Quiz

If he had not heeded wife Anne Douglas's advice, he would have been on producer Mike Todd's private plane in 1958 when it crashed and killed all on-board. Todd's wife Elizabeth Taylor was also scheduled to be on the plane but canceled due to a bad cold.

Had appeared in a stage production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and later bought the film rights. He didn't make a movie of this and eventually turned the rights over to his son Michael Douglas, who was able to secure financing and produce the film Qualcuno volò sul nido del cuculo (1975).

Wore lifts in many of his films, which made him appear about 5' 11" or 6' 0" on screen. Once, as a prank, Burt Lancaster found his lifts on a film set and hid them from him, which allegedly infuriated him.

Hedda Hopper told him after he became a star with Il grande campione (1949), "Now that you're a big hit, you've become a real S.O.B." Douglas replied "You're wrong. I was always an S.O.B. You just never noticed before.".

At the 1987 American Academy of Dramatic Arts tribute to Douglas, Burt Lancaster, said "Kirk would be the first person to tell you he's a very difficult man." After a pause, he added "And I would be the second.".

Met his German wife-to-be, Anne Douglas, when she applied for a job as his assistant on the French location shoot for Atto d'amore (1953).

He wrote his autobiography without the help of a ghostwriter.

He survived a helicopter crash on February 23, 1991, in which two fellow occupants were killed. He was left with a debilitating back injury.

Was not close friends with Burt Lancaster, as was often perceived. Their friendship was largely fabricated by the publicity-wise Douglas, while in reality they were very competitive with each other and sometimes privately expressed a mutual personal disdain despite respecting each other's acting talents.

In 2005, he had both knees replaced against the advice of his doctors. The operation was a success.

After son Michael Douglas was fired from the stage production of "Summer Tree", he bought the stage and film rights to the story and gave it to Michael to star in.

In 1950, he gave up his two- to three-pack-a-day cigarette habit. In 1954, his father later died from lung cancer.

When he was contacted by MGM to replace Ricardo Montalban in Storia di tre amori (1953) because of his box-office power, he refused until he discussed it with Montalban, who was in training for the role. Although Montalban felt appreciative of Douglas' concern for him, he understood the studio's position and gave up the role.

Although he played Ernest Borgnine's son in I vichinghi (1958), he was six weeks his senior in real life.

Douglas had a fully Jewish upbringing, but did not practice extensively as an adult. This changed when, on his 83rd birthday, he had a second Bar Mitzvah, reaffirming his faith and causing him to practice again.

Helped break the Hollywood blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo, a member of the "Hollywood Ten", to write the screenplay for Spartacus (1960). Despite widespread criticism from many in the industry, including John Wayne and Hedda Hopper, Douglas refused to back down and Trumbo received screen credit under his own name. When presenting Douglas with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996), Steven Spielberg publicly thanked Douglas for his courage. However, Otto Preminger had already broken the blacklist by hiring Trumbo for Exodus (1960). Trumbo's family publicly said that Douglas greatly exaggerated his role in breaking the blacklist.

Earned $50,000 for saying the only English word at the end of a 1980s Japanese television commercial: "Coffee".

Turned down two Oscar-winning roles: Lee Marvin's in Cat Ballou (1965) and William Holden's in Stalag 17 (1953).

He claimed to be 5' 11" at his peak but was known for wearing lifts in his shoes; sources say his peak height was only 5' 8".

Became a great-grandfather for the first time at age 101 when his grandson Cameron Douglas and girlfriend Viviane Thibes welcomed a daughter, Lua Izzy Douglas, on December 18, 2017.

Received his Bachelor's degree in English from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. President of the class of 1939.

Born Issur Danielovitch (also reported as Issur Danielovitch Demsky) to Jacob Danielovitch and mother Bryna (after whom he later named his production company, Bryna Productions), from Russia, who came to America in 1912.

He and wife Anne Douglas renewed their wedding vows in California around the 50th anniversary of their 1954 marriage. They reaffirmed their vows before 300 friends and family members at the famous Greystone Estate in Beverly Hills. Guests included Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Nancy Reagan and Tony Curtis. He walked into the traditional Jewish ceremony to the tune of "I'm in the Mood for Love" and later sang a tune he had written for the occasion, "Please Stay in Love With Me".

In 2006, he fell out with his close friend, former President Jimmy Carter, over Carter's book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid".

Has celebrated his Bar Mitzvah twice: first (as most Jewish boys do) when he was 13 and later when he was 83.

Enlisted in the United States Navy in 1941, shortly after the United States entered World War II. He served as a communications officer in submarine warfare. He received a medical discharge in 1944 due to combat-related injuries.

While filming Carovana di fuoco (1967) in September 1966, he enraged co-star John Wayne by recording a television commercial endorsing Edmund G. Brown, the Democratic Governor of California, after Wayne had recorded an advertisement for Republican challenger Ronald Reagan.

Originally cast to play Colonel Sam Trautman in Rambo (1982), but walked out on the project. He wanted substantial changes made to the script, specifically that John Rambo die at the hands of Trautman, like the character did in the novel. The writers held their ground and refused. Richard Crenna was eventually cast in the role.

In his last book, "Let's Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving and Learning", he expressed regret at turning down William Holden's Oscar-winning role in Stalag 17 (1953), Stephen Boyd's role in La caduta dell'impero romano (1964), and Lee Marvin's Oscar-winning role in Cat Ballou (1965).

He was originally cast in John Wayne's role in Iwo Jima, deserto di fuoco (1949), but pulled out in order to make Il grande campione (1949).

In 1955, he started his own production company, Bryna Productions--named after his mother--making him one of the first actors to do so.

Admitted he made Il tesoro dei Sequoia (1952) for nothing just to get out of his contract with Warner Bros. He later said "It was a terrible movie.".

On January 28, 1996, he suffered a stroke that made this very difficult for him to talk. Speech therapy over the years greatly alleviated the problem.

In August 1986, he had a pacemaker fitted after collapsing in a restaurant.

Cowboy Stan Polson, owner of the Apple Valley Stables, taught him how to ride a horse for his role in his first western Sabbie rosse (1951).

Had appeared with Burt Lancaster in eight films: Le vie della città (1947), Sfida all'O.K. Corral (1957) and Il discepolo del diavolo (1959), I 5 volti dell'assassino (1963), Sette giorni a maggio (1964), La lunga notte di Entebbe (1976), Il mistero del cadavere scomparso (1982) (in archive footage) and Due tipi incorreggibili (1986).

Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter on January 17, 1981. This is the highest civilian honor in the United States.

For whatever reason, there's a big discrepancy as to whether Kirk's father Herschel Danielovitch was born in 1878 or 1884. Most sources agree that 1878 is the correct year of birth, while Kirk's autobiography says it's "around 1884".

Resided in Palm Springs, California, for more than 40 years. In October 2005, the city honored him by naming a lushly landscaped drive "Kirk Douglas Way". It winds around part of Palm Springs International Airport. A lavish ceremony and party was given by the Palm Springs International Film Society and International Film Festival and was attended by Douglas, his wife Anne Douglas and their three surviving sons. His son Joel, also a Palm Springs resident, was responsible for the campaign.

He appeared as the Devil in Don Henley's music video Don Henley: The Garden of Allah (1995).

Was named #17 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute.

Solo sotto le stelle (1962) was his favorite film.

Attended the state funeral of former President Ronald Reagan, with Charlton Heston, Tom Selleck and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, on June 11, 2004.

In a 2014 article, he cited Lo strano amore di Marta Ivers (1946), Il grande campione (1949), L'asso nella manica (1951), Il bruto e la bella (1952), Atto d'amore (1953), 20.000 leghe sotto i mari (1954), Il cacciatore di indiani (1955), Brama di vivere (1956), Orizzonti di gloria (1957), Spartacus (1960), Solo sotto le stelle (1962) and Sette giorni a maggio (1964) as the films he was most proud of through his acting career.

Got out of his contract with Warner Bros. in exchange for starring in any film they chose, for no salary -- the film turned out to be Il tesoro dei Sequoia (1952).

Denied being the "Kirk" in the note written by Jean Spangler shortly before her disappearance after filming Chimere (1950).

Graduated from Amsterdam High School in Amsterdam, New York, class of 1934.

His claim to have broken the blacklist by hiring Dalton Trumbo to write the screenplay for Spartacus (1960) was publicly disputed by Trumbo's son and daughter, as well as the film's producer Edward Lewis and Howard Fast's children.

Co-hosted (with Cass Elliot) the release party for folk-rocker Donovan's album "Barabajagal" (1969), posing for photos with Donovan and Elliot. He described Donovan as "not just a gentleman, but a gentle man".

Was signed to play Gabey in Un giorno a New York (1949), but had to be replaced because he suffered from a case of psychosomatic laryngitis.