Kirk Douglas was a legendary Hollywood star who was married to his wife, Anne Douglas for 64 years. Sadly, Douglas passed away yesterday at the age of 103, leaving behind his 100-year-old wife, three sons, and many grandkids and great grandkids.
But what is the secret to nearly seven decades of married bliss? “We solve our disagreements with a kiss,” he told People back in 2015. Kirk met Anne Buydens (who was a producer at the time) on the set of Act of Love in Paris.
They were both involved with other people back then: Douglas was engaged to actress Pier Angeli, while Buydens was married to a Belgian friend of hers, who she wed for safety reasons during the Second World War.
“This self-possessed beauty was very different from the women I had been involved with in Hollywood since Diana [his ex-wife] left me,” Douglas wrote in their 2017 book ‘Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood.’ But Anne was a feisty one, turning him down when he asked her out. “But I was determined to win her over.”
Kirk and Anne went on to marry in 1954 in Las Vegas. The couple had two sons together, Eric and Peter. Douglas also had two sons, Joel and Hollywood A-lister Michael, from his previous marriage to Diana Love Dill. Unfortunately, one of their sons, Eric, died in 2004 of a drug overdose at 46 years of age.
Back in 2015, Kirk spoke about his collection of poetry, saying his wife often called him by one of his most iconic characters. She “used to have on our answering machine, ‘Spartacus and I are not home at the moment, please leave a message.”
In 1996, he dedicated his honorary Oscar to his wife. “I see my four sons. They are proud of the old man. And I am proud too. Proud to be part of Hollywood for 50 years. But his is for my wife, Anne. I love you.”