Editing Kirk Douglas (section)

==Early life and education==
[[File:Douglas-graduation.jpg|thumb|Douglas' college graduation photo from [[St. Lawrence University]] in 1939]]
Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch{{efn| {{Langx|ru|Иссур Даниэлович}}; {{Langx|Yi|איסור דניאלאָוויטש}}}} on December 9, 1916, in [[Amsterdam, New York]], the fourth of seven children and the only son of Bryna "Bertha" ([[née]] Sanglel) (1884-1958) and Herschel "Harry" Danielovitch (1884-1954).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Ragman's Son: An Autobiography|author=Kirk Douglas|isbn=978-0671637170|year=1988|page=[https://archive.org/details/ragmanssonautobi00doug_0/page/16 16]|publisher=Simon & Schuster |url=https://archive.org/details/ragmanssonautobi00doug_0|url-access=registration|access-date=February 15, 2020}}</ref> His parents were [[Russian-Jewish]] immigrants from [[Chavusy]], [[Mogilev Governorate]], in the [[Russian Empire]],<ref>https://archive.fo/20240706061645/https://russianlife.com/the-russia-file/famous-americans-with-russian-roots/</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=November 17, 2012|title=Kirk and Michael Douglas|url=http://landofancestors.com/famous/actors_and_models/43-kirk-and-michael-douglas.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103131937/http://landofancestors.com/famous/actors_and_models/43-kirk-and-michael-douglas.html|archive-date=November 3, 2014|access-date=December 6, 2014|website=Land Of Ancestors – Belarus}}</ref><ref name="Paskin-2012">{{cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/interviews/hollywood-gladiator-kirk-douglas-has-his-eyes-set-on-a-third-barmitzvah-1.36378|title=Hollywood gladiator Kirk Douglas has his eyes set on a third barmitzvah|access-date=May 25, 2018|date=September 20, 2012|last=Paskin|first=Barbra|work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=John|last=Plessel|url=https://www.dailynews.com/2016/12/08/5-reasons-to-celebrate-actor-kirk-douglas-on-his-100th-birthday/|title=5 reasons to celebrate actor Kirk Douglas on his 100th birthday|work=[[Los Angeles Daily News]]|date=December 8, 2016|access-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Darrach-1988">{{cite web|first=Brad|last=Darrach|url=http://people.com/archive/kirk-douglas-vol-30-no-14/|title=Kirk Douglas|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|date=October 3, 1988|access-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37934804|title=Kirk Douglas honoured by World Jewish Congress|work=[[BBC]]|date=November 10, 2016|access-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Hadley|last=Freeman|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/12/kirk-douglas-i-never-thought-id-live-to-100-thats-shocked-me|title=Kirk Douglas: 'I never thought I'd live to 100. That's shocked me'|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 12, 2017|access-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref> and the family spoke [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] at home.<ref>{{cite web|last=Spence|first=Rebecca|date=July 18, 2007|title=A Legend Looks Back: A Visit With Kirk Douglas|url=http://forward.com/articles/11171/a-legend-looks-back-|access-date=December 6, 2014|work=The Jewish Daily Forward}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Farndale|first=Nigel|date=July 23, 2011|title=Kirk Douglas: in 'pretty good shape' at 94|newspaper=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/8651872/Kirk-Douglas-in-pretty-good-shape-at-94.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/8651872/Kirk-Douglas-in-pretty-good-shape-at-94.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seeing-stars.com/Churches/OtherChurches.shtml|title=Other Celebrity Houses of Worship|publisher=seeing-stars.com|access-date=December 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Berkvist|first=Robert|date=February 5, 2020|title=Kirk Douglas, a Star of Hollywood's Golden Age, Dies at 103|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/movies/kirk-douglas-dead.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206010003/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/movies/kirk-douglas-dead.html |archive-date=February 6, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=February 11, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His sisters were: Pesha "Bessie", Kaleh "Katherine", Tamara "Mary", Siffra "Frieda",<ref>{{Cite news|last=Grondahl|first=Paul|date=September 23, 2015|title=Funeral for Kirk Douglas' sister in Albany|url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Funeral-for-Kirk-Douglas-sister-in-Albany-6524938.php|access-date=February 11, 2022|website=Times Union|language=en-US}}</ref> Haska "Ida", and Rachel "Ruth".<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 8, 2016|title=Guideposts Remembers: Kirk Douglas|url=https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/entertainment/movies-and-tv/guideposts-remembers-kirk-douglas|access-date=February 11, 2022|website=Guideposts|language=en}}</ref> Douglas embraced his Jewish heritage after a near-fatal helicopter crash at the age of 74.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/kirk-douglas-an-iconic-star-who-reconnected-to-judaism-after-near-fatal-crash/|title=Kirk Douglas, an iconic star who reconnected to Judaism after near-fatal crash|first=Tom|last=Tugend|website=The Times of Israel}}</ref>

His uncle, who had immigrated earlier, used the surname '''Demsky''', which Douglas's family adopted in the United States.<ref name="face">Douglas, Kirk. [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780470376171 ''Let's Face It''], John Wiley & Sons (2007); {{ISBN|0470084693}}.</ref>{{rp|2}} Douglas grew up as '''Izzy Demsky''' and legally changed his name to '''Kirk Douglas''' before entering the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]].<ref name=odeh>{{Cite book|last=Douglas|first=Kirk|title=Let's face it: 90 years of living, loving, and learning|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2007|page=3|isbn=978-0470084694}}</ref>{{efn|In his autobiography, Douglas explains that for many actors at the time who had unusual or foreign-sounding birth names, a simpler Americanized name was often preferred. His friend [[Karl Malden]], who also changed his name for that reason, made suggestions. Douglas knew that many leading stars at the time had adopted [[stage name]]s, including [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]], [[John Wayne]], [[Cary Grant]], and [[Fred Astaire]].<ref name="face"/>{{rp|1–2}}}}

In his 1988 autobiography, ''[[The Ragman's Son]]'', Douglas notes the hardships that he, along with his parents and six sisters, endured during their early years in Amsterdam:

{{blockquote|My father, who had been a horse trader in [[Russia]], got himself a horse and a small wagon, and became a ragman, buying old rags, pieces of metal, and junk for pennies, nickels, and dimes&nbsp;... Even on Eagle Street, in the poorest section of town, where all the families were struggling, the ragman was on the lowest rung on the ladder. And I was the ragman's son.<ref>Douglas 1988, p. 19.</ref>}}

Douglas had an unhappy childhood, living with an alcoholic, physically abusive father.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.etonline.com/inside-kirk-douglas-relationship-with-son-michael-douglas-141006|title=Inside Kirk Douglas' Relationship With Son Michael Douglas |last=Seemayer |first=Zach |date=February 5, 2020 |website=Entertainment Tonight |access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> While his father drank up what little money they had, Douglas and his mother and sisters endured "crippling poverty".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/michael-kirk-douglas-heartbreaking-feuds-21442666 |title=Inside Michael and Kirk Douglas feuds and 'addiction gene' that destroyed family |last=Kindon |first=Frances |date=February 6, 2020 |website=Daily Mirror |access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref>

Douglas first wanted to be an actor after he recited "The Red Robin of Spring", a poem by the English poet [[John Clare]], while in kindergarten and received applause.<ref name="hugg">{{cite news|last1=Douglas|first1=Kirk|title=Why I Felt Like a Failure When I Didn't Make It on Broadway|date=November 5, 2015|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/kirk-douglas/why-i-felt-a-like-failure-when-i-didnt-make-it-on-broadway_b_8481968.html|work=Huffington Post|access-date=January 9, 2016}}</ref> Growing up, he sold snacks to mill workers to earn enough to buy milk and bread to help his family. He later delivered newspapers, and he had more than forty jobs during his youth before becoming an actor.<ref>Thomas, Tony. ''The Films of Kirk Douglas''. Citadel Press, New York (1991), p. 12; {{ISBN|0806512172}}.</ref> He found living in a family with six sisters to be stifling: "I was dying to get out. In a sense, it lit a fire under me." After appearing in plays at Amsterdam High School, from which he graduated in 1934,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Funeral-for-Kirk-Douglas-sister-in-Albany-6524938.php|title=Funeral for Kirk Douglas' sister in Albany|last=Grondahl|first=Paul|date=September 23, 2015|website=Times Union|language=en-US|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref> he knew he wanted to become a professional actor.<ref name="Thomas, p. 13">Thomas, p. 13</ref> Unable to afford the tuition, Douglas talked his way into the dean's office at [[St. Lawrence University]] and showed him a list of his high school honors. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1939. He received a loan which he paid back by working part-time as a gardener and a janitor. He was a standout on the school's [[Scholastic wrestling|wrestling]] team and wrestled one summer in a carnival to make money.<ref>Thomas, p. 15</ref> He later became good friends with world-champion wrestler [[Lou Thesz]].

Douglas's acting talents were noticed at the [[American Academy of Dramatic Arts]] in [[New York City]], which gave him a special scholarship. One of his classmates was Betty Joan Perske, later known as [[Lauren Bacall]], played an important role in launching his film career.<ref name="Thomas, p. 18">Thomas, p. 18</ref> Bacall wrote that she "had a wild crush on Kirk",<ref name=Bacall>[[Lauren Bacall|Bacall, Lauren]] (1978). ''By Myself and Then Some'', London: Coronet, pp. 26–27 {{ISBN|978-0755313501}}. {{OCLC|664201994}}</ref> and they dated casually. Another classmate, and a friend of Bacall's, was aspiring actress [[Diana Douglas|Diana Dill]], who would later become Douglas's first wife.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

During their time together, Bacall learned Douglas had no money and that he once spent the night in jail since he had no place to sleep. She once gave him her uncle's old coat to keep warm: "I thought he must be frozen in the winter ... He was thrilled and grateful." Sometimes, just to see him, she would drag a friend or her mother to the restaurant where he worked as a busboy and waiter. He told her his dream was to someday bring his family to New York to see him on stage. During that period she fantasized about someday sharing her personal and stage lives with Douglas, but would later be disappointed: "Kirk did not really pursue me. He was friendly and sweet—enjoyed my company—but I was clearly too young for him," the eight-years-younger Bacall later wrote.<ref name=Bacall/>