Kirk Douglas

Anne Douglas

One-hundred-year-old screen icon Kirk Douglas and his wife of 62 years, Anne Buydens, share untold stories and secrets to longevity in life and love. In Kirk and Anne the couple's story unfolds through their own commentary and a treasure trove of priceless letters. Painstakingly maintained by Anne over the course of more than six decades and never before made public, the correspondence includes details of their (often turbulent) courtship and marriage, set against the backdrop of Kirk's screen triumphs in films ranging from Lust For Life to Paths of Glory and Spartacus. Through the letters themselves and Kirk and Anne's words, never-before-told stories emerge about the legendary stars they knew so well: Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Gregory Peck, Cole Porter, John Wayne, Tony Curtis, and son Michael Douglas; fascinating first-hand accounts of Hollywood film sets and dinner parties; and exotic tales of travel to over forty countries as goodwill ambassadors. There are personal stories of presidents and first ladies (JFK and Jackie, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton and, “Ronnie” and Nancy Reagan), and powerful memories of both joy and sadness. Complemented by dozens of photos, Kirk and Anne candidly details the adventurous, oftentimes comic, and poignant reality behind the glamour of a Hollywood life, as only a couple of sixty-two years (and counting) could tell it.

Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood

Kirk and Anne

A 98th birthday treasury of poetry, prose and photos includes pieces written to commemorate the acclaimed screen legend's beloved wife, his four children, his close friendships and the milestone events of his life.

Reflections on Love, Loss, and What Really Matters

Life Could Be Verse

Dance with the Devil

After the Nazis destroy his family, twelve-year-old Moishe gives up his Jewish faith, calls himself Danny, and is taken to New York where he tries to make the best of his life in a Catholic orphanage.

A Novella

The Broken Mirror

A “lively” memoir by the Hollywood legend about the making of Spartacus, with a foreword by George Clooney (Los Angeles Times). One of the world’s most iconic movie stars, Kirk Douglas has distinguished himself as a producer, philanthropist, and author of ten works of fiction and memoir. Now, more than fifty years after the release of his enduring epic Spartacus, Douglas reveals the riveting drama behind the making of the legendary gladiator film. Douglas began producing the movie in the midst of the politically charged era when Hollywood’s moguls refused to hire anyone accused of Communist sympathies. In a risky move, Douglas chose Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted screenwriter, to write Spartacus. Trumbo was one of the “Unfriendly Ten,” men who had gone to prison rather than testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee about their political affiliations. Douglas’s source material was already a hot property, as the novel Spartacus was written by Howard Fast while he was in jail for defying HUAC. With the financial future of his young family at stake, Douglas plunged into a tumultuous production both on- and off-screen. As both producer and star of the film, he faced explosive moments with young director Stanley Kubrick, struggles with a leading lady, and negotiations with giant personalities, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and Lew Wasserman. Writing from his heart and from his own meticulously researched archives, Kirk Douglas, at ninety-five, looks back at his audacious decisions. He made the most expensive film of its era—but more importantly, his moral courage in giving public credit to Trumbo effectively ended the notorious Hollywood blacklist. A master storyteller, Douglas paints a vivid and often humorous portrait in I Am Spartacus! The book is enhanced by newly discovered period photography of the stars and filmmakers both on and off the set.

Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist

I Am Spartacus!

Turner Classic Movies

The late film icon and screen legend Kirk Douglas was married to Anne Buydens for more than six decades. Here they both look back on a lifetime filled with drama both on and off the screen. Sharing priceless correspondence with each other as well as the celebrities and world leaders they called friends, Kirk and Anne is a candid portrayal of the pleasures and pitfalls of a Hollywood life lived in the public eye. Compiled from Anne's private archive of letters and photographs, this is an intimate glimpse into the Douglases' courtship and marriage set against the backdrop of Kirk's screen triumphs, including The Vikings, Lust For Life, Paths of Glory, and Spartacus. The letters themselves, as well as Kirk and Anne's vivid descriptions of their experiences, reveal remarkable insight and anecdotes about the legendary figures they knew so well, including Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, the Kennedys, and the Reagans. Filled with photos from film sets, private moments, and public events, Kirk and Anne details the adventurous, oftentimes comic, and poignant reality behind the glamour of a Hollywood marriage.

Hollywood can be a tough town. But it's been awfully good to Danny Dennison. Although the movies he directs are more hot commerce than great art, he's wealthy and successful. But Danny Dennison has been living a lie. His true identity is buried half way around the world in the ruins of a Nazi concentration camp. Danny believes his secret to be safe - until he meets Luba, a young, sensuous call girl, whose mesmerising sexuality begins to shatter his well-guarded facade.

The legendary actor looks back on his long and eventful life, reflecting on the joys and sorrows of aging, his storied Hollywood career, his family and five-decade marriage, and his Jewish faith.

90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning

Let's Face It

Actor Kirk Douglas provides his favorite stories about heroic Biblical figures, including Rebecca, Joseph, and Miriam.

A Book for Family Sharing

Young Heroes of the Bible

Relaxing at home one sunny afternoon in 1995, Kirk Douglas suddenly felt a strange sensation in his right cheek. When he tried to describe what was happening, all that came out was gibberish. The cinema icon and movie legend was having a stroke. In this heartfelt and inspiring account, Kirk Douglas describes in powerful detail the helplessness and fear he felt following the attack, the depression that took him to the brink of suicide, and the love and support that pulled him through. Poignant and humorous, this is the deeply moving tale of a remarkable man whose gentle dignity and courage can be an inspiration to us all.

Kirk Douglas

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