Why Some Say Kirk Douglas Was One Of The Most Difficult Actors To Work With

As Britannica reports, Douglas (born Issur Danielovich in Amsterdam, New York, in 1916) took his first tentative steps on Broadway before and again after his stretch in the U.S. Navy (in which he served during 1943 and 1944), and by 1946, he was appearing in movies. "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" marked his big

As Britannica reports, Douglas (born Issur Danielovich in Amsterdam, New York, in 1916) took his first tentative steps on Broadway before and again after his stretch in the U.S. Navy (in which he served during 1943 and 1944), and by 1946, he was appearing in movies. "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" marked his big screen debut.

From there, the actor embraced a wide range of parts, perhaps most famously that of Spartacus in the titular 1960 movie, a film he also produced and by which he helped break the Hollywood blacklist by hiring professionally exiled scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo. Douglas had one of the most prolific careers the business has ever known, as he discussed with Roger Ebert back in 1969. At the time, he had just completed his 50th movie, "There Was A Crooked Man." Of the milestone, he wryly stated, "it all amounts to ... staying power ... I was a star before I even heard of Julie Andrews." In the same interview, the star highlighted his stubborn and unbending views on the industry and how it functions. He told Ebert, "... critics are always writing about the juxtaposition of black and white and the existential dilemma and all that ... to disguise the fact that they don't understand the first damn thing about it either ..."

Douglas, clearly, was a prickly acting veteran who ensured his own viewpoint was voiced. He became a little infamous among his fellow actors for just that reason.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCFlnJoa29frLW6edKopJ5lo5bGbrfIq6JmnJ%2BqtK2t0maumqtdpLumec6fZK2glWK6sL%2FTZpuinpaesLa402aYnKyfp8BuwM5mrqiqm2LEqsDHaA%3D%3D

 Share!