Michael Douglas
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| Michael Douglas | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Michael Douglas Navy3.jpg Douglas in 2006 | ||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Michael Kirk Douglas | |||||||||||||
| Born | September 25 1944 New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States | |||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Diandra Luker (1977-2000) Catherine Zeta-Jones (2000-) | |||||||||||||
| Children | 3, including Cameron Douglas | |||||||||||||
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Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. Douglas's first television exposure was that of Karl Malden's young college educated partner, Insp. Steve Keller in the popular 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco, a role he played from 1972 to 1976. He also won the 1987 Oscar, for his role on Wall Street.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Douglas was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of celebrated American actor Kirk Douglas and Bermudian actress Diana Dill. His paternal grandparents, Herschel Danielovitch and Bryna Sanglel, were Jewish immigrants from Russia[1], while his mother and maternal grandparents, Lt. Col. Thomas Melville Dill and Ruth Rapalje Neilson, were natives of Devonshire Parish, Bermuda;[2] his maternal grandfather served as the Attorney General of Bermuda and was a commanding officer of the Bermuda Militia Artillery. Douglas graduated from the prestigious Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts before going on to Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, which is the same school Glenn Close attended. Douglas graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1968 with a B.A. in dramatic arts where he is also the Honorary President of the UCSB Alumni Association.
[edit] Career
Having a famous father opened many doors to Michael that would have been closed to other young Hollywood hopefuls. Douglas starred in the long-running TV series The Streets of San Francisco from 1972 to 1976. He received an Academy Award as producer for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975. Although Douglas was a capable actor on Streets, his career was somewhat stagnant after the series, and he only appeared in occasional movies which were usually less than popular (e.g., 1979's Running).
His fortunes changed when he starred in the 1984 romantic adventure comedy Romancing the Stone. The film was followed a year later in 1985 by a sequel, The Jewel of the Nile. In 1987, Douglas starred playing in Fatal Attraction with Glenn Close and the film became a world-wide hit. In 1988, Douglas received an Academy Award for acting in the leading role of Wall Street which would lead to many roles playing characters much like Gordon Gekko. Douglas later starred as Mister Rose a successful lawyer similar to this character's personality in The War of the Roses, which featured previous co-stars Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. In 1989 he starred in the hit international police crime drama Black Rain opposite Andy Garcia and Kate Capshaw and was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott.
In 1992, Douglas revived his slick, worldly character when he appeared alongside Sharon Stone in the film Basic Instinct. The movie was a huge hit, and sparked controversy over its depictions of bisexuality and lesbianism. Then in 1994 Douglas and Demi Moore starred in the hit movie Disclosure focusing on the hot topic of sexual harassment but from the man's perspective. This gave a more rounded discussion on the controversial topic in the workplace and has help smooth out the female bias that mostly men do the harassment in the workplace. In 1998, Douglas received the Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[3]
Douglas's skill at character acting continued to make him one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood and commands a hefty sum for his roles. After the commercial failure of It Runs in the Family (2003), Douglas did not star in a movie for three years, until The Sentinel in 2006. A year prior to the release of It Runs in the Family, he guest-appeared on an episode of the popular television sitcom Will and Grace, as a gay cop attracted to Will Truman (Eric McCormack); the performance earned Douglas an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Show. His Fatal Attraction co-star, Glenn Close, appeared in the following episode of the series and also earned an Emmy nomination for her performance.
Douglas on being asked to do Basic Instinct 2: "Yes, they asked me to do it a while ago, I thought we had done it very effectively; (Paul) Verhoeven is a pretty good director. I haven't seen the sequel. I've only done one sequel in my life, The Jewel of the Nile, from Romancing The Stone. Besides, there were age issues, you know? Sharon still looks fabulous. The script was pretty good. Good for her, she's in her mid-40s and there are not a lot of parts around. The first one was probably the best picture of her career—it certainly made her career and she was great in it."[4]
Douglas will soon star in Tragic Indifference, a courtroom thriller based on a landmark liability case against Ford, according to Variety. Douglas will play the attorney who took Ford to court on behalf of a single mother from Texas who was paralyzed and nearly died after an accident. The trial exposed the automaker's indifference to flaws in its SUVs. The movie will be based on Adam Penenberg's 2003 book of the same name. Douglas will play Attorney Tab Turner, who represented Donna Bailey after the Ford Explorer she was riding in rolled over following a Firestone tire failure.[5]
On December 17, 2007 it was announced that Douglas was the new voice of NBC Nightly News, some two years after Howard Reig, the previous announcer, retired. [6]
[edit] Personal life
Douglas married Diandra Luker on March 20 1977. They had one son, Cameron (born December 13 1978). In 1980, Douglas was involved in a serious skiing accident which sidelined his acting career for three years. In September of 1992, he underwent treatment for alcohol abuse at Sierra Tucson Center. In 2000, after 23 years of marriage, Diandra divorced Douglas.
Douglas married Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones on November 18, 2000; they were both born on September 25, though 25 years apart. She claims that when they met in Deauville, he used the line "I'd like to father your children." [7] They have two children, Dylan Michael (born August 8, 2000) and Carys Zeta (born April 20, 2003).[8]
Douglas and Zeta-Jones hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2003. They acted as co-masters of ceremony in the concert celebrating the award given to Shirin Ebadi. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) from the University of St. Andrews. Douglas and his family divide their time between their homes in: Pacific Palisades, California; New York City; Aspen, Colorado; Bermuda; Majorca, Spain; Swansea, Wales; and Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Douglas is an advocate of nuclear disarmament, is a supporter of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and sits on the Board of Directors of the Ploughshares Fund. In 1998 he was appointed UN Messenger of Peace by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.[9] He is a notable Democrat, has donated money mainly to Democratic candidates[10] and is backing Hillary Clinton for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.
In 1997, New York caddy James Parker, sued Douglas for USD$25 million.[11] Parker accused Douglas of hitting him in the groin with an errant golf ball, causing Parker to lose a testicle and his job. The case was later settled out of court.
[edit] Family tree
| Diana Dill | Kirk Douglas | Anne Buydens | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diandra Luker | Michael Douglas | Catherine Zeta-Jones | Joel Douglas | Peter Vincent Douglas | Eric Douglas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cameron Douglas | Dylan Michael Douglas | Carys Zeta Douglas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Cast a Giant Shadow | Jeep driver | minor role |
| 1969 | Hail, Hero! | Carl Dixon | |
| 1970 | Adam at Six A.M. | Adam Gaines | |
| 1971 | Summertree | Jerry | |
| 1972 | Napoleon and Samantha | Danny | |
| 1975 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | (producer) | |
| 1978 | Coma | Dr. Mark Bellows | |
| 1979 | Running | Michael Andropolis | |
| The China Syndrome | Richard Adams | (actor/producer) | |
| 1980 | It's My Turn | Ben Lewin | |
| 1983 | The Star Chamber | Superior Court Judge Steven R. Hardin | |
| 1984 | Romancing the Stone | Jack Colton | (actor/producer) |
| 1985 | A Chorus Line | Zach | |
| The Jewel of the Nile | Jack Colton | (actor/producer) | |
| 1987 | Wall Street | Gordon Gekko | Academy Award for Best Actor |
| Fatal Attraction | Dan Gallagher | ||
| 1989 | The War of the Roses | Oliver Rose | |
| Black Rain | Det. Sgt. Nick Conklin | ||
| 1992 | Basic Instinct | Nick Curran | |
| Shining Through | Ed Leland | ||
| Oliver Stone: Inside Out | Himself | (documentary) | |
| 1993 | Falling Down | William "D-Fens" Foster | |
| 1994 | Disclosure | Tom Sanders | |
| 1995 | The American President | President Andrew Shepherd | |
| 1996 | The Ghost and the Darkness | Charles Remington | (actor/executive producer) |
| 1997 | The Game | Nicholas van Orton | |
| 1998 | A Perfect Murder | Steven Taylor | |
| 1999 | One Day in September | Narrator | (documentary) |
| Get Bruce | Himself | (documentary) | |
| 2000 | Traffic | Robert Wakefield | |
| Wonder Boys | Professor Grady Tripp | ||
| 2001 | Don't Say a Word | Dr. Nathan R. Conrad | |
| In Search of Peace | Narrator | (documentary) | |
| One Night at McCool's | Mr. Burmeister | (actor/producer) | |
| 2003 | The In-Laws | Steve Tobias | |
| It Runs in the Family | Alex Gromberg | ||
| Direct Order | Narrator | (documentary) | |
| 2004 | The Beautiful Country | Man on TV | Footage from Wall Street. |
| Tell Them Who You Are | Himself | (documentary) | |
| 2006 | Racing the Monsoon | Unknown | (announced)(co-producer) |
| You, Me and Dupree | Mr. Thompson | ||
| The Sentinel | Pete Garrison | (actor/producer) | |
| 2007 | The Mechanic | Kevin Bishop | (announced) |
| The Ride Down Mt. Morgan | Lyman Felt | (in development) | |
| Smoke & Mirrors | Jean Robert-Houdin | (announced) | |
| King of California | Charlie | (post-production) | |
| Money Never Sleeps | Gordon Gekko | (pre-production) |
[edit] References
- ^ Tugend, Tom. "Lucky number 90", The Jerusalem Post, 2006-12-12. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
- ^ http://www.conovergenealogy.com/Pages/douglas.html
- ^ 33rd Karlovy Vary IFF Awards. Retrieved on 2006-09-25.
- ^ "In conversation with Michael Douglas". Empire (August 2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
- ^ Michael Douglas to Star in Tragic Indifference
- ^ Zap2it.com: Michael Douglas Does the News
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/how-cheesy-can-you-get/2007/07/12/1183833634622.html
- ^ Carys - a name rooted in love. BBC News (2003-04-22). Retrieved on 2006-09-25.
- ^ Messengers of Peace. United Nations. Retrieved on 2006-12-23.
- ^ Michael Douglas's Federal Campaign Contribution Report. NEWSMEAT. Retrieved on 2006-12-23.
- ^ "The Smoking Gun Archive:", The Smoking Gun. Retrieved on 2006-12-23.
[edit] External links
- Michael Douglas at the TCM Movie Database
- Michael Douglas at Yahoo! Movies
- Michael Douglas at TV.com
- Michael Douglas Unofficial Fan website
- Michael Douglas Personal Documents Archive at the Wisconsin Historical Society
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Paul Newman for The Color of Money | Academy Award for Best Actor 1987 for Wall Street | Succeeded by Dustin Hoffman for Rain Man |
| Preceded by Bob Hoskins for Mona Lisa | Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama 1988 for Wall Street | Succeeded by Dustin Hoffman for Rain Man |
| Preceded by Al Pacino | Donostia Award, San Sebastian International Film Festival 1997 | Succeeded by Jeanne Moreau Anthony Hopkins John Malkovich |
| Preceded by Gene Hackman | Cecil B. DeMille Award 2004 | Succeeded by Robin Williams |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Douglas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Michael Kirk Douglas |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | actor, producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 25, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Brunswick, New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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Categories: 1944 births | Academy Award winners | Action film actors | American film actors | American television actors | American Jews | Best Actor Academy Award winners | Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) | Democrats (United States) | Jewish actors | Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award | Living people | New Jersey actors | People from New Brunswick, New Jersey | University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
