Hollywood legend and ‘Spartacus’ star Kirk Douglas dead at 103
- The cleft-chinned movie star fought gladiators, cowboys and boxers on the screen and the Hollywood establishment
- Son Michael Douglas paid tribute to cinema ‘legend’ who ‘lived well into his golden years’
Kirk Douglas, the three-time Oscar-nominated actor who played resolute heroes and formidable villains in more than 90 movies, including Spartacus and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, has died. He was 103.
“It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” his son Michael Douglas said in a statement to People magazine and on his Facebook page.
“To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to,” Douglas added.
“Kirk’s life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet,” Michael added, saying he was “so proud” to be his father’s son.
Douglas made dozens of movies across seven decades and films such as Spartacus and The Vikings made him one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and ‘60s.