Kirk Douglas, 92, legendary actor, author, producer and philanthropist, will come to Cal State Long Beach to discuss communicative disorders at the Daniel Recital Hall on Oct. 6.
He will speak about his career, and the effects of his stroke, which led to his need for speech pathology. He will also speak about his philanthropic work and his family.
Betty L. McMicken, speech pathologist and CSULB assistant professor, will interview Douglas. McMicken said she is currently working with Douglas for the last year and a half. She also is involved with the Douglas’ charity at the Los Angeles Mission in downtown L.A. Douglas and his wife, Anne, renovated the mission and added a women’s center named the Anne Douglas Center.
“This couple’s philanthropic work is so outstanding,” McMicken said. “Anne and Douglas are, through their lives and care for others, the absolute manifestation of kindness.”
After suffering a stroke in 1996, Douglas was diagnosed with a communicative disorder. Since then he has been rigorously working on his speech and writing memoirs, such as “Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning” and “My Stroke of Luck.” He has appeared in three films since the stroke: “Diamonds,” “It Runs in the Family” and “A Father … a Son … Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
McMicken uses Douglas’ books in her classes at CSULB. His books have also impacted the clients that her students work with, and every semester her students write a paper about how they apply the knowledge from the two books in their clinical work. She also always shares their papers with Douglas.
“I have been a volunteer [at the Anne Douglas Center] for nearly a year,” McMicken said. “It has completely changed my teaching approach, research focus, and added opportunities for my students I had never dreamed of being able to offer.”
She also mentioned that her students accompany her for observation and they will be doing internships in the future.
Douglas has been featured in over 80 films, including “The Bad and the Beautiful,” “Paths of Glory,” “Lust for Life,” and “Spartacus.” He was nominated for an Academy Award for “The Champion” in 1949.
Over the years, he has received various awards for his career — the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, American Cinema Award in 1987, honorary Academy Award in 1995 and the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, among many others.
Douglas is considered an American movie icon. He started from humble beginnings in Amsterdam, New York, attending St. Lawrence University where he became interested in theater and wrestling. Afterward, he paid his way through the American Academy of Dramatic Arts working as a waiter and began acting on Broadway.
Douglas served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and upon returning from the service, he continued to pursue his acting career, starring in the film “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.”
Douglas has four sons: Joel Douglas, Peter Douglas, prominent actor Michael Douglas and Eric Douglas, who died of a drug overdose in 2004.
As Douglas’ personal speech pathologist and charity volunteer, McMicken said she has come to admire his perseverance.
“He is a wonderful teacher who teaches through the example of his courage and fortitude,” McMicken said.