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The RAGMAN'S SON
Kirk Douglas' autobiography charts his rise from son of an illiterate Russian-Jewish ragman to celebrity. He tells of a childhood of poverty and the father whose presence had a profound effect on him. It reveals the inside story of his stardom and relationships with other actors and actresses.
478 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
Kirk Douglas
36 books54 followersKirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch, ) was an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past (1947), Champion (1949), Ace in the Hole (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Lust for Life (1956), Paths of Glory (1957), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Vikings (1958), Spartacus (1960), Lonely Are the Brave (1962),The Fury (1978) and Tough Guys (1986)
He is No.17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time. In 1996, he received the Academy Honorary Award "for 50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community."
He was one of the last surviving actors from Hollywood's "golden age". He passed away on February 05, 2020 at the age of 103.
He is No.17 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time. In 1996, he received the Academy Honorary Award "for 50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community."
He was one of the last surviving actors from Hollywood's "golden age". He passed away on February 05, 2020 at the age of 103.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
January 7, 2021
Kirk Douglas was among my favourite actors,and I remember him in many memorable roles. Paths of Glory,his iconic World War I film,is among my all time favorites. I also remember his visit to Pakistan.
Kirk Douglas was born in abject poverty, the son of a Russian ragman,and he makes no bones about it.
The family emigrated to America,and his father finding no other work,had to become a ragman. His relationship with his father was an antagonistic one,and he once threw hot tea in his domineering father's face.
He managed to rise above poverty,going to college,enlisting in the navy,and marrying a girl,Diana Dill,from the English upper class. The marriage didn't last,but produced Michael Douglas.
His second marriage,was much more long lasting. He had a series of relationships with different women,and divulges it all.
He was the star of so many films I loved,and I enjoyed reading about them in the book. There were films which were not deemed commercially viable to begin with,but he helped bring them,to the screen.
These include his own favourites,Paths of Glory and Lust for Life. The latter was a very challenging role as the mad painter,Van Gogh.
He was also very fond of Champion and Lonely are the Brave etc. And then,there were the commercial successes,like Spartacus and The Vikings.
The book is a brutally frank appraisal of his life,acknowledging his own flaws. Equally,he does not mince any words while talking about his Hollywood contemporaries.He has the story teller's gift and the book is hard to put down.
It's not the story of his whole life,however. It was written before he had his stroke,and survived an air crash. As a result,the last years of his life were difficult,but he lived past a hundred.
Kirk Douglas was born in abject poverty, the son of a Russian ragman,and he makes no bones about it.
The family emigrated to America,and his father finding no other work,had to become a ragman. His relationship with his father was an antagonistic one,and he once threw hot tea in his domineering father's face.
He managed to rise above poverty,going to college,enlisting in the navy,and marrying a girl,Diana Dill,from the English upper class. The marriage didn't last,but produced Michael Douglas.
His second marriage,was much more long lasting. He had a series of relationships with different women,and divulges it all.
He was the star of so many films I loved,and I enjoyed reading about them in the book. There were films which were not deemed commercially viable to begin with,but he helped bring them,to the screen.
These include his own favourites,Paths of Glory and Lust for Life. The latter was a very challenging role as the mad painter,Van Gogh.
He was also very fond of Champion and Lonely are the Brave etc. And then,there were the commercial successes,like Spartacus and The Vikings.
The book is a brutally frank appraisal of his life,acknowledging his own flaws. Equally,he does not mince any words while talking about his Hollywood contemporaries.He has the story teller's gift and the book is hard to put down.
It's not the story of his whole life,however. It was written before he had his stroke,and survived an air crash. As a result,the last years of his life were difficult,but he lived past a hundred.
February 8, 2020
When Kirk Douglas died recently (102!), I was reminded that I read his autobiography not long after it came out in the late 80s, I think. I don't remember details, but I do remember I really enjoyed his story. He had a rough time of it, and there was certainly no silver spoon involved.
I'm giving it four stars because I have fond memories of it. In fact, I think I'll see if I can dig it up somewhere to have another look. (I also don't remember if there was a ghost-writer or not.)
I'm giving it four stars because I have fond memories of it. In fact, I think I'll see if I can dig it up somewhere to have another look. (I also don't remember if there was a ghost-writer or not.)
May 14, 2018
Kirk Douglas has never forgotten where he came from. It has shaped his entire life as a man, a husband, a father and an actor. And although he has achieved fame and fortune from a successful career in Hollywood, he recognizes the strong mark that has been left by a childhood of poverty, anti-Semitism, and a distant uncaring father.
As a young boy growing up in Amsterdam New York, Douglas was the only son in a family with six adoring sisters and a loving mother. His father, a brawling alcoholic, was refused a job at the local mill because he was Jewish, so he turned to the only job he could get, ragman and junkman, the lowest step on the social ladder. Douglas tried hard over the years to overcome the memory of that brutal and humbling poverty and to make a life for himself. He now finds himself a successful man, financially secure with a happy second marriage, a family of sons and the respect of his peers.
He reviews his life as a young adult, borrowing money to go to college, living as an impoverished acting student in New York, enlisting in the navy during the war and then returning to the theater in New York. In 1949 he starred in the movie Champion, the film that made him a star and sent him to Hollywood. With his chiseled good looks, gravelly voice, his manly swagger and brooding sexuality he soon became a “sought after” actor.
Underlying much autobiography is an attempt by the author to look back, understand his life, and place it in some sort of context. And this it seems is what Douglas is trying to achieve. He is brutally honest in recounting his story through his movies, friendships, business contacts, relationships and numerous sexual encounters over the years. Despite his success, he was always restless, always pushing, as if he had to prove to his father and himself that he was worthy of his achievements. Along with all his successes, the name dropping and racy bits about Hollywood stars, he also openly acknowledges his many mistakes along the way.
At times he almost seethes with both anger and guilt, but he is determined to present his true story despite his warts and mistakes. There is no real analysis or introspection here, just honest statements of who he was: willful, difficult to work with, driven and opinionated. Granted he has mellowed since he has aged, although he still has a reputation in Hollywood as a cocky outspoken maverick. But he is also respected for his large body of work (over 75 films), his producing and writing achievements and his longevity in a world that has a reputation for throwing over those who it no longer needs or wants.
This is not great literature. It is a written in a stream of consciousness style that brings its honesty front and center. It takes inner strength to openly admit mistakes and present a self portrait that is often unflattering. In that way, this book has its own charm.
An interesting read about a successful man looking back, trying to understand and come to terms with his past.
As a young boy growing up in Amsterdam New York, Douglas was the only son in a family with six adoring sisters and a loving mother. His father, a brawling alcoholic, was refused a job at the local mill because he was Jewish, so he turned to the only job he could get, ragman and junkman, the lowest step on the social ladder. Douglas tried hard over the years to overcome the memory of that brutal and humbling poverty and to make a life for himself. He now finds himself a successful man, financially secure with a happy second marriage, a family of sons and the respect of his peers.
He reviews his life as a young adult, borrowing money to go to college, living as an impoverished acting student in New York, enlisting in the navy during the war and then returning to the theater in New York. In 1949 he starred in the movie Champion, the film that made him a star and sent him to Hollywood. With his chiseled good looks, gravelly voice, his manly swagger and brooding sexuality he soon became a “sought after” actor.
Underlying much autobiography is an attempt by the author to look back, understand his life, and place it in some sort of context. And this it seems is what Douglas is trying to achieve. He is brutally honest in recounting his story through his movies, friendships, business contacts, relationships and numerous sexual encounters over the years. Despite his success, he was always restless, always pushing, as if he had to prove to his father and himself that he was worthy of his achievements. Along with all his successes, the name dropping and racy bits about Hollywood stars, he also openly acknowledges his many mistakes along the way.
At times he almost seethes with both anger and guilt, but he is determined to present his true story despite his warts and mistakes. There is no real analysis or introspection here, just honest statements of who he was: willful, difficult to work with, driven and opinionated. Granted he has mellowed since he has aged, although he still has a reputation in Hollywood as a cocky outspoken maverick. But he is also respected for his large body of work (over 75 films), his producing and writing achievements and his longevity in a world that has a reputation for throwing over those who it no longer needs or wants.
This is not great literature. It is a written in a stream of consciousness style that brings its honesty front and center. It takes inner strength to openly admit mistakes and present a self portrait that is often unflattering. In that way, this book has its own charm.
An interesting read about a successful man looking back, trying to understand and come to terms with his past.
July 26, 2022
Very entertaining and well written autobiography which – unlike so many others - does actually feel like the words of the person involved. In fact, at one stage, he does describe himself talking into a recording device, so I have no doubt that these are the actual words of Spartacus himself.
This is far from being just a chronological rundown of his films and experiences. It covers his childhood (the son of poor and illiterate Russian Jews) to approximately 1986/87, soon after completing the film ‘Tough Guys’ (his last teaming with friend, Burt Lancaster), and a time that saw his first medical emergency as he approaches 70. Events which give the book a reflective conclusion.
The actor also allows his creative side to flourish with regular italicised interventions from Issur (his childhood self). I also like the random asides which have clearly resurfaced as Douglas goes through his papers; as well as his thoughts on various life and world events – now, and from the past. Yes, he’s certainly not short of ego and unflinching bragging, but on the other hand he’s not short of open and painful self-criticism and honesty about his own mistakes. He often doesn’t paint a rosy picture of himself. Admitting to unfaithfulness, shooting wildlife (“I thought it would be macho to shoot something and make a coat for my wife”), admitting to his insecurities and jealousies, his ego etc. He’s often self-critical and embarrassed by his previous actions. Burt Lancaster, speaking of his friend said, “Kirk would be the first person to tell you he’s a difficult man.” Pause. “And I would be the second.”
He constantly refers to himself as a ‘star’ as opposed to an actor, which may sound bigger and better, but personally I think only denigrates the power of his performances and huge screen presence. So many stars these days, to me, seem to be no more than names (backed with great manufactured bodies and media hype), but with little acting ability and screen presence.
This quote on page 379 probably says much about Kirk Douglas, the private person. Here, he talks of his relationship with John Wayne:-
‘Although emotionally we were not close, and politically we were antipodal, he asked me to work with him several times. We would usually have dinner together only once or twice during the entire shooting of a movie. And yet we got along quite well. We were two completely different kinds of people, but there was a mutual respect. Wayne liked to hunker down with the crew – the stuntmen and special-effects guys. I was much more of a loner. When my work was over, I went home. I didn’t hunker down with anyone, except a few friends, if any were around, or my wife and my family.’
Of course, we also get some interesting anecdotes on others along the way. Yul Brynner was known for ensuring that he had the biggest trailer, biggest house, or biggest apartment when shooting a film. On the making of ‘Cast a Giant Shadow’ in Israel, Douglas says on page 383:-
‘I thought I had the largest apartment in the hotel. When Yul Brynner arrived, he said, “Come on up to my apartment, have a drink.”
I said, “No, no, why don’t you come to mine?”
He insisted. So I went up to his apartment, and was astonished to find that it was exactly twice as large as mine. Yul had sent his assistant ahead to find a place to live, and had them knock down a wall, so he could have two apartments made into one.’
Another story reflects badly on the ego of Stanley Kubrick, who came into directing ‘Spartacus’ at a late stage. Written by the then blacklisted Dalton Trumbo (because of the Communist witch-hunt), the subject came up at one meeting of how to credit the writer on the film’s titles. Page 323:-
‘Kubrick jumped in with his solution. “Use my name.”
Eddie [the producer] and I looked at each other, horrified. I said, “Stanley, wouldn’t you feel embarrassed to put your name on a script that someone else wrote?”
He looked at me as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. “No.” He would have been delighted to take the credit.’
Ten pages later Douglas sums up Kubrick bluntly:-
‘All this only proves that you don’t have to be a nice person to be extremely talented. You can be a shit and be talented and, conversely, you can be the nicest guy in the world and not have any talent. Stanley Kubrick is a talented shit.’
This is a very enjoyable 500 page read of a big complex character. There is more detail on the films made by his own production company (Bryna, named after his mother) - doubtless because he had the papers to hand; and I think I also detected more detail to events where his second and last wife is present – she clearly had the better memory! There’s a whole trip in Europe which is covered in fine detail. The making of the great film noir ‘Out of the Past’ unfortunately doesn’t linger in the Douglas memory. Perhaps because he wasn’t the star. Of the star of that film, Robert Mitchum, he says, ‘I don’t remember much about him, except that his stories about being a hobo kept changing every time he told them.’
Very highly recommended.
[The stroke, which inhibited his speech, didn’t follow for another ten years, it, and the latter part of his life is covered in other books – ‘My Stroke of Luck’ and ‘Let’s Face It’].
This is far from being just a chronological rundown of his films and experiences. It covers his childhood (the son of poor and illiterate Russian Jews) to approximately 1986/87, soon after completing the film ‘Tough Guys’ (his last teaming with friend, Burt Lancaster), and a time that saw his first medical emergency as he approaches 70. Events which give the book a reflective conclusion.
The actor also allows his creative side to flourish with regular italicised interventions from Issur (his childhood self). I also like the random asides which have clearly resurfaced as Douglas goes through his papers; as well as his thoughts on various life and world events – now, and from the past. Yes, he’s certainly not short of ego and unflinching bragging, but on the other hand he’s not short of open and painful self-criticism and honesty about his own mistakes. He often doesn’t paint a rosy picture of himself. Admitting to unfaithfulness, shooting wildlife (“I thought it would be macho to shoot something and make a coat for my wife”), admitting to his insecurities and jealousies, his ego etc. He’s often self-critical and embarrassed by his previous actions. Burt Lancaster, speaking of his friend said, “Kirk would be the first person to tell you he’s a difficult man.” Pause. “And I would be the second.”
He constantly refers to himself as a ‘star’ as opposed to an actor, which may sound bigger and better, but personally I think only denigrates the power of his performances and huge screen presence. So many stars these days, to me, seem to be no more than names (backed with great manufactured bodies and media hype), but with little acting ability and screen presence.
This quote on page 379 probably says much about Kirk Douglas, the private person. Here, he talks of his relationship with John Wayne:-
‘Although emotionally we were not close, and politically we were antipodal, he asked me to work with him several times. We would usually have dinner together only once or twice during the entire shooting of a movie. And yet we got along quite well. We were two completely different kinds of people, but there was a mutual respect. Wayne liked to hunker down with the crew – the stuntmen and special-effects guys. I was much more of a loner. When my work was over, I went home. I didn’t hunker down with anyone, except a few friends, if any were around, or my wife and my family.’
Of course, we also get some interesting anecdotes on others along the way. Yul Brynner was known for ensuring that he had the biggest trailer, biggest house, or biggest apartment when shooting a film. On the making of ‘Cast a Giant Shadow’ in Israel, Douglas says on page 383:-
‘I thought I had the largest apartment in the hotel. When Yul Brynner arrived, he said, “Come on up to my apartment, have a drink.”
I said, “No, no, why don’t you come to mine?”
He insisted. So I went up to his apartment, and was astonished to find that it was exactly twice as large as mine. Yul had sent his assistant ahead to find a place to live, and had them knock down a wall, so he could have two apartments made into one.’
Another story reflects badly on the ego of Stanley Kubrick, who came into directing ‘Spartacus’ at a late stage. Written by the then blacklisted Dalton Trumbo (because of the Communist witch-hunt), the subject came up at one meeting of how to credit the writer on the film’s titles. Page 323:-
‘Kubrick jumped in with his solution. “Use my name.”
Eddie [the producer] and I looked at each other, horrified. I said, “Stanley, wouldn’t you feel embarrassed to put your name on a script that someone else wrote?”
He looked at me as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. “No.” He would have been delighted to take the credit.’
Ten pages later Douglas sums up Kubrick bluntly:-
‘All this only proves that you don’t have to be a nice person to be extremely talented. You can be a shit and be talented and, conversely, you can be the nicest guy in the world and not have any talent. Stanley Kubrick is a talented shit.’
This is a very enjoyable 500 page read of a big complex character. There is more detail on the films made by his own production company (Bryna, named after his mother) - doubtless because he had the papers to hand; and I think I also detected more detail to events where his second and last wife is present – she clearly had the better memory! There’s a whole trip in Europe which is covered in fine detail. The making of the great film noir ‘Out of the Past’ unfortunately doesn’t linger in the Douglas memory. Perhaps because he wasn’t the star. Of the star of that film, Robert Mitchum, he says, ‘I don’t remember much about him, except that his stories about being a hobo kept changing every time he told them.’
Very highly recommended.
[The stroke, which inhibited his speech, didn’t follow for another ten years, it, and the latter part of his life is covered in other books – ‘My Stroke of Luck’ and ‘Let’s Face It’].
September 14, 2022
Kirk Douglas's autobiography charts the rise of the son of an illiterate Russian-Jewish ragman who became one of the last surviving legends from Hollywood's golden era, who died aged 103 in February 2020.
With honesty and frankness he reveals the inside story of more than forty years of stardom, working alongside Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, John Wayne and Laurence Olivier - and his relationships with movie goddesses like Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich. He starred in numerous films that have gone on to become enduring classics, such as Spartacus, The Glass Menagerie, Lust for Life, Paths of Glory and Gunfight at the OK Corral. He was nominated for an Oscar three times, and won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1996. He campaigned against the Hollywood blacklist, giving opportunities to young directors such as Stanley Kubrick and, after starring in the play One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, he gave the film rights to his son Michael Douglas, who produced the Oscar-winning movie that followed.
Interesting autobiography, yes worked in Hollywood with and alongside many film greats, was well known for being difficult, demanding, outspoken and sometimes I have to say his book lacked personality, humour, great stories about co-stars, cheerful and funny stories of co-stars, he made "Lust For Life" did not mention Anthony Quinn at all, failed to mention many great actors he worked with, mentioned the female stars he went out with, had affairs with, directors he liked and disliked.
I struggled to like him as a person, also knowing some of the nasty documentaries recently about him and his relationships, notably Natalia Wood. Reading I felt a lack of respect from Kirk to many of his co-stars.
Oh yes he made some great films, Spartacus, Lonely Are The Brave, The Viking, Paths of Glory, Lust For Life, was willing to play very varied roles, which I admired, maybe as a person not so much.
Saying that he did sign his autographs, played tennis, lived a great long life.
Three stars due to lack of humour, stories, all about himself.
With honesty and frankness he reveals the inside story of more than forty years of stardom, working alongside Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, John Wayne and Laurence Olivier - and his relationships with movie goddesses like Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich. He starred in numerous films that have gone on to become enduring classics, such as Spartacus, The Glass Menagerie, Lust for Life, Paths of Glory and Gunfight at the OK Corral. He was nominated for an Oscar three times, and won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1996. He campaigned against the Hollywood blacklist, giving opportunities to young directors such as Stanley Kubrick and, after starring in the play One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, he gave the film rights to his son Michael Douglas, who produced the Oscar-winning movie that followed.
Interesting autobiography, yes worked in Hollywood with and alongside many film greats, was well known for being difficult, demanding, outspoken and sometimes I have to say his book lacked personality, humour, great stories about co-stars, cheerful and funny stories of co-stars, he made "Lust For Life" did not mention Anthony Quinn at all, failed to mention many great actors he worked with, mentioned the female stars he went out with, had affairs with, directors he liked and disliked.
I struggled to like him as a person, also knowing some of the nasty documentaries recently about him and his relationships, notably Natalia Wood. Reading I felt a lack of respect from Kirk to many of his co-stars.
Oh yes he made some great films, Spartacus, Lonely Are The Brave, The Viking, Paths of Glory, Lust For Life, was willing to play very varied roles, which I admired, maybe as a person not so much.
Saying that he did sign his autographs, played tennis, lived a great long life.
Three stars due to lack of humour, stories, all about himself.
June 23, 2013
In this powerful, moving and sometimes very angry book, Kirk Douglas writes in his own words (with unflinching honesty) about his long and difficult road to becoming an actor.
It's a blushingly frank book. It's full of wit, and at times, heavy sarcasm, with a lot of name-dropping and charming anecdotes about the women he 'knew' during his many escapades on and off set.
He was an interesting and driven man, out to prove to the world (and himself) that he was worthy and more than just "The Ragman's Son".
It's a blushingly frank book. It's full of wit, and at times, heavy sarcasm, with a lot of name-dropping and charming anecdotes about the women he 'knew' during his many escapades on and off set.
He was an interesting and driven man, out to prove to the world (and himself) that he was worthy and more than just "The Ragman's Son".
August 19, 2015
This is an amazing autobiography! At first I was kind of wary since celebrities who write their own books don't usually do a good job, but Kirk Douglas knocked it out of the park. I was completely engrossed in his life story. I usually enjoy the pre-fame part of any autobiography the best, and the fame stuff tends to bore me, but not here. No, Douglas has a way of being completely honest even when maybe he shouldn't be (like his boyhood love affair with one of his teachers). I got a kick out of looking up his sexual conquests, and they were all just as beautiful as he described them. I also enjoyed his appraisals of other actors and directors, cutting through the Hollywood BS and getting to the real people behind the classics. I found his description of John Wayne very intriguing. They were two polar opposites, and yet they respected each other because they were both willing to put in insane amounts of work.
Which reminds me: if you're looking for motivation, this book will do it for you. Douglas learned an entire language for a movie once. And that's not the only time he did that for his career. At another point, he learns German just so he can give an award acceptance speech in the language. The man's an absolute workhorse. Not only that, but he's always willing to put art above money. Given the choice between being commercial and doing a movie right, he will always do a movie right.
My favorite part is his meeting with Salvador Dali and the proposition that was merely suggested. Great stuff.
When you think of old school Hollywood guys, you don't see them as very open minded. Douglas is incredibly open minded, which puts him ahead of anyone else of his generation. He's pretty blunt about it, too. He describes a few times when men tried to take advantage of him sexually, and he describes his shock at such a thing, mostly because he didn't know about gays at the time. But he hasn't let that get in the way of accepting homosexuality in others, even when the Duke took him to task for it.
I could go on forever talking about how awesome this book is, so instead of gushing, I'll bring up a couple of things I didn't like. Douglas has a tendency to repeat himself. I can get that. From what I can tell, this was his first book. It's the sign of a writer lacking in confidence. They're afraid the reader won't understand, so they'll go over the top with it. All in all, not too bothersome. However, he's not very good with transitions. That's pretty jarring, and it can easily take you out of the book. Still, a minor quibble.
One last thing: sometimes, when he introduces people--usually women he had sex with--he has a habit of telling us how they died, usually at a young age, usually under tragic circumstances. It's kind of an odd thing to do. I'm not sure if I like it or not, stylistically speaking. But its certainly pretty strange.
OK, I lied, one more thing: TOUGH GUYS is one of my favorite Douglas/Lancaster movies. I kind of wish the chapter on this movie was longer than three pages, but that's just a personal preference.
I've read quite a few autobiographies, and I'm pretty sure this is one of the best. Top three, definitely.
Which reminds me: if you're looking for motivation, this book will do it for you. Douglas learned an entire language for a movie once. And that's not the only time he did that for his career. At another point, he learns German just so he can give an award acceptance speech in the language. The man's an absolute workhorse. Not only that, but he's always willing to put art above money. Given the choice between being commercial and doing a movie right, he will always do a movie right.
My favorite part is his meeting with Salvador Dali and the proposition that was merely suggested. Great stuff.
When you think of old school Hollywood guys, you don't see them as very open minded. Douglas is incredibly open minded, which puts him ahead of anyone else of his generation. He's pretty blunt about it, too. He describes a few times when men tried to take advantage of him sexually, and he describes his shock at such a thing, mostly because he didn't know about gays at the time. But he hasn't let that get in the way of accepting homosexuality in others, even when the Duke took him to task for it.
I could go on forever talking about how awesome this book is, so instead of gushing, I'll bring up a couple of things I didn't like. Douglas has a tendency to repeat himself. I can get that. From what I can tell, this was his first book. It's the sign of a writer lacking in confidence. They're afraid the reader won't understand, so they'll go over the top with it. All in all, not too bothersome. However, he's not very good with transitions. That's pretty jarring, and it can easily take you out of the book. Still, a minor quibble.
One last thing: sometimes, when he introduces people--usually women he had sex with--he has a habit of telling us how they died, usually at a young age, usually under tragic circumstances. It's kind of an odd thing to do. I'm not sure if I like it or not, stylistically speaking. But its certainly pretty strange.
OK, I lied, one more thing: TOUGH GUYS is one of my favorite Douglas/Lancaster movies. I kind of wish the chapter on this movie was longer than three pages, but that's just a personal preference.
I've read quite a few autobiographies, and I'm pretty sure this is one of the best. Top three, definitely.
August 15, 2025
I thought more of Kirk Douglas before I read this book. My opinion of him has slowly declined. He is honest in the book but brags--still insecure as he was in his youth. He is still, in my mind, one of the greatest heroic actors in film--but just in film and he is just an actor. We who read actors' biographies inevitably feel that we see something on the screen that reveals the essence of the man or woman. I think this is for the most part true. We are able to detect something unique in an actor's character when he gives of himself and is not really acting, just being himself as he would be in that character's situation. I may be wrong, but Kirk is just a little over the top, except in film. That anyway is his legacy, which is good enough for a "ragman's son". He was on the artist's palette for a daub or two in several masterpieces.
October 23, 2014
He is one of my favorite actors & this is an autobiography. From his very modest roots to his climb to be one of the top Hollywood stars, he gives a great account of his life. He doesn't pull many punches about mistakes he made along the way, either.
October 11, 2012
As Hollywood autobiographies go, this one wasn't bad. In the introduction Kirk Douglas promised that he wouldn't gloss over his bad behavior, and as far as I can tell, he didn't. He says at times that he was "a shit" and he does provide evidence of that. (Of course, I can't be sure that there wasn't more, even shittier behavior that got left out.) The stories of his career trajectory are often interesting, as are some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of movie making. The prose, however, is pretty choppy. There are a lot of short sentences, which seemed somehow to make me read faster. Here's an example:
"Gene Tierney had a beautiful overbite. How charming she was. I adored her. We exchanged gifts. It was a wonderful relationship. But she had some strange habits."
Not all sentences were that short, but there were many examples like the one above where there would be a consecutive string of very short sentences.
I expect that I'll eventually follow up this book with reading Douglas' much more recent I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist but perhaps not any time soon.
"Gene Tierney had a beautiful overbite. How charming she was. I adored her. We exchanged gifts. It was a wonderful relationship. But she had some strange habits."
Not all sentences were that short, but there were many examples like the one above where there would be a consecutive string of very short sentences.
I expect that I'll eventually follow up this book with reading Douglas' much more recent I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist but perhaps not any time soon.
March 28, 2024
A true rags to riches tale. Kirk started life as a Russian immigrant with his family living in Amsterdam, NY. He was born in 1916. The book was a breeze to read. I’m 67 and I had heard of almost all the names of the celebrities mentioned along the way but I think anyone that likes movies and how they are made would enjoy this.
For me I really liked the parts about the making of “One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest”. Kirk always planned to play the main character but he was getting older at that point and Jack Nicholson ended up getting it. What a great movie. None of the studios wanted it. Michael Douglas took over as producer for the project and made it finally happen.
I really flew through the nearly 500 pages and was always eager to read more. Lots of twists and turns to keep the excitement level up, and it’s all true. Kirk was a remarkable actor, ladies man, star, producer, and eventually…family man.
Kirk was 70 when this book came out in 1988 and I just saw on Audible there is another book Kirk wrote as he turned 90 (he lived to 103) narrated by Jason Alexander.
For me I really liked the parts about the making of “One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest”. Kirk always planned to play the main character but he was getting older at that point and Jack Nicholson ended up getting it. What a great movie. None of the studios wanted it. Michael Douglas took over as producer for the project and made it finally happen.
I really flew through the nearly 500 pages and was always eager to read more. Lots of twists and turns to keep the excitement level up, and it’s all true. Kirk was a remarkable actor, ladies man, star, producer, and eventually…family man.
Kirk was 70 when this book came out in 1988 and I just saw on Audible there is another book Kirk wrote as he turned 90 (he lived to 103) narrated by Jason Alexander.
October 2, 2008
A lot of Hollywood cheese going on here. Kirk spends a lot of time screaming at his Russian alter ego, Issur Davidovich all through the book. After awhile it's pretty funny.
Best parts are the dish on starlets like Joan Crawford, who slept at night coated in Vaseline from head to toe!
Although his co-star Lizabeth Scott had quite a reputation as a lesbian he surprises us by reporting that she was dating mega-producer Hal Wallis, who frequently made her cry! Who the fuck needs Perez or TMZ when Kirk's dishing the H-Wood dirt?
Best parts are the dish on starlets like Joan Crawford, who slept at night coated in Vaseline from head to toe!
Although his co-star Lizabeth Scott had quite a reputation as a lesbian he surprises us by reporting that she was dating mega-producer Hal Wallis, who frequently made her cry! Who the fuck needs Perez or TMZ when Kirk's dishing the H-Wood dirt?
August 3, 2025
A specter haunts the pages of this memoir by Issur Danielovich, later known by his Hollywood name Kirk Douglas. The specter of his father, Hershel Danielovich, a Brooklyn rag man by trade though often unemployed. Rather than trying to make his ghost disappear, something Kirk spent four years unsuccessfully trying to do in psychoanalysis, he has written his dead father into dialogues found at the end of each chapter, where Kirk Douglas debates his dad, and at times his earlier self: "My father was seldom at home, did not provide for his family, spent the money donated for my bar mitzva on himself, and never took more than two minutes talking to me, not even on his death bed at the hospital". There are worse ways to settle family scores---ask Hamlet. This celebrity memoir shines when Kirk delves into his own psyche and wrestles with himself, "you are not a Jew! You are a Jew, stop denying it". Those looking for a Hollywood tell-all, however, will be disappointed. Kirk's talk of movies, directors, Stanley Kubrick he rates"second to none of those I have worked with", and affairs is terse and laconic--everything Kirk was not on-screen. One gem, though, deserves citation, on his one-night stand with Joan Crawford: "Her relationship with her adopted children was dry, clinical, professional, like the sex we just had". This autobiography is worth reading for the one shining moment Kirk calls "the greatest pride of my life, hiring Dalton Trumbo to write SPARTACUS for me, breaking the Hollywood blacklist". For that courageous act alone Kirk deserves to be read and remembered.
October 15, 2017
Interested in this because my grandfather was also a ragman. (In Utica, about 60 miles west of Kirk's Amsterdam.) But then I became engrossed in his honesty and terrific stories.
Notes:
Escape from Russian pogroms ... Trip to Ellis Island, steerage stunk of vomit.
Danielovitch = Son of Daniel
8/10 ... father was a ragman and drinker
22 ... Christmas fruits, nuts, candy, toys
42 ... where is Calif? Will I ever get there?
59 ... champion wrestler at St. Lawrence U.
75 ... wrestling in carnivals was his earliest dramatic training ... barker on platform outside tent teased and taunted the audience. KD was the "plant" ... another St. Lawrence wrestler, Pinky Plumadore, became a Masked Marvel [No record of him on WrestlingData.com, so perhaps his pro career was short.]
116 ... Ensign KD
126 ... Cristobal on Atlantic side of Panama Canal
136 ... Bacall/Bogey whistle ... To Have and Have Not
156 ... When his father gave up smoking, he carried the pack around with him in his top pocket. Every time he felt the urge to smoke, he pulled out the packet and said, "Who stronger? You - or me? Me." And put the packet back in his pocket.
171 ... training for Champion
195 ... father kissed on the mouth Russian style
200 ... M Monroe blah in real life, and always late
228 ... M Dietrich mothered him when he had pneumonia ... St. Christopher cross
243/4 ... Director Eddie Dmytryk ... Unfriendly Ten .. only one to name names? (Frank Tuttle)
267 ... Took Anne to Rameau's Les Indes Galantes ... Notable special effects (Could the Les Sauvages section have been as dazzling as the youtube video? (With Patricia Petibon))
334 ... Making The Vikings ... "There's a fjord in your future."
354 ... Mother dying in hospital ... "Don't be scared Issur. It happens to all of us."
Overwhelming, her composure and dignity.
355 ... Spartacus
364 ... Trumbo wrote at breakneck speed ... smoked 6 packs a day
390 ... Rock Hudson ... KD didn't draw a sharp line between masculine & femme ... artists need both ... fem: sensitivity, intuition .. masc: efficiency, capability
395 ... Kubrick a talented shit
398 ... Trumbo was to script Edward Abbey's (Desert Solitaire) Brave Cowboy
449 ... America, such a wonderful land.
453 ... nose to nose with bully Preminger
550 ... Tough Guys (w/Lancaster) ... Creative Consultant Issur Danielovitch
566 ... speech, Make Believe vs Reality
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ... Milos Forman
Notes:
Escape from Russian pogroms ... Trip to Ellis Island, steerage stunk of vomit.
Danielovitch = Son of Daniel
8/10 ... father was a ragman and drinker
22 ... Christmas fruits, nuts, candy, toys
42 ... where is Calif? Will I ever get there?
59 ... champion wrestler at St. Lawrence U.
75 ... wrestling in carnivals was his earliest dramatic training ... barker on platform outside tent teased and taunted the audience. KD was the "plant" ... another St. Lawrence wrestler, Pinky Plumadore, became a Masked Marvel [No record of him on WrestlingData.com, so perhaps his pro career was short.]
116 ... Ensign KD
126 ... Cristobal on Atlantic side of Panama Canal
136 ... Bacall/Bogey whistle ... To Have and Have Not
156 ... When his father gave up smoking, he carried the pack around with him in his top pocket. Every time he felt the urge to smoke, he pulled out the packet and said, "Who stronger? You - or me? Me." And put the packet back in his pocket.
171 ... training for Champion
195 ... father kissed on the mouth Russian style
200 ... M Monroe blah in real life, and always late
228 ... M Dietrich mothered him when he had pneumonia ... St. Christopher cross
243/4 ... Director Eddie Dmytryk ... Unfriendly Ten .. only one to name names? (Frank Tuttle)
267 ... Took Anne to Rameau's Les Indes Galantes ... Notable special effects (Could the Les Sauvages section have been as dazzling as the youtube video? (With Patricia Petibon))
334 ... Making The Vikings ... "There's a fjord in your future."
354 ... Mother dying in hospital ... "Don't be scared Issur. It happens to all of us."
Overwhelming, her composure and dignity.
355 ... Spartacus
364 ... Trumbo wrote at breakneck speed ... smoked 6 packs a day
390 ... Rock Hudson ... KD didn't draw a sharp line between masculine & femme ... artists need both ... fem: sensitivity, intuition .. masc: efficiency, capability
395 ... Kubrick a talented shit
398 ... Trumbo was to script Edward Abbey's (Desert Solitaire) Brave Cowboy
449 ... America, such a wonderful land.
453 ... nose to nose with bully Preminger
550 ... Tough Guys (w/Lancaster) ... Creative Consultant Issur Danielovitch
566 ... speech, Make Believe vs Reality
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ... Milos Forman
July 15, 2020
It starts off pretty amiably, but I slowly started to realise that it was all a bit dull and that most of the anecdotes were falling flat.
On one level, it is interesting to see a memoir so honest, so willing to share details that no present day celebrity would. But then, there were numerous moments where I actually winced at what I was reading (even, as written in 1988, it's incredible that no one close to Douglas then questioned the wisdom of the inclusion of certain passages). I also wonder about what might have been taken out, given what was considered acceptable to leave in.
If only it was the extensive promotion of his self-importance or his irresistibility to every female he met that I was talking about here.
Just a few arse-clenching examples:
In Chapter 12 "Israel", Douglas meets General Moshe Dayan and his family, including his "precocious" TWELVE year-old daughter, Ya'el. The following paragraph is reproduced in full:
"Ya'el was a very bright girl, sexy even at that young age. Jokingly, I said, 'Listen, Ya'el, here's a dime. When you get to be seventeen or eighteen, if you're around Hollywood, call me.' Sure enough, about five or six years later, I got a call in Los Angeles. It was Ya'el Dayan. 'Well, here I am.' Israelis are amazing people."
*In Chapter 19 "Stateside", Douglas describes his after-filming activities in Jamaica thus:
"There were beautiful, young (I hate to think how young) copper-colored girls dancing and singing Calypso songs - 'Please, mister, don't touch my tomatoes'. Afterward, I would take them up to my bungalow. I'm glad I never asked them how old they were. I think I should have been in jail."
*Douglas has a bee in his bonnet because he never got to play McMurphy in the film adaptation of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (to be honest, he has lots of bees in his bonnet when things don't go his way, he always knows better apparently). In Chapter 36 "Director Douglas", the twice-failed director (his own admission) explains why his version of OFOTCN would have been so much better. One illustration: instead of Nicholson as McMurphy attempting to choke Nurse Ratched, Douglas as McMurphy would have raped her.
Unfortunately, I could go on, but I won't...
Kirk Douglas made some remarkable films and stood up for some worthy causes, but there is a large part of me that wishes that I hadn't read this book.
On one level, it is interesting to see a memoir so honest, so willing to share details that no present day celebrity would. But then, there were numerous moments where I actually winced at what I was reading (even, as written in 1988, it's incredible that no one close to Douglas then questioned the wisdom of the inclusion of certain passages). I also wonder about what might have been taken out, given what was considered acceptable to leave in.
If only it was the extensive promotion of his self-importance or his irresistibility to every female he met that I was talking about here.
Just a few arse-clenching examples:
In Chapter 12 "Israel", Douglas meets General Moshe Dayan and his family, including his "precocious" TWELVE year-old daughter, Ya'el. The following paragraph is reproduced in full:
"Ya'el was a very bright girl, sexy even at that young age. Jokingly, I said, 'Listen, Ya'el, here's a dime. When you get to be seventeen or eighteen, if you're around Hollywood, call me.' Sure enough, about five or six years later, I got a call in Los Angeles. It was Ya'el Dayan. 'Well, here I am.' Israelis are amazing people."
*In Chapter 19 "Stateside", Douglas describes his after-filming activities in Jamaica thus:
"There were beautiful, young (I hate to think how young) copper-colored girls dancing and singing Calypso songs - 'Please, mister, don't touch my tomatoes'. Afterward, I would take them up to my bungalow. I'm glad I never asked them how old they were. I think I should have been in jail."
*Douglas has a bee in his bonnet because he never got to play McMurphy in the film adaptation of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (to be honest, he has lots of bees in his bonnet when things don't go his way, he always knows better apparently). In Chapter 36 "Director Douglas", the twice-failed director (his own admission) explains why his version of OFOTCN would have been so much better. One illustration: instead of Nicholson as McMurphy attempting to choke Nurse Ratched, Douglas as McMurphy would have raped her.
Unfortunately, I could go on, but I won't...
Kirk Douglas made some remarkable films and stood up for some worthy causes, but there is a large part of me that wishes that I hadn't read this book.
July 18, 2013
One of the marks of a truly good biography is that you come away from it feeling that you know the subject. Since the subject himself can often shed the most light on his life and what makes him tick, I love autobiographies. This one delivers in spades. Douglas's writing is excellent. He isn't one of those stars who goes from anecdote to anecdote bragging about the people he knows without analyzing his life or his motivations behind his actions. Douglas examines everything in great detail and uses his given name "Issur" to contrast between the boy he was and the man he became. There is something here for everyone: stories about making his films, seedy tidbits about his love life, reflections on his family, and what it means to get older.
Kirk Douglas is still kicking and as this book was published in the late 80s, there is a lot that is left out. Luckily he wrote several other books to fill in the gap.
Kirk Douglas is still kicking and as this book was published in the late 80s, there is a lot that is left out. Luckily he wrote several other books to fill in the gap.
January 9, 2008
As a young man, Kirk would watch his taciturn father come in from thankless work, drinking his tea through a sugar cube between his teeth. His father was a mountain to him. Kirk said when his father gave up smoking he carried the pack around with him in his top pocket. Everytime he felt the urge to smoke, he would pull out the packet and say, "Who stronger? You - or me? Me." And put the packet back in his pocket.
Kirk left his parents and his Jewish surname behind him and became the famous actor and notorious womaniser. His stories of life on the sets is fascinationg and honest. An interesting character who attempted to do as many of his own stunts as possible.
Kirk left his parents and his Jewish surname behind him and became the famous actor and notorious womaniser. His stories of life on the sets is fascinationg and honest. An interesting character who attempted to do as many of his own stunts as possible.
July 26, 2009
Excellent Hollywood biography, partly because Kirk Douglas literally went from rags to riches, but also because he was more than just an actor. He was one of the first actors to realize that producing films would take him deeper into the filmmaking process. He was the first producer to break the blacklist of the 1950's, because as a producer, he had the power of decision that regular actors did not. The book also benefits from his perspective of having lived a very long life.
April 18, 2024
I had a hard time rating this book. I could have given it anywhere from 1 to 4 stars. Kirk Douglas was obviously an incredibly talented and driven man who singlehandedly became one of the most powerful and successful men of his time, traveling in circles with presidents and world leaders and it was so interesting to read the lifetime of anecdotes he included in this book, but he was also obviously such a flawed human being who treated women horribly and his family poorly. He comes across in this autobiography as someone who has a high opinion of himself, has strong opinions in general, has a bad temper, is selfish and is never wrong about anything. He almost brags about his womanizing during the first part of the book but does not include any information about his extra-marital affairs after getting married to his lifetime love. He mentions meeting Natalie Wood but does not include the allegations that he raped her as a young woman. He brushes off being questioned about the disappearance of another young actress who is later found dead. To quote a line from the Simpsons, this autobiography seems "self-serving with many glaring omissions."
I originally read this book because my family comes from the Amsterdam, NY area and Kirk Douglas is the boy from Amsterdam who made it big. The first chapters of the book discuss Amsterdam, NY--one of the largest mill towns in the world during the first half of the 20th century. Kirk Douglas was the son of illiterate Russian Jewish immigrants who were not even able to work in the mills because of the antisemitism of the time. His father was a ragman, who drove his wagon up and down the streets of Amsterdam collecting discarded clothing and metal to re-sell. "Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. And I was the ragman's son." Reading about the Amsterdam, NY of this time was fascinating and illuminating and I particularly enjoyed the specific references to streets, stores, schools, churches and people in Amsterdam during the time which my parents and grandparents also lived there.
Kirk Douglas's autobiography was interesting and well written. I actually enjoyed it more than I did Katherine Hepburn's autobiography. However, he was apparently such a horrible person that I cannot give it a higher rating.
I originally read this book because my family comes from the Amsterdam, NY area and Kirk Douglas is the boy from Amsterdam who made it big. The first chapters of the book discuss Amsterdam, NY--one of the largest mill towns in the world during the first half of the 20th century. Kirk Douglas was the son of illiterate Russian Jewish immigrants who were not even able to work in the mills because of the antisemitism of the time. His father was a ragman, who drove his wagon up and down the streets of Amsterdam collecting discarded clothing and metal to re-sell. "Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. And I was the ragman's son." Reading about the Amsterdam, NY of this time was fascinating and illuminating and I particularly enjoyed the specific references to streets, stores, schools, churches and people in Amsterdam during the time which my parents and grandparents also lived there.
Kirk Douglas's autobiography was interesting and well written. I actually enjoyed it more than I did Katherine Hepburn's autobiography. However, he was apparently such a horrible person that I cannot give it a higher rating.
October 19, 2025
Muy especial el libro, uno de los que más me han gustado sobre cine, y una de las mejores biografías. Cómo todas, son de ciencia ficción, pero entre líneas puedes llegar a comprender al personaje y lo que intentaba transmitir, o al menos su anhelo al escribir el libro. Aderezado con películas suyas y entrevistas te haces una idea.
Me ha encantado leerlo, siempre sabiendo quién es, de donde viene y cómo se crió, me parece una persona valiente y luchadora, y sobre todo con la mente abierta a aprender, creo que es lo que mantiene vivos y despiertos a estas personas centenarias. He sacado cierto conocimiento del libro y algunas frases bonitas, como la que recita viendo a los salmones remontar el rio en Noruega o algunas de las que escribe en los capítulos finales, mas introspectivos y serenos.
Una suerte haberlo podido leer y muy recomendable para quién le guste el cine y las biografías bien escritas.
Me ha encantado leerlo, siempre sabiendo quién es, de donde viene y cómo se crió, me parece una persona valiente y luchadora, y sobre todo con la mente abierta a aprender, creo que es lo que mantiene vivos y despiertos a estas personas centenarias. He sacado cierto conocimiento del libro y algunas frases bonitas, como la que recita viendo a los salmones remontar el rio en Noruega o algunas de las que escribe en los capítulos finales, mas introspectivos y serenos.
Una suerte haberlo podido leer y muy recomendable para quién le guste el cine y las biografías bien escritas.
August 27, 2020
This isn’t a good book, and after reading it I’ve come to the conclusion that Kirk Douglas wasn’t a very likable person. Some of his actions were reprehensible even at the time. The interesting stuff was in the beginning when he talked about his origins. As the book went on it became more about EVERY movie he did and why everyone else wasn’t up to his standards. Everything he tried he was great at with practice. There was such a lack of self-awareness that it was staggering. Just don’t even try this book if you might be interested. It’s not worth your time.
November 6, 2023
Read at least 15 years ago - quite interesting as I recall.
July 23, 2011
"P 1988. ''Collecting the things that people had thrown away was an awful way to make a living. Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. And I was the ragman's son.'' The book does seem to lack deep analysis and introspection but has some really funny and interesting anecdotes. Kirk Douglas (1916) also starred in Sparticus - brilliant film which is why I wanted to read this book and this was before Michael and Zeta got together! No wonder though that he changed his name for Hollywood - original name Issur Danielovitch also called Isadore Demsky. Uplifting story and thoroughly enjoyable. This book is good reference material for upward social movement.
"
"
December 26, 2016
What a great story about a true legend!
Kirk Douglas came from very humble beginnings to beat the odds and become one of the biggest Hollywood stars ever. An entertaining read about his life and lots of anecdotes about other stars and various things that happened on the set. A survivor, he says that his only choice was to go up, since his beginnings were so humble there was no other direction to go. He had a dream and achieved it.
The cocky attitude, the affairs, friends and family...quite a wild ride. A real character. Enjoyed it a lot.
Kirk Douglas came from very humble beginnings to beat the odds and become one of the biggest Hollywood stars ever. An entertaining read about his life and lots of anecdotes about other stars and various things that happened on the set. A survivor, he says that his only choice was to go up, since his beginnings were so humble there was no other direction to go. He had a dream and achieved it.
The cocky attitude, the affairs, friends and family...quite a wild ride. A real character. Enjoyed it a lot.
April 23, 2019
To be honest, this creeped me out a little. I can't imagine anyone getting away with writing some of the things he puts in this book!
Overall I liked it. I haven't read the final 20 pages or so as it became a chore at the end. Some of the stories will really make you wish people were still this honest! One thing I am sure of about Kirk after reading this, he definitely had an eye for the young ladies. Young, very young!
Pretty cool book, worth reading. Some of it may creep you out but IMO that is what makes it readable...
Overall I liked it. I haven't read the final 20 pages or so as it became a chore at the end. Some of the stories will really make you wish people were still this honest! One thing I am sure of about Kirk after reading this, he definitely had an eye for the young ladies. Young, very young!
Pretty cool book, worth reading. Some of it may creep you out but IMO that is what makes it readable...
December 27, 2018
Long ago, when I went to picture shows, Kirk acted in films liked. But I can't remember any of them.
Must have had some vague memory of enjoying the book when telling GR it was a 4-star read ... maybe not remain in my GR-catalog.
It's 30 years old and local library still owns a copy. Would be interesting see scan circulation records for readers. In the old days, pre-computers, there was a "book circulation card" pocketed in the physical book showing signatures of borrowers ...
Must have had some vague memory of enjoying the book when telling GR it was a 4-star read ... maybe not remain in my GR-catalog.
It's 30 years old and local library still owns a copy. Would be interesting see scan circulation records for readers. In the old days, pre-computers, there was a "book circulation card" pocketed in the physical book showing signatures of borrowers ...
August 13, 2024
Kirk Douglas was the quintessential outsider who rose to the top of almost every social and professional set he threw himself into, be that school, the navy, Hollywood, Washington, and umpteen women’s bedrooms, finally founding a movie aristocracy his children could capitalize upon.
This autobiography is frank, conversational, and patchy in places. Douglas’s strong ego, the force that got him ahead, shines through. And yet he is dogged by his alter-ego, Issur Demsky (Douglas’s real name), the scared little Orthodox Jewish boy, yearning for his ragman father’s approval. Both father and son are propelled by anger, Kirk’s productively, but Dad’s slumps into a spiral of drinking and fighting, consigning Demsky Sr. to live out his last days alone, when Kirk’s mother and his six sisters decamp the family home at 46 Eagle Street, Amsterdam, NY. The stereotypical Jewish tropes litter the narrative: not allowed on paper runs, bullied by Gentile kids, stood up by his shiksa prom partner. Adolescent ones follow: having sex at 14 with his school teacher, being sexually propositioned by his male professor on a cross-country trip, exacting a “revenge fuck” on the hotel proprietress who hated Jews – I suspect some of these “adventures” were conjured up in the fertile imagination of this movie star in the making.
The book chronicles the star’s early days on Broadway (after college and the navy), acting in many plays but never quite making it big. He travels to Hollywood and strikes paydirt with his first blockbuster, Champion, in 1949. More “star” tropes follow with women falling at his feet thereafter. He recalls having sex for 29 straight days with 29 different women and going impotent on the 30th day! A wink, a nod, a whisper in her ear, and unknown women would follow him to his car or hotel suite for sex, even though he had a wife and kids waiting for him at home. He laments the next generations’ inability to engage so freely as he did after AIDS surfaced in the ’80s. And yet, he also pursues women who are hard to get until they beat him: he was engaged to Pier Angeli for years but never consummated the relationship until it fell apart.
Star roles lead him to founding his own production company named after his mother, Bryna. There is a lot of information on how movies are made, from financing, to location-scouting, to production, to promotion, and on the lives of actors, scriptwriters, directors, and producers. Major movie players from the 20th century get a mention in this book because Douglas knew them all, and the ones he didn’t like get called out without fear of sanction: “Stanley Kubrick is a talented shit,” he says of his director of Spartacus.
Like all arts industries, the movies are based on connections. More tropes: Spartacus was mired in problems, despite being a box office hit; he whacked women (upon their request) so they could “get into character���; he was swindled of his savings by a crooked agent; he opposed the studio contract system; he hired Dalton Trumbo, blacklisted screenwriter by HUAC, to write Spartacus - the list goes on. Yet, a couple of things eluded him: he never cracked the Broadway nut as a star, and he couldn’t play the role he had coveted for so long: the lead in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, that went to Jack Nicholson because Douglas was deemed too old by the time the movie was made.
In his later years, he made documentaries about social issues: the refugee crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Israel, and the plight of those in nursing homes. He became a US goodwill ambassador, supporting Republican and Democratic presidents, although he was a card-carrying Democrat. His three-movies -per-year routine slumped down to one-per-year as health issues got in the way, like a pacemaker at 69 which he details in a full chapter – one in which he finally acknowledges the value of a 32-year marriage to a wife who stood by him despite his public peccadillos. Mortality is humbling, even for the likes of Kirk Douglas.
He definitely was a man of his time, living the full life during an age when macho men ruled and Hollywood actors were next to God.
This autobiography is frank, conversational, and patchy in places. Douglas’s strong ego, the force that got him ahead, shines through. And yet he is dogged by his alter-ego, Issur Demsky (Douglas’s real name), the scared little Orthodox Jewish boy, yearning for his ragman father’s approval. Both father and son are propelled by anger, Kirk’s productively, but Dad’s slumps into a spiral of drinking and fighting, consigning Demsky Sr. to live out his last days alone, when Kirk’s mother and his six sisters decamp the family home at 46 Eagle Street, Amsterdam, NY. The stereotypical Jewish tropes litter the narrative: not allowed on paper runs, bullied by Gentile kids, stood up by his shiksa prom partner. Adolescent ones follow: having sex at 14 with his school teacher, being sexually propositioned by his male professor on a cross-country trip, exacting a “revenge fuck” on the hotel proprietress who hated Jews – I suspect some of these “adventures” were conjured up in the fertile imagination of this movie star in the making.
The book chronicles the star’s early days on Broadway (after college and the navy), acting in many plays but never quite making it big. He travels to Hollywood and strikes paydirt with his first blockbuster, Champion, in 1949. More “star” tropes follow with women falling at his feet thereafter. He recalls having sex for 29 straight days with 29 different women and going impotent on the 30th day! A wink, a nod, a whisper in her ear, and unknown women would follow him to his car or hotel suite for sex, even though he had a wife and kids waiting for him at home. He laments the next generations’ inability to engage so freely as he did after AIDS surfaced in the ’80s. And yet, he also pursues women who are hard to get until they beat him: he was engaged to Pier Angeli for years but never consummated the relationship until it fell apart.
Star roles lead him to founding his own production company named after his mother, Bryna. There is a lot of information on how movies are made, from financing, to location-scouting, to production, to promotion, and on the lives of actors, scriptwriters, directors, and producers. Major movie players from the 20th century get a mention in this book because Douglas knew them all, and the ones he didn’t like get called out without fear of sanction: “Stanley Kubrick is a talented shit,” he says of his director of Spartacus.
Like all arts industries, the movies are based on connections. More tropes: Spartacus was mired in problems, despite being a box office hit; he whacked women (upon their request) so they could “get into character���; he was swindled of his savings by a crooked agent; he opposed the studio contract system; he hired Dalton Trumbo, blacklisted screenwriter by HUAC, to write Spartacus - the list goes on. Yet, a couple of things eluded him: he never cracked the Broadway nut as a star, and he couldn’t play the role he had coveted for so long: the lead in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, that went to Jack Nicholson because Douglas was deemed too old by the time the movie was made.
In his later years, he made documentaries about social issues: the refugee crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Israel, and the plight of those in nursing homes. He became a US goodwill ambassador, supporting Republican and Democratic presidents, although he was a card-carrying Democrat. His three-movies -per-year routine slumped down to one-per-year as health issues got in the way, like a pacemaker at 69 which he details in a full chapter – one in which he finally acknowledges the value of a 32-year marriage to a wife who stood by him despite his public peccadillos. Mortality is humbling, even for the likes of Kirk Douglas.
He definitely was a man of his time, living the full life during an age when macho men ruled and Hollywood actors were next to God.
July 5, 2020
Kirk Douglas wrote a very (very!) candid autobiography. It was published in 1988 when he was about 70. He died earlier this year (2020) at age 103. He was the son of Jewish illiterate immigrants from Russia and Ukraine and grew up extremely poor in Amsterdam, NY, with five sisters and a father who was distant and unloving, which he regretted his entire life. His story was a window into the movie business in the 20th century. Douglas knew most of the prominent actors and actresses of the age and was familiar with the movies of the era. What I liked most was his expression of wonder at his successes. He never forgot his simple beginnings. I read his autobiography because I am in a summer movie discussion group which plans to discuss 4 of his movies during the month of July after watching the movies independently. First up, Sparticus, which I watched (again) last week. I enjoyed hearing his description of working on the details of that movie in his book.
September 2, 2025
Raw and honest which makes you appreciate the man. The book started out strong with Kirk's childhood and ambitions and hard work, but then the middle was constantly filled with his affairs and all the women he was involved with. It was getting too much and I started to lose my respect for him. For someone who always argued to do what was "right", like a certain character's action in a movie he was involved in, he seemed to make a lot of choices that contradicted that principle. But the book finishes on a high note, Kirk now much older and full of wisdom, reflects on his life, and ties it back to his childhood. I felt he had a message that was worth reading and making you reflect. There is a lot of emption, Kirk shares his hurt feelings often, and tends to make a comment from his later life in the middle of discussing an event when he was much younger. It doesn't break the flow of the narrative and it was easy to follow. Overall, I'm glad I read the book.
May 11, 2017
One of the most detailed, self-reflective and exhaustive memoirs I've read. He is, as he promises to be, unflinchingly honest. What this reveals is a man who is often sympathetic and thoughtful, but also frequently egotistical and insecure. Who in Hollywood isn't, I guess? And one must take into account that men were expected to be cads in his era.
His sentimentality in later years for his second wife, Anne, and his sons is very touching. His early stories of growing up dirt poor as the son of Russian immigrants is gripping.
It's a pretty remarkable life. To think Kirk Douglas is still kicking at 101, too! He's one of the very last of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and he has some pretty juicy stories to tell.
It's a great read -- definitely recommend!
His sentimentality in later years for his second wife, Anne, and his sons is very touching. His early stories of growing up dirt poor as the son of Russian immigrants is gripping.
It's a pretty remarkable life. To think Kirk Douglas is still kicking at 101, too! He's one of the very last of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and he has some pretty juicy stories to tell.
It's a great read -- definitely recommend!
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