# Happy Birthday, Kirk Douglas! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316 "2016-12-10T00:11:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/1 "2016-12-10T00:11:34Z")
Kirk Douglas turned 100 today. What and actor, and so much more. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/2 "2016-12-10T00:30:00Z")
Well, Cactus Jack Slade turned 100 years old! 🆒 HB Kirk. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/3 "2016-12-10T02:25:07Z")
Check out LONELY ARE THE BRAVE (1962). Kirk’s personal favorite performance. Low-key, brilliant Western, and a fine example of the “Individual Railing Against the Establishment” genre Douglas advocated, and which led him to acquire theatrical rights to ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST and play McMurphy on Broadway. Damn shame he was too old for the part by the time it got filmed in 1975. Also, ACE IN THE HOLE (1950). Billy Wilder, seriously downbeat. Kirk was never better. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/4 "2016-12-10T04:23:16Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Also, ACE IN THE HOLE (1950). Billy Wilder, seriously downbeat. Kirk was never better. Great role; it’s a toss up between that and _The Bad and the Beautiful_. And his turn playing a duplicitous gambler who hires Robert Mitchum’s private detective in _Out of the Past_. And of course _Paths of Glory_, _The List of Adrian Messenger_, _Gunfight at the O.K. Corral_, _Town Without Pity_, _Seven Days in May_, et cetera. Douglas practically defines movie stardom of the Golden Age of Cinema, and managed to stay relevant even past it. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/5 "2016-12-10T05:04:30Z")
Happy Birthday, Kirk! And many more. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/6 "2016-12-10T05:12:36Z")
Turning 100 at the tail end of 2016!!! Now that’s balls. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/7 "2016-12-10T17:33:50Z")
If any celebrity had to stick around for a hundred years, I’m glad it was him. Damn, even Kirk Douglas has seen the Cubs win the World Series only once! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/8 "2016-12-10T17:52:35Z")
Kirk is an occassional blogger on The Huffington Post. Here’s his [latest blog](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-road-ahead_us_57e03be4e4b08cb1409749f2) from September, 2016. > [@](#): > > "All of us still yearn to remain free. It is what we stand for as a country. I have always been deeply proud to be an American. In the time I have left, I pray that will never change. In our democracy, the decision to remain free is ours to make. > > My 100th birthday is exactly one month and one day after the next presidential election. I’d like to celebrate it by blowing out the candles on my cake, then whistling “Happy Days Are Here Again.” ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/9 "2016-12-11T00:02:07Z")
Huh. I thought he’d died years ago. I guess I was thinking of someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/10 "2016-12-11T00:07:55Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Huh. I thought he’d died years ago. I guess I was thinking of someone else. Abe Vigoda? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/11 "2016-12-11T00:46:59Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Abe Vigoda? Abe may have seemed like he was near death for many, many years, but he only died this past January. Kirk Douglas had a stroke in 1996, leading many people at the time to assume he would not be around much longer; perhaps that’s what \*\*TBG \*\*remembers? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/12 "2016-12-11T20:37:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Happy Birthday, Kirk! And many more. Just to add, Kirk Douglas is one of my all-time favorite actors, not just for his formidable acting skills, which alone would justify my admiration, but also because by all accounts he’s just a super-nice guy. If anyone deserves to live a full century, assuming a good quality of life, it’s Kirk Douglas. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/13 "2016-12-12T03:28:54Z")
I read The Ragman’s Son and it totally changed my views of Kirk. He grew up in extreme poverty and literally swept the floors to pay for his college education. Wrestled on his high school and college teams. Then military service in the Navy. He lead quite a life even before becoming an actor. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/14 "2016-12-12T12:42:57Z")
I recently re-watched Douglas’ very first film, “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers” from 1946. Damn, he was young then, and already a first-class actor. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/15 "2016-12-12T13:36:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I read The Ragman’s Son and it totally changed my views of Kirk. > > He grew up in extreme poverty and literally swept the floors to pay for his college education. Wrestled on his high school and college teams. Then military service in the Navy. > > He lead quite a life even before becoming an actor. What were your previous views of Kirk? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/16 "2016-12-12T13:51:02Z")
I used to think he was like his movie persona. Big ego, larger than life etc. He played that character quite often. His book revealed a much different man. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/17 "2016-12-13T03:58:11Z")
Y’all should check out Tough Guys, from 1986 or so. Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster adjusting to life in the '80s after 50 years in prison. Fun movie. ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/18 "2016-12-13T10:35:42Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Y’all should check out Tough Guys, from 1986 or so. Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster adjusting to life in the '80s after 50 years in prison. Fun movie. Great movie. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/19 "2016-12-13T16:27:46Z")
I am Spartacus! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-birthday-kirk-douglas/774316/20 "2016-12-14T00:02:08Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > … Also, ACE IN THE HOLE (1950). Billy Wilder, seriously downbeat. Kirk was never better. Great movie, and Kirk is amazing in it. He gives another great performance in _Seven Days in May_, which offers a lot of topical interest, these days. Saluting Kirk on getting to 100–a life well-lived!