Kirk Douglas was one of the most eligible bachelors in Hollywood during his peak, when he was one of the most famous heartthrobs in the industry. However, he made the decision to devote the most of his life to his partner of 65 years, Anne Douglas, whose maiden name was Buydens. Kirk’s death on February 5, 2020, at the age of 103, left Anne a widow, and they had no children together. On April 29, 2021, at the age of 102, Anne died away in her home in Beverly Hills, almost a year after her husband’s passing.
Michael, Kirk’s son, sent a statement to People in which he broke the news of his father’s demise. He said that his deceased father 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.”
Michael went on to say that
“But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband.”
In spite of the numerous obstacles they faced, Kirk and Anne were able to maintain a healthy and fulfilling relationship during their almost seven decades of marriage. During their marriage, Kirk was notorious for having extramarital affairs and was said to have a love relationship with Rita Hayworth, Patricia Neal, and Christina Crawford. Despite this, Anne was able to forgive him on each occasion.
Anne disclosed the reasons why she was able to forgive him on several occasions in the co-authored book that they published in 2017, titled Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood. “Kirk never tried to hide his dalliances from me,” she informed me. “As a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage.”
The two were associated with other people when they first met in 1953 on the set of “Act of Love” in Paris. At the time, they were both in relationships with other people. Anne had secretly wed Albert Buydens for reasons of security, while Kirk had already divorced actress Diana Dill and was engaged in private to Italian actress Pier Angeli. Anne had wed Albert Buydens for reasons of security.
Anne had an instant magnetic pull on Kirk. It was written here:
“This self-possessed beauty was very different from the women I had been involved with in Hollywood since Diana [his ex-wife] left me.”
During that time, Anne worked in the film industry as a film publicist. Prior to that, she had worked for director John Huston in 1952 as a location scout and assistant. She served as the head of protocol for the Cannes Film Festival for a period of three years beginning in 1953. In this role, she was responsible for planning parties and ensuring that they were attended by notable figures as well as members of the media. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kirk reportedly made the opportunity for her to work as his assistant, but she categorically declined the position.
In addition to that, he asked her out on a date, but she turned him down. Kirk was taken aback by Anne’s actions since he was used to having females compete with one other to date him because he was such a famous movie star. With the intention of taking her to a fancy restaurant and making a good impression on her, Anne reported that she responded:
“No, thank you, I think I’ll go home and make myself some scrambled eggs.”
After that, Kirk felt more eager than ever to win over her affections. On the other hand, he quickly gave up on attempting to impress her and instead concentrated on developing a good connection with her. That was the beginning of their working connection, but the beginning of their personal relationship had not yet arrived at that point.
Kirk reportedly wrote the following, as stated by The Hollywood Reporter:
“She finally agreed to work with me on a trial basis, making it clear our relationship would be strictly business.”
Kirk stated in their book, “With no romance in the picture, I stopped trying to impress Anne,” and that is exactly what he did. “Instead, I stopped talking about myself and began to listen to her.”
Together with Kirk’s actions at a charity gala, when he cheerfully volunteered to shovel elephant poo at a circus despite being a movie star in a tuxedo, this gesture began to touch Anne. Anne was also moved by Kirk’s actions at the charity gala.
On the other hand, she had some misgivings about being engaged with a celebrity from Hollywood. She was aware of a large number of ladies who were left sad after the filming of a movie concluded.
Despite this, she made the decision to follow her instincts, and in the spring of 1954, she and Kirk tied the knot. This occurred after Kirk broke off his engagement to Pier Angeli. After having been employed together for a year, they decided to be married in Las Vegas. One year after the birth of their first child, Peter Douglas, they welcomed their second child, Eric Douglas, in 1958. Anne was a wonderful stepmother to her stepchildren and had a positive connection with Kirk’s ex-wife, who she became friendly with.
In the meanwhile, despite being married, Kirk and Anne’s relationship continued to develop romantically. Whenever they were apart from one another, they regularly communicated their want to be with the other via the written word by exchanging letters.
They included in their book a letter that Kirk had written to Anne in 1957 when he was working on “Paths of Glory.” It said there:
“Dearest, how is it that when I am away from you, such an overwhelming love for you as it is now at 2:30 in the morning — as it is now — causes me to awaken to write to you? How lacking in entirety I feel when I am away from my family. How is it that a guy may live by himself? If you just care about yourself, you may as well be dead. And yes, I am glad that we are about to split ways so that I may get a fresh perspective on how important you are to me. My lyrical side tends to emerge in the wee hours of the morning.
Notably, Anne came to Kirk’s rescue on many occasions throughout their marriage. As he recalled it,
“A lot of the time, I find myself wondering what my life would be like if I hadn’t married Anne. Without her savvy in business and her well-honed intuition, it’s possible that I wouldn’t be here today. She prevented me from becoming bankrupt by maintaining her mistrust in my long-time lawyer and surrogate father, who did, in fact, steal the riches he told me I had.
He proceeded by saying, “She saved my life when she refused to let me fly to New York on Mike Todd’s plane which crashed, killing everyone who was aboard.” When I had my stroke and believed I would never talk or work again, she showed me unconditional love while still holding me to high standards. Anne is the epitome of altruism, kindness, and unwavering loyalty. In addition to that, she has a wicked sense of humor and is able to make me laugh in three different languages: English, French, and German.
However, the loving pair did face some challenges throughout their journey. A devastating loss occurred to the couple in 2004, when their youngest son Eric, who was an actor and stand-up comedian, passed away as the result of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 46. In addition to Anne’s fight against breast cancer and Kirk’s fight against melancholy after a stroke, the pair experienced a tragic loss when their youngest son Eric passed himself.
Despite this, the pair maintained a solid stance next one other. Kirk kept his vow to go all out on their festivities together for their 50th wedding anniversary, surprise Anne with a large and opulent wedding party that they had never before enjoyed. This was Kirk and Anne’s first wedding anniversary party. In 2015, Kirk revealed the key to their successful and long-lasting relationship when he remarked, “We solve our disagreements with a kiss.”
Their love for one another was immeasurably powerful, and Kirk said it best in one of the letters that he sent to Anne:
“Darling, always keep in mind that I need you… I want to spend my life doing beautiful things for you. This is it – our family, together with you and me, for all of eternity!”