Kirk Douglas may be one of the biggest actors of his era, with starring roles in 1960’s “Spartacus,” 1949’s “Champion” and 1951’s “Ace in the Hole.” But on a recent crisp morning, he was having a grand time simply reciting his poetry by heart for an audience of one. With a twinkle of his blue eyes, he proclaimed:
Romance begins at 80
And I ought to know.
I live with a girl
Who will tell you so.
Douglas, who survived a near-fatal stroke in 1996 that affected his speech, has been a part of the Hollywood landscape since he made his film debut in the 1946 noir “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.” He earned three Oscar nominations for lead actor for “Champion,” which made him a star, 1952’s “The Bad and the Beautiful” and 1956’s “Lust for Life,” in which he played Vincent Van Gogh. He received an honorary Oscar shortly after his stroke.
A savvy producer, he also helped to break the Communist blacklist in Hollywood when he insisted that blacklisted “Spartacus” screenwriter Dalton Trumbo receive screen credit.
These days, though Douglas walks with a cane and is on the frail side, he’s sweet and full of good humor. He now wears his white hair pulled back into a ponytail.