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01
In the late 1960s, Michael shared a New York apartment with Danny DeVito for $150 a month.
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02
Michael is exactly 25 years older than his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, and they share the same birthday: September 25.
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03
In 1975, he quit The Streets of San Francisco to produce One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which won him an Academy Award as producer.
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04
Diagnosed with stage IV tongue cancer in August 2010, he underwent radiation and chemotherapy and made a full recovery; he publicly called it throat cancer.
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05
Brazilian soccer star Maicon was named after Michael Douglas; his father wanted to name him after Kirk Douglas’s son but a clerk misspelled it as Maicon.
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06
In 1980, a serious skiing accident sidelined his acting career for three years.
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07
He has three children: son Cameron with ex-wife Diandra Luker, and son Dylan and daughter Carys with Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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08
In the late 1960s, he and Danny DeVito shared a $75-a-month apartment at 338 West 89th Street in Manhattan.
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09
He initially turned down the role of Judge Wakefield in Traffic 2000 but accepted after extensive script rewrites.
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10
On July 20, 2009, he wrote the obituary tribute for The Streets of San Francisco co-star Karl Malden in Time magazine.
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11
As of 2021, he, George Clooney, and Laurence Olivier are the only three people to win Oscars for both Best Picture and Best Actor.
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12
The Sunday Times estimated his and Catherine Zeta-Jones’s net worth at $278 million in 2009.
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13
He was 33 and Diandra Luker was 19 when they married; he is 14 years older than her.
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14
He once said he preferred making films for adult audiences so parents could have a night out.
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15
He underwent treatment for alcohol and substance abuse at Sierra Tucson Center.
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16
His performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street 1987 is ranked #25 on Premiere’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters.
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17
He has been active in handgun control since John Lennon’s murder on December 8, 1980.
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18
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6259 Hollywood Boulevard on November 6, 2018.
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19
On December 11, 2003, he hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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20
His paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Belarus; his mother was born in Bermuda of English, French, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, Scottish, and Belgian ancestry.
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21
He turned down the role of Oliver Barrett in Love Story 1970 despite being offered 10% of the gross.
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22
He started filming The War of the Roses 1989 five days after completing Black Rain 1989.
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23
He has two grandchildren through his son Cameron: granddaughter Lua Izzy Douglas born December 18, 2017 and grandson Ryder T. Douglas born December 22, 2020.
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24
He resided with actress Brenda Vaccaro for several years after meeting on the set of Summertree 1971.
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25
He was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 1998, focusing on nuclear disarmament and human rights.
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26
He was born prematurely in New Brunswick, New Jersey, because his parents were visiting his aunt’s family; his uncle was a co-founder of Johnson & Johnson.
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27
He was named to Quigley’s Top 10 Money-Making Stars six times between 1985 and 1995, peaking at #2 in 1987.
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28
In 2016, he visited three U.S. college campuses to speak about Israel and modern anti-Semitism.
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29
He is the son of Kirk Douglas and Diana Douglas; stepson of Anne Douglas.
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30
He and The China Syndrome co-stars Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon each won Oscars for leading roles.
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31
Steven Soderbergh first suggested Douglas play Liberace while filming Traffic 2000; Douglas later played him in Behind the Candelabra 2013.
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32
He is friends with Rob Reiner, Larry Manetti, Dick Van Patten, and Nick Ashford.
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33
In October 1997, Empire magazine ranked him #74 on its list of the Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time.
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34
He received Israel’s Genesis Prize in 2015 from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his acting, producing, and peace activism.
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35
He earned his Bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1968, as did Jack Johnson and Ossie Beck.
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36
He married Catherine Zeta-Jones on November 18, 2000, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
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37
He has worked with three actors who played roles his father played: Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, Dennis Quaid as Wyatt Earp, and Sean Bean as Odysseus.
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38
On April 4, 2003, he underwent a face augmentation at the St Regis Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.
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39
He attended and graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall.
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40
He got engaged to Catherine Zeta-Jones on December 31, 1999, in Aspen, Colorado.
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41
He has residences in both New York City and Bermuda.
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42
He is older brother to Joel Douglas and older half-brother to Peter and Eric Douglas.
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43
He recovered from knee replacement surgery on April 29, 2009.
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44
As a teenager, he was a member of a street gang called the Down Shifters, specializing in stealing cars.
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45
He was inducted into the 2012 New Jersey Hall of Fame for Arts and Entertainment.
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46
He attended and graduated from Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts.
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47
He is friends with New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
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48
The only time he was billed as M.K. Douglas was in a 1969 episode of CBS Playhouse.
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49
He received the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s Monte Cristo award in April 2012.
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50
He studied acting with Michael Howard in New York City.
