Kirk Douglas (b. Issur Danielovitch in 1916) has existed for so long and for many decades was so Hollywood a force majeure, which sometimes is easy to forget that as all other actors of history, once was a virtual unknown. Today even a truncated list of films most famous reads like the curriculum at a seminar on the cinema of mid-20th century: ACE in the hole, 20,000 Leagues under the sea, lust for life, paths of glory, Spartacus, the masterpiece of noir out of the Past, are only the brave, seven days in May and many others.
There is a reason that was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar for"50 years as a creative and moral force in the film community"; one reason has won similar awards from the American Film Institute, National Board of Review, the Festival of cinema of Berlin and others; a reason, at 97 years old, remains without a doubt the greatest living legend of Hollywood. And the reason, of course, is that Douglas won everything (while more than a memoir best seller in the road closure).
But in 1949, son of Jewish immigrants from Belarus was just another actor, talented, handsome, waiting for a great opportunity. He had some notable roles under his belt, in strong films as a letter to three wives and the aforementioned from the past; But it was in the main role of the disturbing 1949's drama, the boxing champion, Douglas became a star. He played a completely unpleasant fighter named Midge Kelly in the movie--a risky move that paid large when it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in scorching. (He lost to Broderick Crawford in all the King's men).
The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Douglas was a draw main box office throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in addition to making a mark as a socially conscious artist. For example, as producer and star of the 1960 epic, Spartacus, Douglas insisted that screenwriter of the movie, the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo - Communist long - get credit for his screenplay. This Act of consciousness, at a time when such positions were almost unknown, is often cited as the beginning of the end for Era harmful of the Hollywood blacklist.
Here, in recognition of the life of the man long, full and his stellar career, LIFE.com pays tribute to Kirk Douglas with a series of photos - none of which ran in LIFE magazine - when he was on the cusp of stardom.
Indeed, a champion.
-Ben Cosgrove is the Editor of LIFE.com
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