A devoted and proud Laurentian who was one of the most recognized names on the silver screen, Mr. Kirk Douglas ’39 died on February 5, 2020, at the age of 103.
“Kirk Douglas has been transcendently generous to St. Lawrence University and remained committed to his alma mater and our students throughout the decades," said St. Lawrence University President William L. Fox. "Kirk knew that diversity made St. Lawrence and the world stronger because of his own background and experiences. Every Laurentian can certainly say, 'I am Spartacus.'”
Named among the 50 greatest screen legends of all time by the American Film Institute, Mr. Douglas had appeared in more than 85 films, including classics such as Spartacus, Lonely Are the Brave, Lust for Life, and Gunfight at the OK Corral. He was also the producer of Spartacus, a significant and principled moment in history, because he was the first in Hollywood to hire a black-listed writer who had been unemployed for many years owing to the insidious effects of McCarthyism, an anti-communist movement in America occurring at the start of the Cold War. Mr. Douglas received an honorary Academy Award in 1995.