“Forgotten Hollywood”- Kirk Douglas: Actor – Patriot – Friend

Posted on May 21, 2012 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

   In 1959, Kirk Douglas made a historic decision as co-producer of Spartacus. The actor wanted screen credit for blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, who had written many award-winning screenplays (including Roman Holiday) under a pseudonym. A courageous stand overturned a decade of ruined careers for writers, directors, and actors who were denied opportunities in Hollywood by movie studios. Columnist Hedda Hopper called for a boycott of the movie, when it was released in 1960. The public came, including President John Kennedy, who saw it in early 1961 at the Warner Theater in Washington. He showed support, saying it was a fine film. Jobs were again available to talented folks, whose politics were in question for a generation.

   Kirk Douglas will be honored on May 31st by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the Goldenson Theater; and celebrate the release of his memoirs, I am Spartacus! Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist. It’s the actor’s 10th literary work, available as paperback edition, and an eBook on June 12th from Open Road Media.

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   Joining Mr. Douglas will be Liam McIntyre and Steven DeKnight from the STARZ series – Spartacus: Vengeance. And, it will be moderated by Peter Hammond. The Goldenson Theatre is located at 5220 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. The event begins promptly at 7:30p.

   Spartacus was a leader, warrior, and inspiration to his people. His political and societal impact parallels the influential decisions made by a great actor and patriot who has called Hollywood his workplace for seven decades… the iconic Kirk Douglas!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Monday, May 21st, 2012 at 12:43 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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