Kirk Douglas Issues Editorial on His 90th Birthday

yahoo News ^ | December 9, 2006 | Kirk Douglas

[Mel Gibson]

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- My name is Kirk Douglas. You may know me. If you don't ... Google me. I was a movie star and I'm Michael Douglas' dad, Catherine Zeta-Jones' father-in-law, and the grandparents of their two children. Today I celebrate my 90th birthday.

I have a message to convey to America's young people. A 90th birthday is special. In my case, this birthday is not only special but miraculous. I survived World War II, a helicopter crash, a stroke, and two new knees.

It's a tradition that when a "birthday boy" stands over his cake he makes a silent wish for his life and then blows out the candles. I have followed that tradition for 89 years but on my 90th birthday, I have decided to rebel. Instead of making a silent wish for myself, I want to make a LOUD wish for THE WORLD.

Let's face it: THE WORLD IS IN A MESS and you are inheriting it. Generation Y, you are on the cusp. You are the group facing many problems: abject poverty, global warming, genocide, AIDS, and suicide bombers to name a few. These problems exist, and the world is silent. We have done very little to solve these problems. Now, we leave it to you. You have to fix it because the situation is intolerable

[SMARTY]

I never liked his acting... he was always over acting and laid it on a little thick. I never could get past his self-consciousness about what he was doing.

[Rummyfan]

I never forget the girl singing that haunting song at the end (Kubrick married her).

My God - me too! That is one of the most moving scenes ever in film.

[monkapotamus]

[monkapotamus]

[tarheelswamprat]

...Kirk Douglas' best role was as Paul Eddington, "In Harm's Way'...

I liked that one, too. Another one of my Douglas favorites is an obscure sci-fi flick about an alternative-future "what-if?" Pearl Harbor attack scenario, entitled "The Final Countdown".

[kiriath_jearim]

Love your movies, Kirk...
But is it a perk
that Michael's a jerk?
He's got a quirk
for UN work
and in gun-controllers'
shadow he doth lurk
with a smirk, Kirk.

[nonsporting]

ROLE!

Rolling On [the] Linoleum Expectorating?

(Expelling? Exploding? Expiring? ...)

[Rummyfan]

Colonel Dax, with Oscar Goldman on the left!

[Rummyfan]

Douglas wasn't in HARVEY, the attendant was played by Jesse White.

[labette]

Behold, the dangers of engaging the keyboard before the mind is warmed up. Plus I was conversing on the side. {another F-R no-no.}

[Democratshavenobrains]

Unfortunately, the bar is so low that any actor who doesn't blame Bush for everything wrong in the world is considered a "conservative".

[fieldmarshaldj]

Happy birthday to Mr. Douglas.

[Vision]

These problems exist, and the world is silent. We have done very little to solve these problems. Now, we leave it to you. You have to fix it because the situation is intolerable.

Ahh...thanks, I guess. Maybe you could get involved instead of writing your swan song.

[onyx]

Good job, Leni.
Thanks.

[Borges]

I think it was fairly well known at the time. Hedda Hopper and John Wayne told people not to see Spartacus. The Communist admiration of Spartacus comes from Karl Marx who regarded the historical figure as one of his heroes. The initial crack in the Blacklist came not from Douglas but from Alfred Hitchcock who hired the blacklisted actor Norman Lloyd to work on his TV show in 1957. Lloyd is still alive at 95.