--- description: Kirk Douglas has been a force in Hollywood for so long that it's easy to forget that, like every actor, he was once a virtual unknown title: Kirk Douglas: Rare Early Photos of a Hollywood Legend image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c32b54e7363cfdf/69876c995f570f5d64b13f5c/141204-kirk-douglas-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kirk Douglas: Rare Early Photos of a Hollywood Legend by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 10:28 PM CUTPublished: Mar 13, 2014 10:24 AM CUT  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas relaxing between takes on the set of the 1949 film, Champion Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas relaxing between takes on the set of the 1949 film, ChampionPeter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 10:28 PM CUTPublished: Mar 13, 2014 10:24 AM CUT Kirk Douglas (b. Issur Danielovitch in 1916) has been around for so long, and for so many decades was such a major Hollywood force, that it’s sometimes easy to forget that like every other actor in history, he was once a virtual unknown. Today even a truncated list of his most-celebrated movies reads like the syllabus for a seminar on mid-20th century film: _Ace in the Hole_, _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_, [_Lust for Life_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049456/ "undefined"), _Paths of Glory_, _Spartacus_, the noir masterpiece [_Out of the Past_](http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/361/Out-of-the-Past/ "undefined"), _Lonely Are the Brave_, _Seven Days in May_ and so many others. There’s a reason he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar “for 50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community”; a reason he’s won similar awards from the American Film Institute, the National Board of Review, the Berlin Film Festival and others; a reason why—as he celebrates his 100th birthday on Dec. 9, 2016—he remains arguably the greatest living Hollywood legend. And that reason, of course, is that Douglas earned it all (while penning more than a few best-selling memoirs along the way). But back in 1949, the son of Jewish immigrants from Belarus was just another talented, good-looking actor hoping for a big break. He had some notable roles under his belt already, in strong movies like _A Letter to Three Wives_ and the aforementioned _Out of the Past_; but it was in the lead role of 1949’s unsettling boxing drama, [_Champion_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041239/ "undefined"), that Douglas became a star. He played a thoroughly unlikeable fighter named Midge Kelly in the film — a risky move that paid off big-time when he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar on the strength of his searing performance. (He lost to Broderick Crawford in [_All the King’s Men_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041113/ "undefined").) The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Douglas was a leading box-office draw throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, while also making a mark as a socially conscious artist. For example, as both the producer and star of the 1960 epic, _Spartacus_, Douglas insisted that the movie’s screenwriter, the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo — a communist from way back — receive credit for his screenplay. That act of conscience, at a time when such stances were almost unknown, is often cited as the beginning of the end for Hollywood’s noxious [Blacklist Era](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood%5Fblacklist "undefined"). Here, and in acknowledgment of the man’s long, full life and his stellar career, LIFE.com pays tribute to Kirk Douglas with a series of photos —none of which ran in LIFE magazine — made when he was on the very cusp of stardom. A champion, indeed. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Kirk Douglas in between takes on the set of the film Champion in 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas relaxing between takes on the set of the 1949 film, Champion Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and the great character actor Paul Stewart on the set of the 1949 film, Champion. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and actress Ruth Roman, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and actress Ruth Roman, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and Ruth Roman, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and Ruth Roman, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and others on the set of the 1949 film, Champion. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas with unidentified man, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas with unidentified man, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas on set of Champion. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and actress Lola Albright shooting publicity stills for Champion, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and Lola Albright, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and Lola Albright, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and Lola Albright, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and Lola Albright, 1949. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Kirk Douglas and Lola Albright, 1949. 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