Kirk Douglas, was born in Amsterdam, New York to a poor family of Russian immigrants. He changed his name from Issur Danielovitch Damsky and made his Broadway debut in 1941. He served in the U.S. Navy, and embarked on a screen career in 1946. His films include Champion (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Lust for Life (1956), and Spartacus (1960), and from the 1970s he also worked as a director. Douglas helped bring about the demise of the Hollywood blacklist by hiring writer Dalton Trumbo for Spartacus. In 1963 he appeared on Broadway in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and passed the film rights off to his actor/producer son, Michael, who brought the story to the screen. He has written two memoirs: The Ragman's Son: An Autobiography (1988) and Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning (1997). He had two sons (including Michael) with his first wife, Diana Dill, and two sons with his second wife, Anne Buydens. Douglas is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and of a 1995 Honorary Academy Award.