Kirk Douglas dies and Hollywood glitters a little less brightly

As tributes poured in, it was difficult not to reflect that his passing leaves us with very few stars of the Golden Age of cinema.

Douglas, three times nominated for a best Oscar, starred in more than 80 films in a career that spanned six decades. At the vanguard of the blockbuster movie, he stepped in front of the cameras alongside Tinseltown’ legends such as Barbara Stanwyck, with whom he made his 1946 film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

By the mid-50s he was an established leading man having achieved international stardom as unscrupulous boxer Midge Kelly in the 1949 movie Champion.

Over the years, Douglas appeared opposite all the big hitters of their day, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day and Lana Turner to name but three. However, it was the epic Spartacus that arguably saw him in the most star-studded company of his career as he headlined a cast that included Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov and Tony Curtis.

All have now left us but there are a few silver screen icons still around, for how long only time will tell. So we really do need to cherish Olivia de Havilland, another to have reached 103, Sidney Poitier, now 96, 94 year olds Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke, and the baby of the bunch, Mel Brooks at 93 years young.

In Edinburgh we have our very own Hollywood icon in Sean Connery, now 89 years of age. Like his LA counterparts he has become the stuff of legend, thanks in no small part to his dominance in the role of James Bond but also due to his wider body of work over the decades.

It’s difficult to see today’s movie actors ever quite attaining the vaunted status of Connery and co. Today the film industry is a different beast and re-watching the glories of yesteryear, while it’s easy to smile at naïve and often melodramatic acting choices adopted by the stars, there’s just something about their commitment that overshadows the naturalistic approach of modern day movie makers.

They retain a certain warmth and charm and perhaps that’s why the greats became so well loved, they were actors exploring and discovering a young art form together with their audiences. Whatever the reason, there’s just something so much more satisfying about watching the likes of Charles Laughton in Hobson’s Choice than yet another Fast and Furious.

As the fictional Hollywood diva Norma Desmond retorted in Sunset Boulevard when it was pointed out that she used to be big: “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.”

No doubt a sentiment many of contemporary stars might secretly hang on to in order to salve their egos, but I fear there are few who will live up to the appeal of Douglas and his peers, actors who ruled the golden age of cinema and whose ghosts continue to do so today.

Kirk Douglas dies and Hollywood glitters a little less brightly - Liam Rudden