EDITORIAL

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After crash
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Kirk Douglas,73, returns to acting {
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By Frank Lovece membering him as a remote, unfeel- tions for "Champion" (1949),'The Bad F
ing father. But when the teacher of and the Beautiful" (1952) and 'Lust for D ET
"This is the first interview I've done Mike's beloved 9-year-old grandson
since my accident," Kirk Douglas (Jesse Tendler) notices that the boy
Life" (1956); Michael took one for his
performance in 'Wall Street" (1987)
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says buoyantly. He's lucky to be say- has been covering up an inability to after having won as producer of 1975's F FT
ing it at all. read, Mike is forced to reveal a family Best Picture, "One Flew Over the Io fr
On Feb. 13, 1991, Douglas and body- malady that he fears may have been Cuckoo's Nest." Yet by all accounts,
no rivalry simmers between father
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guard Michael Carra were in a heli- passed on: dyslexia, a fairly common
copter flown by Douglas' friend Noel visual-perception problem that is of- and son, and Kirk stands stoutly be-
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Blanc, son of the late vocal-artist Mel ten inherited. hind Michael's current film, the con-
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Blanc. As the helicopter lifted off the troversial erotic thriller IJ
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ground at the srnall Santa Paula Instinct."
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(Calif.) Airport
- an "uncontrolled" "As you know, they had a lot of
problems with the (MPAA) rating of
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llfiil':'"ili:t^:?"'o"J,"J,;"t'oill,t:u;,1 I bet rike rm on it," he says, referring to director Paul o
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:$ii B[,,il.*i'":Hli""*ik"i"$3[ borrowed time. But,
Verhoeven having to cut more than a
minute from a sex scene with Michael {q
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ger, _l8-year-old flight student- David D
- ' GOd, I'm hefe!'
by Douglas and Sharon Stone.'Michael o
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Tbmlinson, were killed immediately, wants me to see the full movie that EI
while the helicopter slammed back to will H
earth.
be shown, without any cuts, in Eu-
rope. I feel in our country there's too
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Douglas himself, like the heroes of much concern about sexuality and too u
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his countless, often classic movies, much leeway in movies that deal with o
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survived relatively unscathed, leav- "I loved the relationship between violence. We don't mind a movie o
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ing the hospital after only a few days. the grandfather and his grandson and where somebody's head gets blown o
"I'm in pretty good shape now, back hisownson,"relatesDouglas,whohas off, or an arm is cut off. But suddenly 0)
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to playing golf," says the actor, now grandchildren and four sons of his if there's a nude body, ohhh, every- o 0)
73. "I'm lucky. When something like own
- producer/actor Michael, ac- body gasps. Y'know, when you look ; Fl
that happens, you're filled with guilt tor Eric, producers Peter and Joel. around, you begin to see we're in a vi- =
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- a young kid was killed - and you "And I loved the idea of the subject,
wonder why things happen. It makes because so few people know about
olent country."
This isn't a new lament for the paci-
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you evaluate again." dyslexia. Since I've made the movie, fist hero of'Paths of Glory" (1958), i .'
One of those things he re-evaluated I'm amazed how many people I run
was his interest in making films, into who have various forms of dys-
"Lonely Are the Brave" (1962) and
uSeven
Days in May" (1964), who after
zo
something which - aside from a lexia. A lot of times they don't wanna bagging major game on safaris even-
brief cameo in Sylvester Stallone's talk about it. They're sort of ashamed tually felt remorseful and donated his
€
"Oscar" last year
- he hadn't done of it, and I hope in a small way'The
since the TV movie "Inherit the Wind" Secret' will remove a few of those
prizes to a museum. The helicopter
accident only crystallized Douglas'
5
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(1988). .I had really no interest,"' veilsthatcoveritup." feelings about man and mortality.
Douglas recounts. "After doing my Despite his new career as a novelist
autobiography (the 1988 bestseller- (Douglas'upcoming book, "The Gift,' "I feel like I'm on borrowed time,"
he says. "But, by God, I'm here!"
2
'The Ragman's Son'), I was busy writ- was preceded by "Dance With the @ 1992 NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE AssN,
ingnovelsandgotveryintriguedwith Devil"), the writer-actor hopes to
that. I never intended to do a movie make at least one more theatrical o
until I read the script of'The Secret,' feature so that he can work with son STAR VIEW O)
which really hit me. I felt it was beau-
Michael. "We have a subject now o,
tifully done and could say something circus story called 'High Wire'
-thata
important." - 6
we're developing," he reports. "But it o
In the TV movie "The Secret" (CBS, depen{s. We feel we only have one
April 19), Douglas plays Mike Dun- movie to do, so we want it to be as
more, a New England general-store good as it can be. If we cgme up with a
IN
owner who is urged by the people in script we're excited about, we'll do N)
his town to run for local political of- it."
-
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fice. IIis grown son (Bruce Boxleitner) Douglas, amazingly, has hever won A
is less taken with the old man, re- an Academy Award despite nomina- 6
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Kirk Douglas