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    Kirk Douglas, Hollywood Tough Guy And 'Spartacus' Superstar, Dies At 103

    by Bob Mondello Feb 05, 2020 4 minutes
    In 1960, Douglas produced and starred in his most well-known film, <em>Spartacus</em>. The film cost more than $12 million and began the dissolution of the Hollywood blacklist when Douglas insisted that screenwriter Dalton Trumbo receive on-screen credit for his work.

    Kirk Douglas, the self-described "ragman's son" who became a global Hollywood superstar in the 1950s and '60s, died on Wednesday. He was 103. Douglas was often cast as a troubled tough guy in films, most famously as a rebellious Roman slave named Spartacus. Off-screen, he was devoted to family and to humanitarian causes.

    His son Michael Douglas announced the actor's death: "To the world he was a legend. ... But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad."

    "Kirk's life was well lived, 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

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