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Article: Stroke Doesn't Halt Douglas' Comeback.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Los Angeles Business Journal
- Article date:
- December 6, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 CBJ, L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the late 1940s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered Kirk Douglas $50,000 to star in a bigbudget gambling movie, "The Great Sinner" -- a princely sum for a young actor in those days. He turned MGM down; his agent thought he was crazy.
Instead, Douglas gambled on a low-budget tale of a ruthless boxer, for which he would be paid just $15,000. He took the role, he says, because the movie offered him "a chance to express the turbulent feelings inside me." The film, released in 1949, was "The Champion," and it made Kirk Douglas a major Hollywood star, earning him his first Oscar nomination. "The Great Sinner" turned out to be a flop.
Fifty years later, Douglas, ...