Kirk Douglas live on dvd

I'm glad there are plans to preserve for posterity Before I Forget, the one-man show by Kirk Douglas that was staged last month for four performances at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, Calif.

In an interview with CNN, Douglas says he wants to turn the 90-minute show into a television special and a dvd. Proceeds would go to the Motion Picture and Television Home, where he endowed a wing in memory of his father.

That'll be great for those of us who couldn't get to California. Still, I can't imagine it could compare with the experience of sitting in the audience and listening to the 92-year-old actor reflect on his life and career. I'm thinking this is one where you just had to be there.

"So many people cried," Douglas said, "and I thought, you know, it's easy to make people cry, but it's more important to make people laugh. ... Especially in this world today, if you don't laugh, you cry."

Of course, Douglas is best known for movies such as Spartacus, Lust for Life and Paths of Glory but my favorite is a 1966 film set in Israel called Cast A Giant Shadow. I found it when I was channel-surfing late one night and the movie inspired me to make my first trip to Israel, in 1995. I ended up living there for a year, so Kirk Douglas has had quite an impact on my life.

Here's an interview with Douglas on NPR. And a report from the Los Angeles Times on opening night. In his review, Charles McNulty noted that Douglas' stroke-impaired speech was a little difficult to understand at times but he says:

"Genuinely touching and amusing by turns, the show — special event, really — has a relaxed, moseying feel. It’s as though we’ve been invited into Douglas’ Beverly Hills den to watch home movies and listen to tales from his incredible showbiz odyssey."

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At 92, a new stage for Kirk Douglas

I must give props to 92-year-old Kirk Douglas, who's planning four performances of a new one-man show next month at the theatre in Los Angeles that bears his name. Before I Forget will feature the actor, author and philanthropist talking about his life and career.

Michael Ritchie, artistic director of the Center Theatre Group, which includes the Kirk Douglas Theatre, tells the Los Angeles Times Culture Monster blog that it was Douglas's idea. "It’s anecdotes, but there’s also a philosophical thread throughout. It's about being an artist and an actor. It’s his life, told through some of his characters."

Of course, Douglas is best known for movies such as Spartacus, Lust for Life and Paths of Glory but my favorite is a 1966 film set in Israel called Cast A Giant Shadow. I found it when I was channel-surfing late one night and the movie inspired me to make my first trip to Israel, in 1995. I ended up living there for a year, so Kirk Douglas has had quite an impact on my life.

Douglas suffered a stroke in 1996 that partially impaired his speech. The last movie I saw him in was It Runs in the Family in 2003 and it was clearly affecting him. I'm not sure how much stage work he's done since his last Broadway appearance, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, in 1964. But I'm sure the audience will be very understanding and hanging on every word.

Maybe he'll even take the show on the road!