Douglas, Michael 1944–
Douglas, Michael 1944–
(M. K. Douglas)
PERSONAL
Full name, Michael Kirk Douglas; born September 25, 1944, in New Brunswick, NJ; son of Kirk Douglas (an actor, producer, and writer; original name, Issur Danielovitch Demsky) and Diana Dill Douglas (an actress); stepson of William Darrid (an actor, producer, and writer) and Anne Buydens (a producer and publicist); brother of Joel Douglas (a director, producer, and executive); half brother of Peter Douglas (a actor, director, producer, and writer) and Eric Douglas (an actor and comedian); married Diandra Morrell Luker (a model, art museum employee, and documentary producer), March 20, 1977 (divorced); married Catherine Zeta-Jones (an actress), November 18, 2000; children: (first marriage) Cameron Morrell (an actor); (second marriage) Dylan Michael, Carys Zeta. Education: University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A., 1968; trained for the stage at National Playwrights Conference, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Waterford, CT, in the 1960s; studied acting with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and with Wynn Handman at the American Place Theatre; attended Choate Rosemary Hall (formerly known as Choate School). Avocational Interests: Watching sports, playing pool.
Addresses: Office—Further Films, 100 Universal City Plaza, Building 1320, Suite 4G, Universal City, CA 91608. Agent—Endeavor, 9601 Wilshire Blvd., Sixth Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212; William Morris Agency, One William Morris Place, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.
Career: Actor, producer, and director. Appeared in advertisements. Big Stick Productions, Douglas/Reuther Productions, Further Films, and Stonebridge Entertainment, founder; affiliated with Victorine Studios, Nice, France. Third Stone/Atlantic (record label), founder; L.A. Weekly (newspaper), part owner; Michael Douglas Foundation, founder; Committee on Concern, founder; trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Foundation and the University of California, Santa Barbara. United Nations Messenger of Peace, beginning 1998; Council on Foreign Relations, member, beginning 2005. Worked as a gas station attendant.
Member: Screen Actors Guild.
Awards, Honors: Golden Globe Award nomination, most promising newcomer—male, 1970, for Hail, Hero!; Theatre World Award, best debut performance, 1971, for Pinkville; Emmy Award nominations, best supporting actor in a drama, 1974, outstanding continuing performance by a supporting actor in a drama series, 1975 and 1976, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best television actor—drama, 1975, all for The Streets of San Francisco; Academy Award, best picture, and Golden Globe Award, best motion picture—drama, both with Saul Zaentz, both 1975, for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest; Producer of the Year Award (with others), National Association of Theatre Owners, 1976; Special Award, star/producer of the year, ShoWest Convention, National Association of Theatre Owners, 1979; Genie Award nomination, best performance by a foreign actor, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, 1980, for Running; Producer of the Year Award, National Association of Theatre Owners, 1984; named one of the top ten box office stars, 1985; named to the list of top moneymaking actors, Quigley Publications, six times between 1985 and 1995; National Board of Review Award, best actor, 1987, Academy Award, best actor in a leading role, Golden Globe Award, best performance by an actor in a motion picture—drama, Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award, best actor, David di Donatello Award, best foreign actor, and Silver Ribbon, best actor—foreign film, Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists, all 1988, all for Wall Street; People's Choice Award, favorite motion picture actor, 1988; Film Award nomination, best actor, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1989, for Fatal Attraction; Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a motion picture—comedy/musical, 1990, for The War of the Roses; Spencer Tracy Award, University of California, Los Angeles, 1990; Hasty Pudding Man of the Year, Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Harvard University, 1992; American Cinematheque Award, American Cinematheque Gala Tribute, 1993; MTV Movie Award nominations, best male performance and (with Sharon Stone) best on-screen duo, both 1993, for Basic Instinct; People's Choice Award, special tribute, 1996; Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a motion picture—comedy/musical, 1996, for The American President; Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award, San Sebastian International Film Festival, 1997; named one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, Empire magazine, 1997; left handprints and footprints at Mann Chinese Theatre, 1997; Special Prize, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 1998, for "outstanding contribution to world cinema"; Honorary Award, Cesar awards, Academie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema (France), 1998; awarded the Order of Arts and Letters, France, 1998; Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination, favorite actor—suspense, 1999, for A Perfect Murder; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award and Sierra Award nomination, Las Vegas Film Critics Society, both best actor, both 2000, Golden Satellite Award, best performance by an actor in a motion picture, International Press Academy, Southeastern Film Critics Association Award, best actor, Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a motion picture—drama, Chicago Film Critics Association Award nomination, best actor, Film Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a leading role, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, ALFS Award nomination, actor of the year, London Critics Circle Film awards, and Online Film Critics Society Award nomination, best actor, all 2001, for Wonder Boys; Screen Actors Guild Award (with others), outstanding performance by the cast of a theatrical motion picture, and Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination, favorite actor—drama, both 2001, for Traffic; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding guest actor in a comedy series, 2002, for "Fagel Attraction," an episode of Will & Grace; Cecil B. DeMille Award, Golden Globe awards, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, 2004; Taormina Arte Award, Taormina International Film Festival, 2004: Prospero Award, Bermuda International Film Festival, 2006.
CREDITS
Film Appearances:
(Uncredited) Jeep driver, Cast a Giant Shadow, United Artists, 1966.
Carl Dixon, Hail, Hero!, National General, 1969.
Constable, Where's Jack? (also known as Run, Rebel, Run), Paramount, 1969.
Adam Gaines, Adam at 6:00 A.M. (also known as Adam at 6 A.M.), National General, 1970.
Jerry, Summertree, Columbia, 1971.
Danny, Napoleon and Samantha, Buena Vista, 1972.
Dr. Mark Bellows, Coma, United Artists, 1978.
Michael Andropolis, Running (also known as Le vainqueur), Universal, 1979.
Richard Adams, The China Syndrome, Columbia, 1979.
Ben Lewin, It's My Turn (also known as A Perfect Circle), Columbia, 1980.
Jack Colton, Romancing the Stone (also known as 2 bribones tras la esmeralda perdida), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1984.
Superior court judge Steven R. Hardin, The Star Chamber, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1984.
Jack Colton, The Jewel of the Nile, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1985.
Zach, A Chorus Line (musical), Columbia, 1985.
Dan Gallagher, Fatal Attraction (also known as Affairs of the Heart and Diversion), Paramount, 1987.
Gordon Gekko, Wall Street, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1987.
Nick Conklin, Black Rain, Paramount, 1989.
Oliver Rose, The War of the Roses, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1989.
Detective Nick Curran, Basic Instinct (also known as Ice Cold Desire and Love Hurts), TriStar, 1992.
Ed Leland, Shining Through, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1992.
William Foster (also known as D-Fens), Falling Down (also known as Chute libre), Warner Bros., 1993.
Tom Sanders, Disclosure, Warner Bros., 1994.
President Andrew Shepherd (title role), The American President, Columbia, 1995.
Charles Remington, The Ghost and the Darkness, Paramount, 1996.
Nicholas Van Orton, The Game, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1997.
Steven Taylor, A Perfect Murder (also known as Dial M for Murder), Warner Bros., 1998.
Himself, Forever Hollywood (documentary), Esplanade Productions/The American Cinematheque, 1999.
Himself, Get Bruce (documentary; also known as Get Bruce!), Miramax, 1999.
Narrator, One Day in September (documentary; also known as Ein Tag im September), Sony Pictures Classics, 1999.
Grady Tripp, Wonder Boys (also known as Die Wonder Boys and Wonderboys—Lauter Wunderknaben), Paramount, 2000.
Dr. Nathan R. Conrad, Don't Say a Word, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2001.
Mr. Burmeister, One Night at McCool's, October Films/USA Films, 2001.
Narrator, In Search of Peace—Part One: 1948–1967 (documentary; also known as In Search of Peace), Seventh Art Releasing, 2001.
Robert Wakefield, Traffic (also known as Traffic—Die Macht des Kartells), USA Films, 2001.
Alex Gromberg, It Runs in the Family (also known as Family Jewels, A Few Good Years, Smack in the Kisser, and Smack in the Puss), Buena Vista, 2003.
Himself, Declaration of Independence (short documentary), 2003.
Narrator, Direct Order (documentary), 2003.
Steve Tobias, The In-Laws (also known as Till Death Do Us Party, The Wedding Party, Wild Wedding—Ein ungleiches Paar, and Ein Ungleiches Paar), Warner Bros., 2003.
Man on television, The Beautiful Country, ContentFilm International/TF1 International, 2004, Sony Pictures Classics, 2005.
Himself, Tell Them Who You Are (documentary), 2004, ThinkFilm, 2005.
Mr. Thompson, You, Me and Dupree, Universal, 2006.
Pete Garrison, The Sentinel, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2006.
Charlie (the father), The King of California, Nu-Image Films, c. 2006.
Some sources cite appearances in A Song for David, c. 1996; and in Still Life (also known as Family Life), Universal, c. 1999.
Film Executive Producer:
Running (also known as Le vainqueur), Universal, 1979.
Starman (also known as John Carpenter's "Starman"), Columbia, 1984.
Radio Flyer, Columbia, 1992.
(With others) Eyes of an Angel (also known as The Tender), Trans World Entertainment, 1994.
The Ghost and the Darkness, Paramount, 1996.
Face/Off (also known as Face Off), Paramount, 1997.
The Rainmaker (also known as John Grisham's "The Rainmaker"), Paramount, 1997.
The Husband I Bought, Hit and Run Productions/IAC Holdings, 2001.
Film Producer:
(With Saul Zaentz) One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, United Artists, 1975.
The China Syndrome, Columbia, 1979.
Romancing the Stone (also known as 2 bribones tras la esmeralda perdida), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1984.
The Jewel of the Nile, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1985.
(With Rick Bieber) Flatliners, Columbia, 1990.
(With others) Double Impact, Columbia, 1991.
(With others) Stone Cold, Columbia, 1991.
Made in America, Warner Bros., 1993.
One Night at McCool's, October Films/USA Films, 2001.
It Runs in the Family (also known as Family Jewels, A Few Good Years, Smack in the Kisser, and Smack in the Puss), Buena Vista, 2003.
The Sentinel, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2006.
Some sources credit Douglas as the producer of A Song for David, c. 1996; and Godspeed, Lawrence Mann, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, c. 2001.
Film Assistant Director:
Lonely Are the Brave (also known as The Last Hero), Universal, 1962.
Heroes of Telemark (also known as Anthony Mann's "Heroes of Telemark'), Columbia, 1965.
Casta Giant Shadow, United Artists, 1966.
Film Work; Other:
Gofer, Spartacus (also known as Spartacus: Rebel against Rome), Universal International Pictures, 1960.
Assistant film editor, Lonely Are the Brave (also known as The Last Hero), Universal, 1962.
Television Appearances; Series:
Inspector Steve Keller, The Streets of San Francisco, ABC, 1972–76.
Television Appearances; Miniseries:
(In archive footage) Himself, TV Land Moguls, TV Land, 2004.
(In archive footage) Retrosexual: The 80s, VH1, 2004.
(In archive footage) I Love the '90: Part Deux, VH1, 2005.
Television Appearances; Movies:
Craig, When Michael Calls (also known as Shattered Silence), ABC, 1972.
Television Appearances; Specials:
(As M. K. Douglas) Scientist, "Experiment," The CBS Playhouse (also known as The CBS Playhouse: Experiment), CBS, 1969.
Himself, TVTV Looks at the Academy Awards, 1976.
Male team member, Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes 4, CBS, 1979.
Himself, The Making of "The China Syndrome," 1979.
Himself, Handguns Aren't the Answer (short documentary), 1984.
Night of 100 Stars II (also known as Night of One Hundred Stars), ABC, 1985.
The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1987.
The World's Greatest Stunts: A Tribute to Hollywood's Stuntmen, ABC, 1988.
From the Heart: The First International Very Special Arts Festival (also known as The Very Special Arts Festival), NBC, 1989.
Premiere Presents: Christmas Movies '89, Fox, 1989.
Host, That's What Friends Are For, CBS, 1990.
Host, Tribute to John Lennon, syndicated, 1990.
Himself, Time Warner Presents the Earth Day Special (also known as The Earth Day Special), ABC, 1990.
Narrator, If Dolphins Could Talk, PBS, 1990.
First Person with Maria Shriver, NBC, 1992.
Oliver Stone: Inside Out (also known as Oliver Stone), Showtime, 1992.
Rock the Vote, Fox, 1992.
Himself, Michael Douglas' Favorite Films, Cinemax, 1993.
November 22, 1993, Where Were You? A Larry King Special Live from Washington, TNT, 1993.
What Is This Thing Called Love?, ABC, 1993.
The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1995.
(In archive footage) 50 Years of Funny Females, ABC, 1995.
Jack Lemmon, PBS, 1996.
Himself, Burt Lancaster, American Movie Classics, 1997.
Himself, Cannes … les 400 coups (documentary), [France], 1997.
Himself, The 53rd Presidential Inaugural Gala: An American Journey (also known as The 53rd Presidential Inaugural Gala), CBS, 1997.
Cohost, To Life! American Celebrates Israel's 50th (also known as America Celebrates Israel's 50th), CBS, 1998.
Himself, Where It's At: The Rolling Stone State of the Union (also known as The 30th Anniversary of Rolling Stone), ABC, 1998.
Himself, Fox Studios Australia: The Grand Opening, Nine Network (Australia), 1999.
Himself, Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (also known as Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Primetime Special), NBC, 1999.
NetAid (also known as NetAid: A Concert Special), VH1, 1999.
Himself, The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 2000.
Himself, Inside Traffic: The Making of "Traffic," 2000.
Himself, We All Dream of Oz, TNT, 2000.
Himself, One on One with David Frost: Michael Douglas, Arts and Entertainment, 2001.
Independence Day 2001, ABC, 2001.
Back in the U.S., ABC, 2002.
Host, The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Concert (also known as Nobel Peace Prize Concert), Arts and Entertainment, 2003.
100% NYC: A Concert Celebrating the Tribeca Film Festival, VH1 and MTV, 2003.
Himself, Hollywood Home Movies, Arts and Entertainment, 2004.
(In archive footage) Die Geschichte des erotischen Films, 2004.
Himself, A Father … a Son … Once upon a Time in Hollywood (documentary), HBO, 2005.
Himself, Super Bowl XXXIX, Fox, 2005.
Himself, Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope, multiple networks, 2005.
Will & Grace: Backstage Pass, Lifetime, 2005.
Himself and in archive footage, VH1 News Presents: Celebrity Pre-nups, VH1, 2006.
Appeared in other programs.
Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:
The 48th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1976.
Presenter, The 57th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1985.
The 59th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1987.
The American Film Institute Salute to Jack Lemmon (also known as The AFI Salute to Jack Lemmon), CBS, 1988.
The 14th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 1988.
The 60th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1988.
Presenter, The 61st Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1989.
The 15th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 1989.
Host, The 19th Annual American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Kirk Douglas (also known as The AFI Salute to Kirk Douglas and The American Film Institute Salute to Kirk Douglas), CBS, 1991.
(Uncredited) Presenter, The 63rd Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1991.
Presenter, The 46th Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1992.
Presenter, The 64th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1992.
Host, The 1993 World Music Awards, ABC, 1993.
Presenter, The 20th Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 1994.
The American Film Institute Salute to Jack Nicholson (also known as The AFI Salute to Jack Nicholson), CBS, 1994.
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, CBS, 1994.
Presenter of tribute to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Awards, ABC, 1995.
The 22nd Annual People's Choice Awards, CBS, 1996.
Presenter, The 69th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1997.
(Uncredited) The 70th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1998.
Presenter, The 57th Annual Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 2000.
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, Fox, 2000.
Presenter, The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, CBS, 2001.
Presenter, The 73rd Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2001.
Presenter, The 75th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2003.
Presenter, 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as Screen Actors Guild 10th Annual Awards), TNT, 2004.
The 76th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 2004.
The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards, NBC, 2004.
Premio Donastia a Willem Dafoe, 2005.
17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, 2006.
2006 ALMA Awards, ABC, 2006.
Television Appearances; Episodic:
Himself, "Kirk Douglas," This Is Your Life, NBC, 1958.
Jerome Williams, "The Hitchhiker," The F.B.I., ABC, 1971.
Jonathan Crowley, "The Albatross," Medical Center, CBS, 1971.
Himself, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (also known as The Best of Carson), NBC, 1971, 1992.
Guest host, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, Saturday Night Live '80, SNL, and SNL 25), NBC, 1984.
The Story of Hollywood, TNT, c. 1988.
Himself, Aspel & Company, Independent Television (England), 1990.
Himself, "Liberals," Dennis Miller Live, HBO, 1995.
Himself, Inside the Actors Studio, Bravo, 1995.
Himself, "The Films of Rob Reiner," The Directors, Encore, c. 1996.
Himself, "Wetten, dass …? Aus Boeblingen," Wetten, dass …?, 1997.
Himself, Mundo VIP, SIC Televisao (Portugal), 1997, 1998.
Himself, "Karl Malden: Workingman's Actor," Biography (also known as A & E Biography: Karl Malden), Arts and Entertainment, 1998.
(In archive footage) Himself, Femmes Fatales: Sharon Stone, 1998.
Himself, The Magic Hour, syndicated, 1998.
Himself, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 1998, 2000.
Himself, "Costume Design," The Hollywood Fashion Machine, American Movie Classics, 1999.
Himself, Howard Stern (also known as The Howard Stern Radio Show), E! Entertainment Television, 1999.
Himself, "The Films of Milos Forman," The Directors, Encore, c. 1999.
Himself, The Film Programme (also known as Film 2000), BBC, 2000.
Himself, Intimate Portrait: Madeleine Albright, Lifetime, 2000.
Himself, Inside the Actors Studio, Bravo, 2001.
Himself, The Ray Martin Show, 2001.
Himself, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 2001, 2003, 2006.
Detective Gavin Hatch, "Fagel Attraction," Will & Grace, NBC, 2002.
Himself, "World Sports Award," Leute heute, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Germany), 2002.
Voice of Patrick Henry, "Liberty or Death!," Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776 (animated; also known as Liberty Kids), PBS, 2002.
Himself, On the Record with Bob Costas, HBO, c. 2002.
Host, "Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone," What's Going On?, Showtime, 2003.
Himself, "Sharon Stone," Biography (also known as A & E Biography: Sharon Stone), Arts and Entertainment, 2003.
Himself, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Independent Television, 2003.
Himself, Beckmann, 2003.
Himself, Tinseltown TV (also known as Tinseltown. TV), International Channel, 2003.
(In archive footage) Himself, Celebrities Uncensored, E! Entertainment Television, 2003, 2004.
Himself, The Oprah Winfrey Show (also known as Oprah), syndicated, 2003 (multiple episodes), 2004.
Himself, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, CBC, 2004.
Himself, "Fatal Attraction," Movies That Shock the World, American Movie Classics, 2005.
(In archive footage) Oliver Rose, "Guerra de sexes," Sexes, Televisio de Catalunya (TV3, Spain), 2005.
(In archive footage) Detective Nick Curran, Cinema mil, Televisio de Catalunya, 2005.
Himself, All-Star Cup 2005 (also known as Celebrity Ryder Cup), British Sky Broadcasting, 2005.
Himself, Caiga quien caiga, Telecino (Spain), 2005.
(In archive footage) Himself, Cinema mil, Televisio de Catalunya, 2005.
(In archive footage) Himself, Corazon, corazon, Television Espanola (TVE, Spain), 2005.
Himself, La azotea de Wyoming, Television Espanola, 2005.
Himself, Larry King Live, Cable News Network, 2005.
(Uncredited; in archive footage) Oliver Rose, Silenci?, Televisio de Catalunya, 2005.
"The China Syndrome," Movies That Shock the World, American Movie Classics, 2005.
(In archive footage) Himself, Corazon, corazon, Television Espanola, 2005, 2006.
Himself, "Howard 100 News," Howard Stern on Demand (also known as Howard TV on Demand), In Demand, 2006.
Himself, "Jack Lemmon," The Hollywood Greats (also known as Hollywood Greats), BBC, 2006.
Himself, The Late Show with David Letterman (also known as The Late Show and Late Show Backstage), CBS, multiple appearances, including multiple appearances in 2006.
Himself, The View, ABC, 2006.
Famous: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Biography Channel, c. 2006.
Appeared in episodes of other series, including Late Night with David Letterman, NBC.
Television Appearances; Pilots:
Inspector Steve Keller, The Streets of San Francisco, ABC, 1972.
Television Director; Episodic:
"Spooks for Sale," The Streets of San Francisco, ABC, 1975.
Television Work; Series:
Executive producer, Starman, ABC, 1986–87.
Television Work; Other:
Some sources credit Douglas as the producer of Conquistador, the Conquest of Mexico.
Stage Appearances:
Summertree, National Playwrights Conference, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Waterford, CT, 1960.
(As M. K. Douglas) Boy with an eye patch, Conerico Was Here to Say (one-act) and William Saroyan O'Neill, Paradise Gardens East (one-act), both produced as part of Frank Gagliano's "City Scene" (also known as City Scene), Fortune Theatre, New York City, 1969.
Understudy, The Whistling Wizard and the Sultan of Tuffet (musical), Bill Baird Theatre, New York City, 1969–70.
Jerry the Naz, Pinkville, St. Clement's Church, New York City, 1971.
Night of 100 Stars II (also known as Night of One Hundred Stars), Radio City Music Hall, New York City, 1985.
Appeared in Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden and Six Characters in Search of an Author, both Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, New York City; also appeared in Love Is a Time of Day, New York City.
Stage Work:
Coproducer, The Best of Friends, Westside Theatre (Upstairs), New York City, 1993.
Radio Appearances:
Himself, The Howard Stern Radio Show (also known as Howard Stern), 1999, Sirius Radio, 2006.
RECORDINGS
Videos:
Completely Cuckoo (also known as The Making of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"), Warner Home Video, 1997.
Money Never Sleeps, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2000.
Wonder Boys: A Look between the Pages, Paramount, 2000.
Blonde Poison: The Making of "Basic Instinct," Artisan Entertainment, 2001.
Sex at 24 Frames per Second (documentary; also known as Playboy Presents "Sex at 24 Frames per Second: The Ultimate Journey through Sex in Cinema"), Playboy Entertainment Group, 2003.
The China Syndrome: Creating a Controversy, Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment, 2004.
The China Syndrome: A Fusion of Talent, Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment, 2004.
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema, Warner Bros., 2005.
The Jewel of the Nile: Adventures of a Romance Novelist, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2006.
Romancing the Stone: A Hidden Treasure—The Screenwriter, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2006.
Audiobooks:
Kirk Douglas, My Stroke of Luck, HarperAudio, 2003.
Music Videos:
Billy Ocean, "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going," 1985.
Bob Dylan, "Things Have Changed," 2000.
WRITINGS
Screenplays:
A Song for David, c. 1996.
OTHER SOURCES
Books:
International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, St. James Press, 2000.
Kaye, Annene, and Jim Sclavunos, Michael Douglas and the Douglas Clan, W. H. Allen, 1989.
Lawson, Alan, Michael Douglas, Ulverscroft Large Print Books, 1994.
Press, Skip, Michael and Kirk Douglas, Crestwood House, 1995.
Periodicals:
Access, April 4, 2000, p. 4.
American Film, July/August, 1979.
BuzzWeekly September, 1997.
Empire, October, 1997, p. 199.
Entertainment Weekly, September 29, 1995; December 5, 1997, p. 48.
Film Comment, January/February, 1990.
Films and Filming, December, 1989.
Films Illustrated, September, 1979.
Interview, August, 2005, p. 68.
Los Angeles, December 4, 1994; October 4, 1997.
Los Angeles Times Magazine, January 21, 2001, pp.10-15, 36.
Movieline, December, 2000, pp. 54-60, 117.
Movieline's Hollywood Life, March, 2006, pp. 94-97, 109.
New York Times, December 3, 1989; March 11, 1993.
Parade, April 6, 2003, p. 24.
People Weekly, June 1, 1998, p. 138; January 24, 2000; February 14, 2000; May 5, 2003, p. 73.
Photoplay Film Monthly, May, 1976.
Premiere, May, 2006, p. 128.
Radio Times, January 13, 1990, p. 76.
Rolling Stone, November 5, 1987, pp. 247-50; January 14, 1988.
Time, March 21, 2005, p. 89.
Time Out, August 23, 1984; January 20, 1988.
TV Guide, April 20, 2002, pp. 40-44; August 7, 2005, pp. 34-35.
US, August, 1998.
US Weekly, September 25, 2000, pp. 60-70.
Vanity Fair, January, 1995.
Variety, August 31, 1998.
Village Voice, March 7, 1995.
Washington Post, August 13, 2005.
Douglas, Michael
DOUGLAS, Michael
Nationality: American. Born: Michael Kirk Douglas in New Brunswick, New Jersey, 25 September 1944; son of the actor Kirk Douglas. Education: Attended Choate preparatory school, Wallingford, Connecticut; University of California at Santa Barbara, graduated in drama, 1968; studied acting with Wynn Handman at the American Place Theatre in New York City. Family: Married Diandra Luker, 1977 (divorced), son: Cameron. Career: Worked as an assistant director on a film starring his father, The Heroes of Telemark, 1965; also acted at the O'Neill Center's Playwrights' Conference during university vacations; made his screen debut in Hail, Hero!, 1969; appeared as Inspector Steve Keller in The Streets of San Francisco for TV, 1972–76; was co-producer of the Oscar-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975; signed a three-year production deal with Columbia Pictures, 1988. Awards: Best Picture Academy Award, for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975; Best Actor Academy Award, National Board of Review Best Actor, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama Golden Globe, for Wall Street, 1987; Hasty Pudding Theatricals Man of the Year, 1992; San Sebastian International Film Festival Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award, 1997; Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Special Prize for Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema, 1998; Honorary Cesar Award, 1998. Address: c/o Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, U.S.A.
Films as Actor:
- 1969
Hail, Hero! (Miller) (as Carl Dixon)
- 1970
Adam at 6 A.M. (Scheerer) (as Adam Gaines)
- 1971
Summertree (Newley) (as Jerry McAdams); When Michael Calls (Shattered Silence) (Leacock—for TV) (as Craig)
- 1972
Napoleon and Samantha (McEveety) (as Danny); The Streets of San Francisco (Grauman—for TV) (as Steve Keller)
- 1978
Coma (Crichton) (as Mark Bellows)
- 1979
The China Syndrome (Bridges) (as Richard Adams) (+ pr); Running (Steyn) (as Michael Andropolis)
- 1980
It's My Turn (Weill) (as Ben Lewin)
- 1983
The Star Chamber (Hyams) (as Steven Hardin)
- 1984
Romancing the Stone (Zemeckis) (as Jack C. Colton) (+ pr)
- 1985
A Chorus Line (Attenborough) (as Zach); The Jewel of the Nile (Teague) (as Jack C. Colton) (+ pr)
- 1987
Fatal Attraction (Lyne) (as Dan Gallagher); Wall Street (Stone) (as Gordon Gekko)
- 1989
Black Rain (Scott) (as Nick Conklin); The War of the Roses (DeVito) (as Oliver Rose)
- 1992
Shining Through (Seltzer) (as Ed Leland); Basic Instinct (Verhoeven) (as Detective Nick Curran)
- 1993
Falling Down (Schumacher) (as William Foster/D-Fens)
- 1994
Disclosure (Levinson) (as Tom Sanders)
- 1995
The American President (Reiner) (as President Andrew Shepherd)
- 1996
The Ghost and the Darkness (Hopkins) (as Remington) (+ co-exec pr)
- 1997
The Game (Fincher) (as Nicholas Van Orton)
- 1998
A Perfect Murder (Davis) (as Steven Taylor)
- 1999
Forever Hollywood (Glassman, McCarthy) (doc) (as himself)
- 2000
Wonder Boys (Hanson) (as Grady Tripp); One Night At McCool's (Zwart) (as Mr. Burmcister) (+ pr); Traffic (Soderbergh) (as Judge Robert Lewis)
Other Films:
- 1962
Lonely Are the Brave (Miller) (asst d)
- 1965
The Heroes of Telemark (Anthony Mann) (asst d)
- 1966
Cast a Giant Shadow (Shavelson) (asst d)
- 1975
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Forman) (co-pr)
- 1984
Starman (John Carpenter's Starman) (Carpenter) (exec pr)
- 1990
Flatliners (Schumacher) (co-pr)
- 1991
Eyes of an Angel (The Tender) (Harmon) (exec pr)
- 1992
Radio Flyer (Richard Donner) (exec pr)
- 1993
Made in America (Benjamin) (co-pr)
- 1997
Face/Off (Woo) (co-exec pr); The Rainmaker (John Grisham's The Rainmaker) (Coppola) (co-exec pr)
- 2000
One Night at McCool's (Zwart) (pr)
Publications
By DOUGLAS: articles—
Interview in Photoplay Film Monthly (London), May 1976.
"Dialogue on Film: Michael Douglas," in American Film (Washington, D.C.), July/August 1979.
Interview in Films Illustrated (London), September 1979.
Interview in Ciné Revue (Paris), 5 February 1981.
Interviews in Time Out (London), 23 August 1984 and 20 January 1988.
Interview in Films and Filming (London), December 1989.
Interview with Fred Schruers in Rolling Stone (New York), 14 January 1988.
"Business as Usual," interview with David Thomson, in Film Comment (New York), January/February 1990.
"Angry Everyman with a Reason to Smile," interview with Janet Maslin, in New York Times, 11 March 1993.
"Michael's Full Disclosure," interview with Nancy Collins, in Vanity Fair (New York), January 1995.
On DOUGLAS: books—
Douglas, Kirk, The Ragman's Son, New York, 1988.
Kaye, Annene, and Jim Sclavunos, Michael Douglas and the Douglas Clan, London, 1989.
Stresau, Norbert, Michael Douglas: Seine Filme, sein Leben, Munich, 1990.
Press, Skip, Michael and Kirk Douglas, Parsippany, New Jersey, 1995.
On DOUGLAS: articles—
Current Biography 1987, New York, 1987.
Collins, N., "Michael's Full Disclosure," in Vanity Fair (New York), January 1995.
Hoberman, J., "Victim Victorious," in Village Voice (New York), 7 March 1995.
Thompson, Anne, "The Art of the Hollywood Deal: Michael Douglas's Mini Movie Studio Moves Ahead with Four Films," in Entertainment Weekly (New York), 29 September 1995.
Griffin, N., "Going the Distance," in Los Angeles, October 1997.
Rajchman, Olivier, "La soupe au piston," in Cine Live (Paris), October 1998.
Cotillon, Laurent, Philippe Paumier, and Gregory Alexandre, "Mon brushing? Im-pec-cable," in Cine Live (Paris), October 1998.
Bouyxou, Jean-Pierre, "Il la grise comme du champagne. . . ," in Paris Match, 22 July 1999.
* * *
Son of the equally famous movie icon Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas has come to personify the contemporary, Caucasian middle-to-upper-class American male who finds himself the brunt of female anger because of real or imagined sexual slights. To this harried representative of his gender, any kind of sexual contact with someone other than his mate and the mother of his children is destined to come at a costly price.
In Fatal Attraction, he is an otherwise happily married man whose one-night stand with a seductress-from-Hell (Glenn Close) transforms his—and his family's—existence into a never-ending horror movie. In Basic Instinct—a title that purposefully features the same cadence as Fatal Attraction—he is a cop whose sense of professionalism evaporates when he becomes involved with a sexy murder suspect (Sharon Stone). Disclosure is a drama of sexual harassment in the workplace, only the tables are turned: the boss, the sexually aggressive harasser (Demi Moore), is a woman, while the underling, the happily-married nice-guy harassee (Douglas), is a man. The female characters in Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Disclosure are cutthroat villainesses, an anti-feminist's fantasy of a man-eating monster. Poor Michael Douglas is the Everyman who must contend with, and be victimized by, these women and their raging, psychotic sexuality.
A fourth film to add to this trio is The War of the Roses, only here Douglas's tormentor is his wife (Kathleen Turner), with whom he is in the throes of divorce and cannot agree on a property settlement. The War of the Roses extends the Douglas Everyman in that his tormentor does not come from outside the family circle. His character literally digs into the trenches and goes to war with the woman whom he once loved.
Falling Down is a natural extension of The War of the Roses. Here, Douglas plays an alienated powder keg who has lost his job and is estranged from his wife. All of his humanity has been stripped away by an uncaring society. One day, he explodes internally while his car is stuck in a traffic jam on a Los Angeles freeway, and he sets off on a violent odyssey across the urban landscape of Southern California.
Conversely, in Wall Street, Douglas for once gets to play the victimizer rather than the victim. Gordon Gekko is one of his most fascinating characters: the heaviest of heavy hitters, a stock and real estate speculator whose face adorns the cover of Fortune magazine. To Gekko, $800,000 is just another day's profit. Ambitious young stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) pursues Gekko, and soon becomes the master's protege. With this position comes a price, because involvement with the ruthless, passionless Gekko means twisting the rules, using insider information to trade stocks and artificially manipulate the market. If Gekko is no nice guy lost in a maze of aggressive females, he is another incarnation of the modern American male: the greedy yuppie personification of the Me generation, a white-collar criminal from skin to soul who is convinced that "greed is good," and who is a fitting corporate villain for the Reagan years. He is played by Douglas with just the right touch of menace and swagger.
Upon Douglas's earning major screen stardom in the mid-1980s with his delightful performance as an idealistic soldier of fortune in Romancing the Stone and its sequel, The Jewel of the Nile, it became easy to forget that he previously had enjoyed a successful career both in front of and behind the camera. In the 1970s, he co-starred with Karl Malden in the long-running television series, The Streets of San Francisco. He was the Academy Award-winning co-producer of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He had a nice supporting role in The China Syndrome (which he also produced), a first-rate drama about the attempted cover-up of a nuclear power plant accident and one of the most intelligent Hollywood films of the late 1970s. In 1983 he had an interesting starring role in The Star Chamber, a provocative drama about a judge who has come to regard as inadequate the legal system with which he is such an integral part, and who becomes involved with a diabolical vigilante group. After scoring in Fatal Attraction and Wall Street, Douglas proved he could play a Stallone-like action hero in his role as a New York cop in Black Rain.
During the second half of the 1990s, Douglas still kept playing yuppie victims and victimizers. He was the former in The Game, cast as a wealthy investment banker who becomes immersed in paranoia while participating in the title diversion; he was the latter in A Perfect Murder, an unnecessary remake of Dial M For Murder, playing a merciless commodities trader who schemes to do in his unfaithful wife (Gwyneth Paltrow). Douglas returned to the thriller genre in The Ghost and the Darkness, cast as a fabled American game hunter in 1896 East Africa. But in his best roles of the period, he deviates from these personas. First he reinvented himself as a suave, Clintonesque chief executive, a widower who begins dating a feisty environmental lobbyist (Annette Bening), in The American President. Then he gave his most acclaimed performance in years in Wonder Boys, cast as a disheveled, pot-smoking college English professor/writer who fears that he will be unable to repeat the success of his first novel.
—Rob Edelman
Douglas, Michael
DOUGLAS, MICHAEL
DOUGLAS, MICHAEL (1944– ), film actor and producer. Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Michael is the son of actor Kirk *Douglas. He received a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1968. Although his father tried to discourage him from entering show business, Michael would not be deterred. After graduating from university, he moved to New York City to continue his drama studies at the Neighborhood Playhouse and at the American Place Theatre.
Michael Douglas first made his mark in the television series The Streets of San Francisco (1972). He was the founder of Big Stick Productions and Stonebridge Entertainment. His first major success came as co-producer of the multi-Academy Award winning film One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). His career as a movie star began with Coma (1978) and Romancing the Stone (1984). He won an Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of a power-hungry New York stockbroker in the 1987 film Wall Street. Other leading roles were in The China Syndrome (1979), Running (1979), Jewel of the Nile (1985), A Chorus Line (1985), Fatal Attraction (1987), Black Rain (1989), The War of the Roses (1989), Basic Instinct (1992), Shining Through (1992), Falling Down (1993), Disclosure (1994), The American President (1995), A Perfect Murder (1998), Wonder Boys (2000), Traffic (2000), One Night at McCool's (2001), The In-Laws (2003), and The Ride to Mt. Morgan (2005).
The Michael Douglas Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in 1991. Among its goals, the foundation seeks to better the living conditions of those in need of assistance, promote peace within and among nations, and protect the global ecosystem. Over the years, the foundation has contributed to more than 90 charities worldwide. In 1998 Douglas was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace because of his efforts to focus world attention on nuclear disarmament and human rights.
In 2000 he married actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.
add. bibliography:
S. Press, Michael and Kirk Douglas, (1995).
[Jonathan Licht /
Rohan Saxena and
Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]