[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING ACTOR KIRK DOUGLAS

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 6, 2020

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember the great actor, 
humanitarian and philanthropist Kirk Douglas, who passed away Wednesday 
at the age of 103. Americans of a certain age will remember Kirk 
Douglas in his roles as Spartacus, leader of a slave revolt in ancient 
Rome; the painter Vincent Van Gogh; the gunfighter Doc Holliday; and 
General George S. Patton. Others will recall that he received the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom from Jimmy Carter and the Kennedy Center 
Honors award from President Bill Clinton. I will remember him for the 
personal note he sent to me in 2015 after I wished him well from the 
House floor on the occasion of his 99th birthday. I said that he would 
go down in Hollywood and American history for his courageous role in 
breaking the McCarthy era blacklist by putting the screenwriter Dalton 
Trumbo's name in the film credits for ``Spartacus.'' In his note to me, 
he said: ``Unfortunately, I have lived long enough to see that climate 
of fear and xenophobia reborn. I sincerely hope you and your fellow 
legislators will find a way to come together in these troubling times. 
It is essential that our leaders lead rather than follow the hateful 
messages of the new demagogues.'' He added that no one should take for 
granted ``the privilege of living in America.'' Mr. Douglas' 
humanitarianism was displayed not only in his choice of roles but in 
the messages of the films he produced. He said he loved the theme of 
``Lonely Are the Brave'' that, ``if you try to be an individual, 
society will crush you.'' He said he chose to play characters who were 
``part scoundrel,'' because ``I don't find virtue photogenic.'' His 
philanthropic activities through the Douglas Foundation, created in 
1964, included building 400 playgrounds in Los Angeles; creating the 
Douglas Family Early Childhood Center at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles; 
substantial underwriting of programs at the Children's Hospital of Los 
Angeles and establishing the Anne Douglas Center for Homeless Women, 
named for his wife. Mr. Douglas was born into poverty in Amsterdam, New 
York, the son of illiterate Russian Jewish immigrants; his father was a 
ragman, a seller of discarded goods. His best-selling autobiography was 
The Ragman's Son, published in 1988. He knew anti-Semitism from an 
early age, but also knew he wanted to be an actor, changing his name 
from Isadore Demsky to Kirk Douglas and making his Broadway debut in 
1941 as a singing Western Union messenger in ``Spring Again.'' Known 
for his rugged good looks and dimpled chin, he received three Academy 
Award nominations. In 1996, the Academy honored his body of work with a 
Lifetime Achievement Oscar. America will long remember Kirk Douglas. 
His was a storied life.

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