DECEMBER 9

On this date in 1916, Issur Danielovitch was born in Amsterdam, New York.  His parents were Jewish Russian immigrants who only spoke Yiddish.  His uncle in the U.S. had adopted the last name of Demsky, so his family did as well.  He grew up with six sisters and used the name Izzy Demsky.  His father was a rag man or junk collector.

In 1941, just before joining the Navy in World War II, Izzy had his name changed to Kirk Douglas.  He had already become active in local theater.  He received his first nomination for a Best Actor Award from the Academy in 1949 for his role in "Champion". 

You may well know most of the rest.  This caught my eye because Mr. Douglas is still kicking - he is 103 years old today. 

Amazing!.