On Wednesday, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas died at his home in Beverly Hills at the age of 103. The veteran actor entertained the audience with his performance for over seven decades. He is well-known for a range of roles, including the 1960 classic Spartacus. Born in 1916, in New York, Douglas was Hollywood’s biggest-ever star and one of the last survivors of the golden age of cinema. 

His son Michel Douglas, who is also an acting icon, revealed the sad news of his father’s death in an emotional statement. In a Facebook post, he wrote: “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103.”

“To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to,” he wrote. 

“But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great-grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband.”

“Kirk’s life was well-lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet. Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad – I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son,” Michel Douglas wrote.  

Douglas was nominated for an Oscar three times – for Champion (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and Lust for Life (1956). In the year 1996, he won the honorary award in recognition of his 50 years in the industry.

Michael’s wife and Kirk’s daughter-in-law, Welsh actress Catherine Zeta Jones, posted a photo of the two together, writing: “I shall love you for the rest of my life. I miss you already.”