EXCLUSIVE: Iconic actor Kirk Douglas is helped from a home to an awaiting car in Los Angeles.
Actor Kirk Douglas, 99, was helped from his home into a waiting car by a burly assistant today. Despite his advanced age, Kirk only needed a helping hand to steady himself as he made his way to the vehicle. The iconic actor hasn’t let the stroke he suffered in 1996 slow him down. He famously bounded to the stage to accept an Academy Award for lifetime achievement just three months after being hospitalized!
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EXCLUSIVE: Iconic actor Kirk Douglas is helped from a home to an awaiting car in Los Angeles.
Anne Buydens, 85, Kirk’s wife of 62 years, also joined him for the day’s outing. Kirk has admitted that Anne has tried to rein in his outspokenness. "If I don't like someone, that person knows at once how I feel. My wife Ann is always saying to me: 'Honey, why did you have to let that person know how you felt about him?' It's really hard for me to mask my feelings. I can control my words and voice but I can't control my unconscious feelings enough to fool anyone!"
Photo credit: Splash News
EXCLUSIVE: Iconic actor Kirk Douglas is helped from a home to an awaiting car in Los Angeles.
Kirk wasn’t always so lucky in love — and it was all his fault. As he revealed to The ENQUIRER in an exclusive excerpt from his biography, his philandering ruined his marriage to first wife Diana. "I kept playing around with beautiful women," he wrote. After one particular episode, a frustrated Diana asked him, "Why do you always make me laugh just when I'm ready to punch you right in the nose?" The couple filed for divorce in February 1949.
Photo credit: Splash News
EXCLUSIVE: Iconic actor Kirk Douglas is helped from a home to an awaiting car in Los Angeles.
Kirk also faced dark days after his stroke. He even put a gun in his mouth in a suicide attempt. Having seen his pal Burt Lancaster waste away after a stroke, the distressed star was ready to blow his own brains out. But the long barrel of the pistol "bumped up against my teeth," Kirk recalled. "It sent shivers through my teeth, and I pulled the gun out. A toothache delayed my death. I laughed hysterically!"
Photo credit: Splash News
EXCLUSIVE: Iconic actor Kirk Douglas is helped from a home to an awaiting car in Los Angeles.
But of course Kirk always could laugh at himself! He told The ENQUIRER about the time he was robbed of $500 while promoting the film "The Master Touch," in which he played a thief! "I'm in Miami telling everyone how brilliant I am at stealing $1 million in my picture and I get stung for $500 — right under my nose! [The thief] conned his way past two security checks, came up six stories and went past a lot of my friends in the suite. He walked right into the bedroom and took the money clip off the bed, where I left it for about 10 minutes while I shaved!"
Photo credit: Splash News