Champion (United Artists) (1949)

kirk douglas biography and features - sports story Editor’s Note: On this page can be found a biography pointing up the swift and unusual acting career of Kirk Doug¬ las, as well as some un¬ usual data about the mak¬ ing of a champion — in the interests of producing a film, of course. Ever since he appeared in the much-talked-about role of the highschool pro¬ fessor in “A Letter to Three Wives,” Douglas has been the most sought after actor in Hollywood. In “Champion ” he adds lau¬ rels to his crown, turning in a performance that is realistic and unforgettable. Douglas Was Wrestler in His College Days (Short Feature ) Kirk Douglas, a former unde¬ feated inter-collegiate wrestling champion, was a natural for the title role in “Champion,” the Ring Lardner classic which opens on at the Theatre through United Artists Release. He quickly learned the tricky tech¬ nique of rope-skipping, punching light and heavy bags, defensive shifts, throwing hooks, jabs, crosses and blocks and all the calisthenics and medicine-ball work that go into making a fighter. Kirk possesses natural co-ordina¬ tion and split-second timing, a carry-over from his college days when he was the undefeated inter¬ collegiate wrestling champ at St. Lawrence University. All that Pro¬ ducer Stanley Kramer had to do was turn a wrestler into a boxer, and get Kirk to throw punches in¬ stead of slamming in an arm lock. Stanley Kramer produced “Cham¬ pion” for Screen Plays, Inc. Shar¬ ing co-starring honors with Kirk are Marilyn Maxwell, former singer with name bands, and Arthur Ken¬ nedy, who is now playing in the Broadway hit, “Death of a Sales¬ man.” Kirk Douglas Is Terrific In Title Role of Ring Lardner’s "Champion 55 KIRK DOUGLAS turns in a terrific performance as the ruthless, ambitious fighter in Screen Plays’ high-tensioned film, “Champion,” based on the famous Ring Lardner Classic. It opens soon at the Theatre through United Artists release. Still SK-S-3 Mat (2M) ( Biography) One of Hollywood’s busiest young actors, handsome Kirk Douglas, re¬ cently finished the most dynamic role of his screen career in United Artists’ powerful drama of the fight ring, “Champion,” which is adapted from the famous Ring Lardner story of the same name. Stanley Kramer produced the film for Screen Plays, Inc., with Doug¬ las playing the unforgettable role of “Midge” Kelly, a sadistic and unprincipled prizefighter. The pic¬ ture opens on . at the . Theatre, with Marilyn Maxwell and Arthur Kennedy playing co-star¬ ring roles. Douglas, who has reached the top of the screen ladder in this Ring Lardner tale, doesn’t mind reminis¬ cing about the time he had just twenty cents in his pocket. That was on Thanksgiving Day in 1939, and he remembers walking to the Bowery in New York City and gulping coffee and cold stew at a mission. However, he likes to re¬ member also how, just one vear later. h» was in a position to taxi to the elaborate home of Katharine Cornell and her husband, Guthrie MeClintic. where he had turkey and all the fixines, as well as champagne for his holiday meal. He Becomes an Actor During that year, he proudly points out, he established himself as an actor, plavina two minor roles in plays in which Miss Cornell was interested. Acting was always Kirk Douglas’ dream of a career, although it played second fiddle to his snorts career while in high school and col¬ lege. Douglas was born on Decem¬ ber 19. 1916, in Amsterdam. New York. He attended Lvnch Senior High School in that city, and later St. Lawrence University, where he was known as the State collegiate champion in his favorite sport of wrestling. Wrestling was forgotten, however, when he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, the tuition for which was garnered by spells of bell-hopping, operating a punch press machine and doubling up as a waiter in vari¬ ous Schrafft’s restaurants. Two of his Academy classmates were Lauren Bacall, now Mrs. Humphrey Bogart, and Diana Dill, an English girl who is now Mrs. Kirk Douglas. During the war, Douglas served with the Navy, principally in the South Pacific. He was invalided home and while convalescing in a hospital in New Orleans, he saw the picture of Diana Dill on the cover of Life Magazine. He located her in Phoenix, Arizona, where she was working as a model. Diana came to New Orleans and stayed to marry Kirk on November 2, 1943. They have two small sons. Michael and Joel, and a lovely home in Hollywood. After his discharge from the Navy, Douglas played in many hit shows on Broadway, including “Kiss and Tell” and “The Wind Is Ninety.” His first movie was “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers,” op¬ posite Barbara Stanwyck. Since then he has appeared in a succes¬ sion of outstanding films, including “Out of the Past,” “I Walk Alone,” “Mourning Becomes Electra,” “My Dear Secretary” and “Letter to Three Wives.” And now, in “Cham¬ pion,” he has achieved the zenith. Douglas has blue eyes, blonde hair, and hits the scales at 175. Raw Courage- That's What Champs Have (Sports Story) All great champs have it—Demp¬ sey climbing out of the ropes to KO Firpo, Feller blazing a fast one down the middle with bases loaded for a strike- out, Jesse Owens strain¬ ing for the tape; no matter what sport — champs have it. Without that extra something, call it guts, raw courage, or what you will, you can’t reach the top. Tony Zale had it. Beaten to a pulp by Rocky Graziano, he got up off the canvas to go on and win by a knockout to garnish the middle¬ weight championship of the world. Model for Action Fight fans have seen it happen, time and again, and so when Stan¬ ley Kramer decided to commit Ring Lardner’s classic story,“Champion,” to the screen, he searched for an actual championship fight that would best demonstrate this inde¬ finable trait that every champion is born with. The Tony Zale-Rocky Graziano championship fight was it. When “Champion” opens at the Theatre on through United Artists release, audiences will see Kirk Douglas receiving the beating of his life. Yet, he is the champion, and like all true cham¬ pions, he manages to get up off t’ e canvas and go on to win. Similarity to the Zale-Graziano fight ends right here. Tony Zale, a year later, lost his title. In United Artists’ “Champion,” Kirk Douglas emulates Zale by never quitting in the ring, but, unlike Zale, he re¬ tains his title to the bitter end. After his great fight in the ring, the ruth¬ less life of Midge Kelly (Kirk Douglas) draws to a close. Having destroyed everyone who stood in his path as he rose to the top, Midge is himself destroyed by the fight game that made him great. The climactic scene where the champion’s life ebbs away in his dressing-room, away from the roar of the crowd and the cheers of the throng, leaves the hard hitting im¬ pression that champs, all champs in the movies or in real life — main¬ tain the illusion of greatness to the very end. And this, after all, was what Ring Lardner, the great sports writer, ob¬ served about all public idols. In the public’s eye they are always “cham¬ pions,” and they all “go out like champions.” It's Not So Easy To Play a Champ (Short Feature ) You just can’t keep a fine act^ from being carried away by an in¬ tensely dramatic role. But once in a while, an enthusiastic thespian is carried away — on a stretcher! Kirk Douglas, star of Stanley Kramer’s production, “Champion,” landed himself on the hospital list after a scene which called on him to smash a steel cabinet with his fist in a burst of hysterical frenzy. It is seen on the screen just once, but to get the various camera angles for inter-cutting, Kirk smashed away eight times. By the time he was through, Kirk’s hand was swollen twice its normal size. He was rushed to the Los Angeles Emergency Hospital for X-rays. The examination proved that all bones were whole, but that Kirk’s knuckles were badly bruised. “Champion” is a Screen Plays, Inc., production released by United Artists. Co-starring in the film with Douglas are Marilyn Maxwell and Arthur Kennedy. Featured roles are played by Ruth Roman, Lola Al¬ bright and Paul Stewart. Page Eighteen