Kirk Douglas, orig. Issur Danielovitch later Isadore Demskey, (born Dec. 9, 1916, Amsterdam, N.Y., U.S.—died Feb. 5, 2020, Los Angeles, Calif.), U.S. film actor and producer. He had minor Broadway roles before making his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) and emerged as a major star in Champion (1949). Despite giving sensitive performances in The Glass Menagerie (1950) and Paths of Glory (1957), he became identified with the intense, forceful roles he played in films such as The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Lust for Life (1956), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), and Seven Days in May (1964). He produced and starred in Spartacus (1960). He continued to appear in films into the 21st century.
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