NEW YORK – Actor Kirk Douglas, whose Hollywood career spanned seven decades, has died aged 103, ‘British Broadcasting Corporation reports.
The stage and screen actor was well-known for a range of roles, including the 1960 classic Spartacus, in which he played the titular character.
Born in New York in 1916, he rose to prominence during Hollywood’s “golden age”, earning his first Oscar nomination for the 1949 film Champion.
He was also the father of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas.
His son Michael said in a statement: “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today.”
“To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies… but to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad,” it read in part.
“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’s wife and Kirk’s daughter-in-law, Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, posted a photo of the two together, writing: “I shall love you for the rest of my life. I miss you already.”
Kirk Douglas was an American actor, producer, director, philanthropist and author. After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters, he made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers with Barbara Stanwyck.