films.

In addition to his critical acclaim, Douglas became a big box-office draw. Over the years, he often appeared with his friend and fellow Hollywood heavyweight, Burt Lancaster, in such films as Gunfight at the O. Douglas' work in Spartacus as a Roman slave the film's title character who leads an uprising is considered to be one of his signature roles.

In making Spartacus , Douglas also challenged the practice of blacklisting certain Hollywood figures over their possible communist leanings.

Issur danielovitch demsky biography of donald

He hired blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to write Spartacus. Trumbo, a member of the Hollywood Ten, turned out a number of screenplays under various pseudonyms during the more than a decade he was blacklisted but was later given full credit for his work, including two Academy Awards. In the s, Douglas tried his hand at directing, but met with little success.

Two of his directorial efforts that decade, Scalawag and Posse , failed to make much of an impression on movie-goers. Around the same time, his acting career stalled. His later and more memorable films include The Man from Snowy River and Tough Guys , which was his last on-screen reunion with Lancaster. While one phase of Douglas' life was slowing down, another was just beginning.

Michael Douglas. Eric Douglas. Joel Douglas. Peter Douglas. Herschel Danielovitch. Bryna Danielovitch Sanglel. Freida Demsky-Becker Sibling. Cameron Douglas Grandchild. Kelsey Douglas Grandchild. Tyler Douglas Grandchild. Ryan Douglas Grandchild. Jason Douglas Grandchild. Lua Izzy Douglas Great Grandchild. Carys Douglas Grandchild.

Dylan Douglas Grandchild. Gravelly voice. Dimpled chin. Frequently played manipulative, angry and often cruel leading characters that bordered on unsympathetic but were always compelling. Showy, flamboyant acting style. If he had not heeded wife Anne Douglas 's advice, he would have been on producer Mike Todd 's private plane in when it crashed and killed all on-board.

Stephens, Michael J. Jefferson, NC , Books Magazine, summer, , review of audio version of Dance with the Devil, p. Daily Variety, February 20, , "Just for Variety," p. Entertainment Weekly, August 5, , D. Ball, review of Last Tango in Brooklyn, p. Hollywood Reporter, January 31, , "Kirk's Muse," p. Kirkus Reviews, July 15, , review of Climbing the Mountain, p.

Kirk Douglas Regarding the Passing of Ms. Deborah Kerr. Publishers Weekly, June 22, , review of The Gift, p. Nationality: American. Education: Attended St. Lawrence University, —39, B. Military Service: —44—served as lieutenant in U. DeMille Prize, U. Golden Globe Awards, ; U. Along the Great Divide Walsh as U. Reinhardt as Major Steve Garrett.

Lonely Are the Brave D. Rolf Pedersen. Is Paris Burning? Clement as Andre. Thompson, F. Now approaching his sixth decade of movie stardom, Kirk Douglas has played lead roles in the vast majority of the odd films he has made. His screen persona has been characterized by resoluteness and ferocity, the typical ingredients of his steadfast, driven heroes, and occasionally the psychological foundation for his formidable and relentless villains.

These variations on a theme of perseverance have pleased audiences who have come to know the Douglas face as a movie icon—eyes blazing with anger or resistance, teeth clenched in determination, a distinctive cleft in his firmly planted chin. After appearing in another half-dozen features, Douglas earned major stardom as an unscrupulous boxer who punches and claws his way to the top in Mark Robson's Champion , a performance which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

This series of memorable, strong-willed protagonists fixed the Douglas image firmly in the public's consciousness. The actor's intense portrayal of the tormented Vincent van Gogh in Minnelli's Lust for Life was followed by that of an idealistic French officer fighting a corrupt military bureaucracy during World War I in Stanley Kubrick 's powerful antiwar film Paths of Glory.

Three years later, he again starred for Kubrick in the historical epic Spartacus as a slave who leads an insurrection against the powerful and oppressive leaders of Imperial Rome. In both Kubrick films, Douglas plays a strong-willed, noble leader who suffers an unjust defeat. Nevertheless, many of his film projects of that era—including some through the auspices of Bryna Productions, his own production company—were of mediocre quality.

Mankiewicz's There Was a Crooked Man as a prison inmate obsessed with escaping. The films were of wildly uneven quality, to be sure, but they served as evidence that Douglas, fast approaching 60, remained a sturdy, effective leading man. None of his theatrical films since then has made such a strong impact, although as a canny veteran actor Douglas remains a convincing and watchable presence, effortlessly communicating resolve and urgency.

Among his better late-career credits are Tough Guys , in which he was cast one final time with longtime friend and frequent co-star Burt Lancaster ; the television movie Remembrance of Love , portraying a concentration camp survivor who has an emotional reunion with a woman he had loved decades earlier, in the Warsaw Ghetto; and another television movie, Amos , in which he played an elderly man living against his will in a nursing home.

Finally, in his seventies, Douglas has launched a new career as a writer. In , he published his autobiography, The Ragman's Son , and since has written several novels. Wine, Bill " Douglas, Kirk. Wine, Bill "Douglas, Kirk. Douglas was born in Amsterdam, n. A good student and a keen athlete, he wrestled competitively during his time at St.

Lawrence University. His performance received rave reviews, and more work quickly followed, including a role in the dramatic film I Walk Alone In it, he worked alongside Burt Lancaster. The chemistry between the two future screen legends was so strong that they ultimately appeared in seven films together, including Gunfight at the O.

Douglas' portrayal in of a prizefighter in the film Champion confirmed his reputation as a leading dramatic artist. Turning to production, he formed a film company that made the anti-war Paths of Glory and Spartacus , in both of which Douglas starred. He identified himself with Israeli causes in the U. Douglas celebrated his bar mitzvah twice: once when he was 13 years old, and the second time when he was Douglas became a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations in , and he also held the position of director of the Los Angeles chapter of the United Nations Association.

He was a goodwill ambassador for the U. State Department from