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| Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, Paths of Glory (Source) |
A superb actor, his favorite role for me will always be him as Colonel Dax in Paths of Glory.
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| (Source) |
Ave atque vale, LTJG Douglas.Kirk graduated in 1938 and legally changed his name to Kirk Douglas. In 1941, following U.S. involvement in World War II, Kirk enlisted with the United States Navy.Upon joining the Navy, Kirk received training as a communications officer in anti-submarine warfare. He was then assigned to PC-1139, a PC-461 class submarine chaser, and sent to the Pacific. There, Kirk served as both a gunnery and communication officer and was responsible for hunting down and destroying Japanese submarines.On Feb. 7, 1943, Kirk and his crew were alerted by sonar to the presence of a Japanese submarine. Upon confirming the location of the submarine, Kirk and his fellow sailors fired and positioned themselves to drop depth charges. As a fellow sailor went to launch a depth charge marker, he accidentally fired a live depth charge. Once the charge hit the water, it exploded, launching PC-1139 and its crew into the air. Kirk was thrown against the ship and suffered abdominal injuries.After being sent to a hospital to recover from his injuries, it was found that Kirk was also suffering from chronic amoebic dysentery. As a result, Kirk was discharged in 1944 at the rank of lieutenant junior grade. (Source)
He always brought his personal intensity to the rolls he played. I recall his part of "In Harm's Way", and so many westerns. A truly great man of his craft.
ReplyDeleteCertainly one of my favorites.
Delete103 years....... a good run. Nice vid clip from an excellent movie Sarge. Now he has joined others of his generation like Lee Marvin, Charles Durning and Russell Johnson who went into acting after their service. RIP LTJG Douglas.
ReplyDeleteEven Hollywood was part of the Greatest Generation back then, how far they have fallen...
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DeleteYou want to see an awesome display of athletic talent? Watch him run on extended oars in "The Vikings." Oh, make that him actually running across extended oars over an actual cold, wet, deep fjord. And he made it seem easy.
ReplyDeleteAs a yarn, good movie. Sucky history, good movie. Even fierce Norsker, Swede and Danish reenactors think that movie was great. All because of him.
Man had presence (presence being that invisible sphere of influence and power that extends out from a person who has it.) Much like Colonel (now Brigadier General thanks to another person with presence) Charles McGee.
Mr. Douglas had... stones.
He was from a generation where one was a citizen first, then an actor. His kind are sorely missed.
I absolutely loved that scene in The Vikings!
DeleteAnd yes, congrats to Brigadier General McGee!
Climbing up the wall on thrown axes? He did it. So much awesomeness in that movie.
DeleteOh yeah!
DeleteHis acting was always so very good. Especially in his greatest role as Captain Matt Yelland, skipper of the mighty USS Nimitz.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a movie or teevee guy anymore, so take that into account, but I don't think there are a lot of good actors these days. Of course there weren't very many of KD's caliber in those days either.
The Final Countdown is another favorite film. "I say again, splash the Zeroes."
DeleteNot many (if any) actors of Kirk Douglas' intensity, that's for sure.
He grew up about 10 miles from where I did, and live now. So there has been lots in the local news about him. I always liked him in multiple movies. And, I agree about Hollywood then vs now.
ReplyDeleteNow I am going to have to go look up The Vikings.
Not only do you get Kirk Douglas in that movie, but Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine as well!
DeleteI have great respect for the man as an actor and a sailor, but in that pic of him in uniform, isn't that USCG insignia on cap and lapels?
ReplyDeleteI see you answered your own question, almost.
DeleteMy mistake! The photo is Mr. Douglas' USNA uniform. Indeed Navy!
ReplyDeleteActually the insignia is for a midshipman in NROTC or the USNA. Also for Officer Candidate School. I have family members who became naval officers by all three means.
DeleteNow I'm embarrased! I had completly forgotten about ROTC and OCS. And that, after having spent 22 years as navy enlisted. Retired in '81. That's 1981! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, we enlisted pukes didn't need to know all that "not an officer yet" stuff now did we?
Delete(I only learned it because of my kids. Outrank me they do, all of 'em.)