Editing Kirk Douglas (section)

==Personal life==
===Personality===
In ''[[The Ragman's Son]]'', Douglas described himself as a "son of a bitch," adding, "I'm probably the most disliked actor in Hollywood. And I feel pretty good about it. Because that's me... . I was born aggressive, and I guess I'll die aggressive."<ref name="Darrach-1988" /> Co-workers and associates alike noted similar traits, with [[Burt Lancaster]] once remarking, "Kirk would be the first to tell you that he is a very difficult man. And I would be the second."<ref name="People">{{cite web|last1=Darrach|first1=Brad|date=October 3, 1988|title=Kirk Douglas|url=https://people.com/archive/kirk-douglas-vol-30-no-14/|access-date=May 20, 2019|website=People}}</ref> Douglas's brash personality is attributed to his difficult upbringing living in poverty and his aggressive alcoholic father who was neglectful of Kirk as a young child.<ref name="Darrach-1988" /><ref name=Turan>{{cite news |last1=Turan |first1=Kenneth |title=The Wrath of Issur: The Ragman's Son by Kirk Douglas |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-14-bk-594-story.html |access-date=May 20, 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 14, 1988}}</ref> According to Douglas, "there was an awful lot of rage churning around inside me, rage that I was afraid to reveal because there was so much more of it, and so much stronger, in my father."<ref name="Turan"/> Douglas' discipline, wit and sense of humor were also often recognized.<ref name="Darrach-1988" />

===Marriages and children===
[[File:Kirk & Ann attend Jefferson awards.jpg|thumb|Anne Buydens and Douglas at the 2003 [[Jefferson Awards for Public Service]] ceremony]]

Douglas and his first wife, [[Diana Douglas|Diana Dill]], married on November 2, 1943. They had two sons, actor [[Michael Douglas]] and producer [[Joel Douglas]], before divorcing in 1951.

According to his autobiography ''[[The Ragman's Son]],'' he and Italian actress [[Pier Angeli]] were engaged in the early 1950s after meeting on the set of the film ''The Story of Three Loves'' (1953), but they never made it down the aisle.<ref>{{cite book|last=Douglas|first=Kirk |title=[[The Ragman's Son|The Ragman's Son: An Autobiography]]|publisher=G.K. Hall|year=1989|pages=194–200, 206, 208–12, 224–228, 231–233, 238–43, 248, 335 |isbn=0-8161-4795-7}}</ref> Afterwards, in Paris, he met producer [[Anne Buydens]] (born Hannelore Marx; April 23, 1919, [[Hanover]], Germany) while acting on location in ''Act of Love''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Tom|last=Tugend|url=http://jewishjournal.com/culture/books/219534/new-book-reveals-lifetime-love-letters-kirk-douglas-wife/|title=New book reveals a lifetime of love letters between Kirk Douglas and wife|work=Jewish Journal|date=May 25, 2017|access-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref> She originally fled from Germany to escape Nazism and survived by putting her multilingual skills to work at a film studio, creating translations for subtitles.<ref name=heart/> They married on May 29, 1954. In 2014, they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the [[Greystone Mansion]] in Beverly Hills.<ref name=LATimes/> They had two sons, [[Peter Douglas|Peter]], a producer, and [[Eric Douglas|Eric]], an actor who died on July 6, 2004, from an overdose of alcohol and drugs at the age of 46.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3550930.stm|title=Douglas son 'died accidentally' |date=August 10, 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 8, 2016}}</ref> In 2017, the couple released a book, ''Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood'', that revealed intimate letters they shared through the years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vargas |first1=Chanel |title=Kirk Douglas' Six-Decade Love Story With His Wife, Anne Buydens |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a11661468/kirk-douglas-anne-buydens-love-story/ |website=Town & Country Magazine |access-date=May 10, 2018 |date=August 9, 2017}}</ref> Throughout their marriage, Douglas had affairs with other women, including several Hollywood starlets. He never hid his infidelities from his wife, who was accepting of them and explained, "as a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Maria |title=Kirk and Anne Douglas Open Up About Their Tumultuous Marriage in New Tell-All Book |url=https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a42918/kirk-and-anne-douglas-marriage-infidelity/ |website=Country Living |access-date=May 10, 2018 |date=May 3, 2017}}</ref>

{{Kirk Douglas family tree}}

===Mike Todd===
Douglas was good friends with producer [[Mike Todd]] who lived across the street from him in Palm Springs.<ref name= Kirk&Anne2>Douglas, Douglas with Newberger. ''Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood'', pp. 104–106</ref> On the morning of March 22, 1958, they were playing tennis when Todd asked him to come with him later that day on his private aircraft to New York, where he was due to receive an award.<ref name= Kirk&Anne2/> He suggested that Douglas could make the presentation to him and afterwards on the way back they could stop and visit former president Harry Truman in Independence, Missouri.

Upon hearing of the plan, Douglas's wife Anne had an uneasy feeling and urged him to take a commercial flight instead. After a heated argument about the matter, Douglas in a temper said that if he could not fly with Todd then he would not go at all.<ref name= Kirk&Anne2/>

The next morning while driving in the car to Los Angeles, Douglas and his family heard on the radio the news that Todd's aircraft had crashed a few hours after takeoff, killing all on board.<ref name= Kirk&Anne2/>

===Religion===
Douglas was raised Jewish. On February 13, 1991, aged 74, Douglas was in a helicopter and was injured when the aircraft collided with a small plane above [[Santa Paula Airport]]. Two other people were also injured, including [[Noel Blanc]], the son of voice actor [[Mel Blanc]] who was piloting the helicopter, and two people in the plane were killed.<ref name="la-times-helicrash">{{cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=Gary |last2=O'Donnell |first2=Santiago |date=February 14, 1991 |title=2 Die as Plane, Copter Crash; Kirk Douglas, 2 Others Hurt |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-14-mn-1684-story.html |access-date=August 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kirk Douglas, Noel Blanc Recovering After Air Collision That Killed Two |url=https://apnews.com/article/0c28c487122c3e3e67d200fe7a23a2fc |access-date=March 13, 2022 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref> This near-death experience sparked a search for meaning by Douglas, which led him, after much study, to embrace the Judaism in which he had been raised. He documented this spiritual journey in his book, ''Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning'' (1997).<ref>{{cite news|last=Lacher|first=Irene|title=A Role Made to Order|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-sep-24-ls-35432-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 24, 1997|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref>

He decided to visit Jerusalem again and wanted to see the [[Western Wall Tunnel]] during a trip where he would dedicate two playgrounds he donated to the state. His tour guide arranged to end the tour of the tunnel at the bedrock where, according to Jewish tradition, Abraham's [[binding of Isaac]] took place.<ref name="Jewish Week">{{Cite news|title=Kirk Douglas, Legendary Movie Star Who Had His Second Bar Mitzvah at 83, Has Died|url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/kirk-douglas-legendary-movie-star-who-reconnected-to-judaism-later-in-life-dies-at-103/|last=Tugend|first=Tom|date=February 6, 2020|work=[[The Jewish Week]]}}</ref>

In his earlier autobiography, ''The Ragman's Son'', he recalled, "years back, I tried to forget that I was a Jew," but later in his career he began "coming to grips with what it means to be a Jew," which became a theme in his life.<ref name="Douglas 1988, p. 383">Douglas 1988, p. 383.</ref> In an interview in 2000, he explained this transition:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Douglas|first=Kirk|date=March 4, 2000|title=Climbing the Mountain: Essay and Interview with Kirk Douglas|url=https://www.aish.com/sp/so/48892702.html|access-date=August 16, 2015|website=aish.com}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Judaism and I parted ways a long time ago, when I was a poor kid growing up in Amsterdam, N.Y. Back then, I was pretty good in [[cheder]], so the Jews of our community thought they would do a wonderful thing and collect enough money to send me to a yeshiva to become a rabbi. Holy Moses! That scared the hell out of me. I didn't want to be a rabbi. I wanted to be an actor. Believe me, the members of the Sons of Israel were persistent. I had nightmares – wearing long ''[[payos]]'' and a black hat. I had to work very hard to get out of it. But it took me a long time to learn that you don't have to be a rabbi to be a Jew.}}

[[File:President Ronald Reagan with Kirk Douglas and Mrs. Douglas attending a private dinner.jpg|thumb|Douglas, his wife Anne, and President [[Ronald Reagan]], December 1987]]

Douglas noted that an underlying theme of some of his films, including ''[[The Juggler (film)|The Juggler]]'' (1953), ''[[Cast a Giant Shadow]]'' (1966), and ''[[Remembrance of Love]]'' (1982), was about "a Jew who doesn't think of himself as one, and eventually finds his Jewishness."<ref name="Douglas 1988, p. 383"/> ''The Juggler'' was the first Hollywood feature to be filmed in the newly established state of Israel. Douglas recalled that, while there, he saw "extreme poverty and food being rationed." But he found it "wonderful, finally, to be in the majority." The film's producer, [[Stanley Kramer]], tried to portray "Israel as the Jews' heroic response to Hitler's destruction."<ref>[[Deborah Dash Moore|Moore, Deborah]]. ''[[To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L.A.]]'', [[Harvard Univ. Press]] (1994) p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Je26PhbW3hQC&pg=PA245 245]</ref>

Although his children had non-Jewish mothers, Douglas stated that they were "aware culturally" of his "deep convictions" and he never tried to influence their own religious decisions.<ref name="Douglas 1988, p. 383"/> Douglas's wife, Anne, [[Conversion to Judaism|converted]] to Judaism before they renewed their wedding vows in 2004.<ref name="Paskin-2012" /> Douglas celebrated a second Bar-Mitzvah ceremony in 1999, aged 83.<ref name="face"/>{{rp|125}}

===Philanthropy===
Douglas and his wife donated to various non-profit causes during his career and planned on donating most of their $80 million net worth.<ref>Feinberg, Scott (August 20, 2015). [https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-kirk-anne-douglas-are-815957 "Why Kirk and Anne Douglas Are Giving Away Their Fortune"]. ''Hollywood Reporter''.</ref> Among the donations have been those to his former high school and college. In September 2001, he helped fund his high school's musical, ''Amsterdam Oratorio'', composed by Maria Riccio Bryce, who won the school Thespian Society's Kirk Douglas Award in 1968.<ref>Cudmore, Bob. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=20010930&id=HnghAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zIgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1516,7775654 "Oratorio describes life in the city"], ''The Daily Gazette'', September 30, 2001</ref> In 2012 he donated $5 million to [[St. Lawrence University]], his alma mater. The college used the donation for the scholarship fund he began in 1999.<ref>[http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/kirk_douglas_donating_st_lawrence_university.html "Kirk Douglas donating $5 million to St. Lawrence University"], ''Associated Press'', July 30, 2012.</ref><ref name=HR/>

He donated to various schools, medical facilities, and other non-profit organizations in southern California. This included the rebuilding of over 400 [[Los Angeles Unified School District]] playgrounds that were aged and in need of restoration. The Douglases established the Anne Douglas Center for Homeless Women at the Los Angeles Mission, which has helped hundreds of women turn their lives around. In Culver City, they opened the [[Kirk Douglas Theatre]] in 2004.<ref name=LATimes>Douglas, Kirk. [https://latimes.com/style/laaffairs/la-hm-affairs-20140621-story.html "Kirk Douglas looks back at 60 years of marriage"], ''Los Angeles Times'', June 20, 2014.</ref> They supported the Anne Douglas Childhood Center at the [[Sinai Temple (Los Angeles)|Sinai Temple]] of Westwood.<ref name="HR">Kilday, Gregg (July 27, 2012). [https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/kirk-anne-douglas-donate-millions-non-profits-355547 "Kirk and Anne Douglas Donate $50 Million to Five Non-Profits"]. ''The Hollywood Reporter''.</ref> In March 2015, Douglas and his wife donated $2.3 million to the [[Children's Hospital Los Angeles]].<ref>Coleman, Laura. [http://bhcourier.com/beverly-hills-news-kirk-anne-douglas-donate-2-3m-childrens-hospital-los-angeles "Kirk, Anne Douglas Donate $2.3M To Children's Hospital Los Angeles"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330054722/http://bhcourier.com/beverly-hills-news-kirk-anne-douglas-donate-2-3m-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/ |date=March 30, 2015 }}, ''[[The Beverly Hills Courier]]'', March 26, 2015.</ref>

Since the early 1990s, Kirk and Anne Douglas donated up to $40 million to Harry's Haven, an Alzheimer's treatment facility in Woodland Hills, to care for patients at the [[Motion Picture Home]].<ref name="Paskin-2012" /> To celebrate his 99th birthday on December 9, 2015, they donated another $15 million to help expand the facility with a new two-story Kirk Douglas Care Pavilion.<ref>Shah, Yagana (December 16, 2015). [https://huffingtonpost.com/entry/kirk-douglas-just-did-something-beautiful-for-his-99th-birthday_56718cc0e4b0688701dbb7ce "Kirk Douglas Just Did Something Beautiful For His 99th Birthday"]. ''The Huffington Post''.</ref>

Douglas donated a number of playgrounds in Jerusalem and donated the Kirk Douglas Theater at the Aish Center across from the Western Wall.<ref>Rabinowitz, Boruch (December 14, 2017). [https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/kirk-douglas-and-his-theatre-in-jerusalem/ "Kirk Douglas and His Theatre in Jerusalem"]. ''Times of Israel''.</ref>

===Politics===
[[File:Kirk Douglas with book 2002.jpg|thumb|Douglas in 2002 with his book ''My Stroke of Luck'']]
Douglas and his wife traveled to more than 40 countries, at their own expense, to act as goodwill ambassadors for the [[U.S. Information Agency]], speaking to audiences about why democracy works and what freedom means.<ref name=heart/> In 1980, Douglas flew to Cairo to talk with Egyptian President [[Anwar Sadat]]. For all his goodwill efforts, he received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] from President [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1981.<ref name=LATimes/> At the ceremony, Carter said that Douglas had "done this in a sacrificial way, almost invariably without fanfare and without claiming any personal credit or acclaim for himself".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=44540|title=Jimmy Carter: Presidential Medal of Freedom Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony|website=Presidency.ucsb.edu|date=January 16, 1981|access-date=December 17, 2016|archive-date=February 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214202718/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=44540|url-status=dead}}</ref> In subsequent years, Douglas testified before Congress about [[elder abuse]].<ref name="Paskin">Paskin, Barbra. [http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/interviews/82813/hollywood-gladiator-kirk-douglas-has-his-eyes-set-a-third-barmitzvah "Hollywood gladiator Kirk Douglas has his eyes set on a third barmitzvah"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002075725/http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/interviews/82813/hollywood-gladiator-kirk-douglas-has-his-eyes-set-a-third-barmitzvah |date=October 2, 2012 }}, ''The Jewish Chronicle'', September 20, 2012.</ref> Douglas was also friends with former [[Secretary of State]] [[Henry Kissinger]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1917-72PubDipv08/d72 | title=Historical Documents - Office of the Historian }}</ref>

Douglas was a long-time member of the Democratic Party.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shaw |first=Tony |title=Hollywood and Israel: a history |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2022 |isbn=9780231544924 |publication-date=2022 |pages=185}}</ref> He wrote letters to politicians who were friends. He noted in his memoir, ''Let's Face It'' (2007), that he felt compelled to write to former president [[Jimmy Carter]] in 2006 to stress that "Israel is the only successful democracy in the Middle East ... [and] has had to endure many wars against overwhelming odds. If Israel loses one war, they lose Israel."<ref name="face"/>{{rp|226}} During the [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries]] he endorsed [[Michael Bloomberg]]'s [[Michael Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign|campaign]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=D'Zurilla|first=Christine|date=February 11, 2020|title=Kirk Douglas' last words? Michael Douglas says they were a political endorsement|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-02-11/michael-douglas-kirk-douglas-mike-bloomberg|access-date=June 11, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Role in breaking Hollywood blacklist===
[[Howard Fast]] was originally hired to adapt his own 1951 novel ''Spartacus'' as a [[screenplay]], but he had difficulty working in the format. He was replaced by [[Dalton Trumbo]], who had been [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklisted]] as one of the Hollywood 10, and intended to use the [[Pen name|pseudonym]] "Sam Jackson". Trumbo had been jailed for [[contempt of Congress]] in 1950, after which he had survived by writing screenplays under assumed names.

Kirk Douglas claimed that it was his insistence that Trumbo be given screen credit for his work that broke the blacklist.<ref name="Trumbo">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0889671/ |title=Trumbo (2007) |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=April 25, 2010 }}</ref> In his autobiography, Douglas states that this decision was motivated by a meeting that Edward Lewis, Stanley Kubrick, and he had regarding whose names to list for the screenplay in the film credits, given Trumbo's shaky position with Hollywood executives. One idea was to credit Lewis as co-writer or sole writer, but Lewis vetoed both suggestions. Kubrick then suggested that his own name be used. Douglas and Lewis found Kubrick's eagerness to take credit for Trumbo's work revolting, and the next day, Douglas called the gate at Universal saying, "I'd like to leave a pass for Dalton Trumbo." Douglas writes, "For the first time in 10 years, Trumbo walked on to a studio lot. He said, 'Thanks, Kirk, for giving me back my name.'{{-"}}<ref name="Douglas autobio">Kirk Douglas. ''The Ragman's Son'' (Autobiography). Pocket Books, 1990. Chapter 26: The Wars of Spartacus.</ref>{{verify source|date=September 2023|reason=This reference was placed by an un-monitored robot and might not be correct}}

In fact, Douglas did not announce Trumbo as the credited screenwriter of ''Spartacus'' until August 1960, seven months after producer-director [[Otto Preminger]]'s January 20, 1960, announcement that he had hired Trumbo to adapt [[Leon Uris]]' novel ''[[Exodus (Uris novel)|Exodus]]'' [[Exodus (1960 film)|for the screen]]. Douglas later successfully denied Trumbo a sought credit on the film ''[[Town Without Pity]]'' as he worried that his continued association with the screen writer would hurt his career.<ref name="Atlantic">{{cite web |last1=Meroney & Coons |first1=John & Sean |title=How Kirk Douglas Overstated His Role in Breaking the Hollywood Blacklist |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/07/how-kirk-douglas-overstated-his-role-in-breaking-the-hollywood-blacklist/259111/ |website=atlantic.com |date=July 5, 2012 |publisher=The Atlantic |access-date=July 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Jon |last=Nordheimer |title=Dalton Trumbo, Film Writer, Dies; Oscar Winner Had Been Blacklisted |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/11/archives/dalton-trumbo-film-writer-dies-oscar-winner-had-been-blacklisted.html |work = The New York Times |page=17 |date=September 11, 1976 |access-date=August 11, 2008 |quote= ...it was Otto Preminger, the director, who broke the blacklist months later by publicly announcing that he had hired Mr. Trumbo to do the screenplay}}</ref> and Kirk Douglas publicly announced that Trumbo was the screenwriter of ''Spartacus''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Harvey |title=Dalton Trumbo Dies at 70, One of the 'Hollywood 10' |work= Los Angeles Times |page=1 |date=September 11, 1976 |quote=He recalled how his name returned to the screen in 1960 with the help of ''Spartacus'' star Kirk Douglas: 'I had been working on ''Spartacus'' for about a year'}}</ref> Further, [[President of the United States|President]] [[John F. Kennedy]] publicly ignored a demonstration organized by the [[American Legion]] and went to see the film.<ref name="fiu">{{cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Richard A. |title=How the Film and Television Blacklists Worked |url=http://comptalk.fiu.edu/blacklist.htm |publisher=Florida International University |access-date=December 15, 2011 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719193328/http://comptalk.fiu.edu/blacklist.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1960: January 20; Hollywood Blacklist Broken – Producer Otto Preminger Credits Dalton Trumbo for "Exodus" Script |url=https://todayinclh.com/?event=hollywood-blacklist-broken-preminger-credits-dalton-for-exodus#:~:text=Hollywood%20Producer%2FDirector%20Otto%20Preminger%20announced%20on%20this%20day,ending%20the%20blacklist%20of%20Hollywood%20writers%20and%20directors. |website=todayinclh.com | date=May 21, 2013 |publisher=Today in Civil Liberties History |access-date=July 5, 2023}}</ref>

===Blogging===
Douglas blogged from time to time. Originally hosted on [[Myspace]],<ref>Kendall, Nigel. [https://web.archive.org/web/20091015144204/http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6344077.ece "World's oldest blogger María Amelia López Soliño dies"], ''Times Online'', May 22, 2009; accessed May 25, 2009.</ref> his posts were hosted by the ''[[Huffington Post]]'' beginning in 2012.<ref>[https://huffingtonpost.com/kirk-douglas Kirk Douglas blog] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626163233/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kirk-douglas/ |date=June 26, 2016 }}, Huffingtonpost.com; retrieved January 11, 2014.</ref> As of 2008, he was believed to be the oldest celebrity blogger in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/3797825/Kirk-Douglas-becomes-MySpaces-oldest-celebrity-blogger.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/3797825/Kirk-Douglas-becomes-MySpaces-oldest-celebrity-blogger.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Kirk Douglas becomes MySpace's oldest celebrity blogger|first=Chris|last=Irvine|date=December 17, 2008|access-date=February 5, 2020|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Rape allegation===
Douglas is alleged to have raped actress [[Natalie Wood]] in the summer of 1955, when she was 16 and he 38.<ref name=AP-211104/> Wood's alleged rape was first publicized in [[Suzanne Finstad]]'s 2001 biography of the actress, though Finstad never named the offender.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thomson |first1=David |title=Sleeping with Strangers: How the Movies Shaped Desire |date=January 14, 2020 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-10197-102-4 |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HejEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA223}}</ref>

The allegation received renewed attention in January 2018, after the [[75th Golden Globe Awards]] ceremony paid tribute to Douglas, with several news outlets citing a 2012 anonymous blog post which accused Douglas.<ref name="Mediaite-180107">{{cite web |last1=Wulfsohn |first1=Joseph A. |title=Twitter Calls Out Globes For Honoring Kirk Douglas, Accused of Raping Natalie Wood |url=https://www.mediaite.com/online/twitter-calls-out-golden-globes-for-honoring-kirk-douglas-accused-of-raping-natalie-wood-not-a-good-look/ |website=Mediaite |date=January 7, 2018 |access-date=November 18, 2021}}</ref> In July 2018, Wood's sister [[Lana Wood|Lana]] said during a 12-part podcast about her sister's life that her sister was sexually assaulted as a teen and that the attack had occurred inside the [[Chateau Marmont]] during an audition and went on "for hours".<ref name=AOL-180726>{{cite web|last=Chan|first=Anna|date=July 26, 2018|title=Lana Wood: Natalie Wood was sexually assaulted as a teen|url=https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2018/07/26/lana-wood-natalie-wood-was-sexually-assaulted-as-a-teen/23490211/|url-status=live|website=AOL|access-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913094234/https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2018/07/26/lana-wood-natalie-wood-was-sexually-assaulted-as-a-teen/23490211/|archive-date=September 13, 2018}}</ref> In the 2021 memoir ''Little Sister: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood'', Lana Wood alleged Douglas was her sister's assailant.<ref name=AP-211104>{{cite news|last=Italie|first=Hillel|date=November 4, 2021|title=Natalie Wood was assaulted by Kirk Douglas, sister alleges|url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-lifestyle-movies-los-angeles-hollywood-2edc063a1a5529bd6cd7fdca096672cc|work=Associated Press|access-date=November 4, 2021}}</ref> Douglas' son Michael issued a statement, saying "May they both rest in peace."<ref name=AP-211104/>