A Heartthrob at War
By the time he passed away in 2020, actor, producer, writer, and philanthropist Kirk Douglas (1916 – 2020) was one of the last surviving Hollywood Golden Age stars. He made his film debut in 1946’s Strange Love of Martha Ivers, and became a breakout star in 1949 with Champion. Douglas cemented his place in movie history with 1960’s Spartacus, which he produced and starred in. Along the way he accumulated three Oscar nominations, won an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Before the fame, however, Douglas had fought in the US Navy during WWII. Born Issur Danielovitch, the future star caught the acting bug in kindergarten, when he recited a poem, and reveled in the audience’s applause.
Unable to afford college, Douglas convinced a dean to let him attend St. Lawrence University’s drama program, in exchange for janitor and gardener work on campus. After graduation, he got into stage acting, and had barely began to get established in the theater, when WWII broke out. He tried to join the Army Air Forces, but when the airmen turned him down, Douglas joined the Navy in late 1941. He attended the US Navy’s midshipman school in Notre Dame, and upon graduation, was commissioned an ensign. He was sent to the Pacific Theater, where he served as a communications officer aboard USS PC-1137, a submarine chaser. Douglas spent most of 1942 and 1943 hunting Japanese submarines. While doing that, he suffered severe internal injuries when a depth charge exploded prematurely. He spent months in a hospital, before he was medically discharged in 1944.
