'Sleep tight': Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones share emotional tributes to Kirk

Michael Douglas has shared an emotional tribute to his late father, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, who passed away aged 103 on Wednesday in the US (local time).

Michael, 75, took to Instagram to post two photos and a lengthy caption remembering his dad whose glittering career spanned over six decades and saw him lauded as a film industry icon.

“It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” he wrote.

“To the world he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to”.

“But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine [Zeta-Jones], a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband”.

“Kirk's life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet”.

“Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son. #KirkDouglas”.

Michael’s wife of 20 years, Catherine Zeta-Jones, also shared a touching farewell to ‘darling Kirk’.

“To my darling Kirk, I shall love you for the rest of my life. I miss you already. Sleep tight...” she wrote.

Kirk is survived by his second wife Anne Buydens, 100, and his three children, Michael, Joel and Peter.

Anne and Kirk had another son, Eric, who died in 2004 from a drug and alcohol overdose. Actor Michael and producer Joel are children of his first marriage to Diana Dill.

Condolences and well-wishes have flooded social media from the likes of William Shatner and the Golden Globe Awards association. In 1957, Kirk won the Best Actor in a Drama gong for his role in Lust for Life.

Who is Kirk Douglas?

Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch in New York on December 9, 1916, to Jewish immigrant parents who migrated to the US from present-day Belarus.

After an impoverished childhood, Kirk changed his name and joined the US Navy before landing his first film role - in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers - four years later thanks to his friend and fellow actor, Lauren Bacall.

From there, Kirk established himself as a sought-after leading man and appeared in more than 90 movies, earning both critical and commercial acclaim.

He was also a philanthropist - with a focus on education, the arts and, later, Alzheimer's research - as well as an author, director and producer.

The Spartacus star had reportedly been in good health since suffering a stroke in 1996 but made very few public appearances in his later years.

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