Kirk Douglas
Actor
1916-12-09 – 2020-02-05
Kirk Douglas was an American actor and film producer whose career spanned more than six decades. He was known for performances in films such as Spartacus, Paths of Glory, and Lust for Life.
Books by Kirk Douglas
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Dance with the Devil
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My Stroke of Luck
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Quotes by Kirk Douglas
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Virtue is not photogenic, so I liked playing bad guys. But, whenever I played a bad guy, I tried to find something good in him, and that kept my contact with the audience.
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I love talking to interesting people - people like O.J. Simpson, Andretti... I love champions. A champion has something special about him.
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I have one computer that my wife gave me. All I know how to do, and I do it every day, is play Spider Solitaire. And I don't have a cell phone.
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God bless Dad, he came to every one of my shows. I was bad, and I had horrible stage fright. My dad was so relieved - he'd say, 'You were terrible; this kid is not going to be an actor.' Finally, I did a play and he said, 'Son - you were really good.'
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When you have a stroke, you must talk slowly to be understood, and I've discovered that when I talk slowly, people listen. They think I'm going to say something important!
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Listen - pacemaker, crash, stroke. What does it mean? God doesn't want me now. That's all.
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I was living in a terrible time when people were being accused of being communists, and they attacked the movie industry, especially the writers. People couldn't work if they were on the blacklist. The studios banned them. It was the most onerous period in movie history. I don't think we have ever had a period so dark as that.
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Fear is a terrible thing. It makes you do awful things.
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Sometimes, the thing that ties you down sets you free.
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I didn't think I was so tough until I did 'Champion'; then I was a tough guy.
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Being second generation in Hollywood is complicated: Success is expected, and yet the track record of the second generation is not great. Only a small group of us, like Jane Fonda, have succeeded.
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Fifteen years ago, I suffered a stroke, which caused me to lose my speech. Now, what does an actor who can't talk do? Wait for silent pictures to come back? I work with a speech therapist twice a week.
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No matter how bad things are, they can always be worse. So what if my stroke left me with a speech impediment? Moses had one, and he did all right.
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All my life, I have taken inventory at intervals. For example, when I became a movie actor and suddenly I had to deal with fame, money and playing so many roles, I lost myself. I said, 'Who am I?' And I wrote my first book to deal with that, 'The Ragman's Son.'
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I have been an actor for most of my life. When I started out, I didn't think about anything except what was good for me. Like many movie stars, I became all wrapped up in myself.
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Acting is a youthful profession.
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Virtue is not photogenic. What is it to be a nice guy? To be nothing, that's what. A big fat zero with a smile for everybody.
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If you become a star, you don't change, everyone else does.
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The only advantage I have found in being Jewish is that I can be openly anti-Semitic.
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