Hollywood is mourning the loss of a legend as it’s being reported that Kirk Douglas has passed away at 103-years-old. The stage-turned-film actor was the rags to riches story that inspired many to pursue careers in entertainment. Born in 1916 to Jewish immigrant parents, Kirk grew up in Amsterdam, New York where his father worked as a ragman to provide for the family of nine. In the late 1940s, that would lead to developing his reputation as a “tough guy” in films.
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The Spartacus actor also stirred up controversy in real life as he became an advocate for Hollywood professionals who were blacklisted by the industry during the Cold War. Th by his Oscar-winning son Michael Douglas. “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,” Michael reportedly stated.
Kirk’s daughter-in-law, Catherine Zeta-Jones,. “To my darling Kirk, I shall love you for the rest of my life. I miss you already. Sleep tight…,” she penned in a caption of a black and white photo of herself with her husband Michael’s father. Check out a few more tributes to the Hollywood icon below.