Actor Kirk Douglas has reportedly left his entire $60million fortune to charity.
Kirk was laid to rest on February 7 at the Westwood Memorial in Los Angeles, two days after he died at his home. He was 103.
According to the Mirror, Kirk didn’t leave any money to his son, Michael, a Hollywood star who has his own net worth of about $300million.
But Kirk, who was known for his charitable contributions throughout his life, did leave the money to several beneficiaries.
A total of $50million will be distributed through the Douglas Foundation, which was founded by Kirk and his wife, Anne.
Actor Kirk Douglas has reportedly left his entire $60million fortune to charity. He didn’t leave any money to his son, Michael, a Hollywood star who has his own net worth of about $300million
According to the Mirror, some of the beneficiaries include St Lawrence University, the Sinai Temple of Los Angeles, the Kirk Douglas Theatre and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Kirk is survived by his second wife Anne Buydens and three of his four sons: Michael, Joel, and Peter.
Michael, 75, responded to his father’s death by posting a series of pictures of the two of them together, including a family portrait with all Kirk’s sons. He called his father ‘a legend’, ‘a humanitarian’ and ‘a wonderful husband’.
‘It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,’ Michael wrote at the time.
‘To the world he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.
‘But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband.
‘Kirk’s life was well lived,’ Douglas added, ‘and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet’.
‘Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son,’ Michael said.
Kirk and Anne married in 1954. Kirk had two sons with Anne, Eric and Peter Douglas.
Their youngest son Eric tragically died of an accidental drug overdose in 2004 aged 46.
Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens, pictured together in 1954, were married for 65 years despite Douglas’ extramarital affairs
Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens pictured in 1963 with their son Peter – the couple had a second son Eric who died in 2004
Douglas is seen in a promotional still from the 1960 Stanley Kubrick film Spartacus
Michael Douglas and his brother Joel were the sons of Kirk and his first wife Diana Douglas, who died in 2015 aged 92.
German-born Anne, 100, met Kirk in Paris when she was the publicity girl on his 1953 film Act Of Love.
Anne initially turned down the job as Kirk had built up a reputation as a Lothario but eventually agreed to work with him as long as it was strictly business.
At the time, Kirk was engaged to actress Pier Angeli but says he ‘fell out of love with her’.
He married Anne in Las Vegas on May 29, 1954. Kirk admitted to extramarital affairs in their 65 years as a married couple.
Anne knew about the affairs and wrote: ‘One of the things I love most about Kirk is his inability to keep secrets… Let me explain my attitude concerning this. As a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage.’
Flowers adorn actor Kirk Douglas’ star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, in Los Angeles
Douglas suffered a stroke back in 1996 that left him with slurred speech and damaged facial nerves but it didn’t stop him from attending the Academy Awards ceremony two weeks later to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
He had been in relatively good health since his stroke.
Michael’s wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, 50, was among those leading the tributes in the wake of her father-in-law’s death, writing alongside a photo of the pair: ‘To my darling Kirk, I shall love you for the rest of my life. I miss you already. Sleep tight…’
A host of other Hollywood stars joined in the outpouring of grief, with celebrities and fans alike flooding social media to honor the legendary screen star after news of his death broke.
Sylvester Stallone, who shared a poster from Douglas’s 1949 boxing film Champion, wrote on Instagram: ‘KIRK DOUGLAS!!! The last great giant of my cinema heroes has passed on to Infinite glory. Amazing artist! The likes of which we will never ever see again!’
Steven Spielberg presented Douglas with an honorary Oscar at the Academy Awards in 1996 and was also one of those who gave remarks at the star’s 100th birthday party in December 2016.
‘Kirk retained his movie star charisma right to the end of his wonderful life and I’m honored to have been a small part of his last 45 years,’ Spielberg said.
‘I will miss his handwritten notes, letters and fatherly advice, and his wisdom and courage – even beyond such a breathtaking body of work – are enough to inspire me for the rest of mine.’
Kirk Douglas, left, and his wife Anne Douglas at the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscars Party in West Hollywood. Douglas, the intense, muscular actor with the dimpled chin who starred in “Spartacus,” “Lust for Life” and dozens of other films, died Wednesday
Actor Kirk Douglas, center, gets a kiss from his son Michael Douglas, left, and Michael’s wife Catherine Zeta-Jones during his 100th birthday party in Beverly Hills in 2016
Douglas was the son of Jewish Russian immigrants who rose through the ranks to become one of Hollywood’s biggest-ever stars.
The famed actor and producer, who was one of the last of Hollywood’s Golden Age, made more than 90 movies in a career that stretched across seven decades.
He was renowned for the macho tough guy roles he took on.
Films such as Spartacus and The Vikings made him one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and 60s.
Douglas received critical acclaim for his role in the 1960 classic Spartacus where he played the gladiator leader of a Roman slave revolt.
He was nominated three times for the best actor Oscar in 1949 for Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful in 1953 and Lust for Life in 1957.
Douglas never received an Academy Award for an individual film but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded him an honorary Oscar in 1996 for his role as a creative and moral force in the movie industry.