list_text=          Among Disney fans, Actor Kirk Douglas is best remembered for his performance as swaggering sailor Ned Land in Walt Disney's "Whale of a Tale" "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". Since the Academy Award-winning film's release in 1954, Kirk's dimpled chin and energetic performance has left an indelible imprint on the minds of five generations of Disney moviegoers.
          While typically known for playing anti-heroes in films, or in his own words, "I've made a career of playing sons of bitches," in this Disney film he's a ukulele-toting good guy held hostage aboard the Nautilus submarine by the suave and sinister Captain Nemo, played by the late James Mason.
		  Born Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam, New York, the son of impoverished Jewish-Russian immigrants, Kirk Douglas won a wrestling scholarship to Saint Lawrence University and later, a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He debuted on Broadway as a singing Western Union boy in "Spring Again" until World War II interrupted his career. In 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving as a communications officer in anti-submarine warfare.
		  After the war, he won his first motion picture role in 1946, starring opposite Barbara Stanwyck in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers". Rave reviews eventually led to his first of three Best Actor Oscar nominations for his role as Midge Kelly in the 1949 motion picture "Champion", produced by Stanley Kramer. Other nominations were for his roles as the ruthless movie mogul Jonathan Shields in the 1952 film "The Bad and the Beautiful" and the self-tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in Vincente Minnelli's 1956 biopic "Lust for Life".
		  In 1955, Kirk formed one of Hollywood's first independent film companies, Bryna, named after his mother, producing such films as "Paths of Glory," "Spartacus" and "The Final Countdown".
		  In 1986, Kirk returned to Disney with his longtime friend Burt Lancaster to play Archie Long in the Touchstone feature "Tough Guys," about two elderly gangsters released from prison, who find they still have trouble fitting into society. Five years later, he landed at Disney again, appearing in the 1991 Touchstone picture "Oscar," starring Sylvester Stallone.
		  As a best-selling author of multiple books, including his 1988 autobiography, "The Ragman's Son" and its 1997 sequel, "Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning". In the latter, Kirk reflects on such life-changing events as surviving a tragic helicopter accident in 1991, which left two fellow passengers dead; the hard work of recovering from a stroke he suffered in 1995; and a spiritual awakening to his Jewish roots.
		  In 1995, he received an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences for "50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community."
		  While pro-active in humanitarian causes, Kirk also received the highest U.S. honor a civilian can receive, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, in recognition of his good will tours to more than 20 countries, including those in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
		  Kirk Douglas continues appearing in motion pictures, including his most recent "It Runs in the Family," a black comedy starring his son Michael Douglas and grandson Cameron Douglas.&