Kirk Douglas, 1916–2020
Actor Kirk Douglas, who died on February 5, 2020, at age 103, became famous in Hollywood, but he was also a regular in Washington, DC. The U.S. Government–produced Cold War–era film Let Poland be Poland featured Douglas (watch here thanks to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw; also available to view in person at the National Archives). He also lives on in the Archives through his military records and images of his visits with Presidents and First Ladies during several administrations.
Click through the gallery below for a selection of images and documents in the National Archives relating to Kirk Douglas.
Photograph of Kirk Douglas from his Official Military Personnel File. (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, National Archives at St. Louis; National Archives Identifier 299693)
President Jimmy Carter greets Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne Buydens, March 16, 1978. (White House Staff Photographers / Jimmy Carter Library; National Archives Identifier 178399)
First Lady Rosalynn Carter hosts a luncheon for Kirk Douglas and his wife, Anne Buydens. Washington, DC, March 16, 1978. (Jimmy Carter Library; National Archives Identifier 178367)
Contact sheet of photographs of Kirk Douglas with First Lady Nancy Reagan. Washington, DC, May 21, 1982. (Ronald Reagan Library)
President Ronald Reagan with Kirk Douglas and his wife, Anne Buydens, during a private dinner at Eldorado Country Club. Rancho Mirage, CA, December 30, 1987. (White House Photographic Office/Ronald Reagan Library; National rchivse Identifier 75855933)
President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush with 2001 National Medal of Arts Recipient Kirk Douglas. Constitution Hall, Washington, DC. (Paul Morse, White House Photography Office / George W. Bush Library; National Archives Identifier 7431394)
A letter from Kirk Douglas to Robert F. Kennedy regarding the Cartagena Film Festival, 1963. (Robert F. Kennedy Papers/John F. Kennedy Library (National Archives Identifier 193968)
Kirk Douglas's Naval Reserve service record from his Official Military Personnel File. (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, National Archives at St. Louis; National Archives Identifier 299693)
Kirk Douglas's Naval Reserve service record from his Official Military Personnel File. (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, National Archives at St. Louis; National Archives Identifier 299693)
Kirk Douglas's Naval Reserve service record from his Official Military Personnel File. (Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, National Archives at St. Louis; National Archives Identifier 299693)