Happy 102nd Birthday Kirk Douglas (b. Dec 9, 1916)

Keaneau Reeves may have lived for centuries but he’s got nothing on you.

Yes, it looks like living legend Kirk Douglas is all about living. In 90 screen and a great many stage roles, he’s been punched, shot, stabbed, crucified in “Spartacus” and given a lobotomy in the original stage version of “One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest”. In real life he was the sole survivor of a helicopter crash, has come back from a major stroke and had both knees replaced. In real life he came up the hard way and it shows in his performances.

Kirk still has a lot to say about movies old and new.

[list bull-blackball]

“People are always talking about the old days. They say that the old movies were better, that the old actors were so great. But I don’t think so. All I can say about the old days is that they have passed.“ -Kirk Douglas
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“If the good guy gets the girl, it’s rated PG; If the bad guy gets the girl, it’s rated R; and if everybody gets the girl, it’s rated X.” -Kirk Douglas    
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“I have always told my sons that they didn’t have my advantages of being born into abject poverty.” -Kirk Douglas
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“Life is like a B-picture script! It is that corny. If I had my life story offered to me to film, I’d turn it down.” -Kirk Douglas

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Many “serious” dramatic actors turn down horror and science fiction scripts and are averse to comedy: Not Kirk. He was always very good in his roles large and small. Among his Horror/Science Fiction credits “The Fury”, “Seven Days in May”, “Dr. Jekyl and Mister Hyde”, and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, which played the Marathon at SF 10 and 18.

He turned down “Cat Ballou” (which won Lee Marvin an Oscar) and quit on “Rambo” when he found out the book’s ending was changed so that Sylvester  Stallone could live to do a sequel. He convincingly played men of integrity because he is a man of integrity.

Glad you’re still with us Kirk. The world needs your wisdom.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000018/

kirk died last week. he was in saturn 3 with farrah fawcett. he also was going to do a movie of kurt vonnegut's sirens of titan but it never panned out.