by Kirk Douglas
I got your letter from Mojave. Is this the only time you go on location for this picture? Why don’t you talk about your female co-star [Bella Darvi]. Darling, I am silly but I am so lonely and lost without my husband.
I will ship several paintings and my trunk on a freighter July 21st. We won’t have them before end of August. Any other suggestions?
Darling, Saturday night I was married for one month. I refuse to congratulate you because I feel I have been cheated. Now I know why you have so many divorces in America. They don’t permit the wives to stay with their husbands! After 12 days—out!! But they don’t know STOLZ—as soon as I return I will create the League of the Awful Wedded Wives!!
Chéri, je t’aime, je pense à toi et ne te quitte jamais! [Darling, I love you, I think about you and I will never leave you!]
Stolz
ANNE:
I mailed Kirk this triumphant note from Brussels a few days later:
My Darling,
The auction was very interesting and the only good buy was the Utrillo pointed out to me by Albert. Guess who bought it? It’s an oil painting, 1927 approx., the size of Tola’s—$1,500!!!—What a wife you have!
My darling, now that I know when I am going to you, I can’t wait any longer for it. I pray every night for the good God to protect you until my arrival. I’m leaving this evening for Germany. I embrace you my darling with all my heart.
Stolz
On July 13th, I sent Kirk a cable which read:
AM ALL SET NERVOUS AND IMPATIENT PREPARE MY QUARTERS I LOVE YOU=THE IMMIGRANT
He wired a poetic response immediately:
HAVE ALL THE CLOCKS IN THE WORLD STOPPED RUNNING IS THE EARTH NO LONGER REVOLVING ON ITS AXIS LETS GIVE IT A SHOVE=KIRK
KIRK:
A few days later, Anne was home, all obstacles behind us at last. Now I could turn my attention to setting up my first film, The Indian Fighter, under my own banner, the Bryna Company, named after my mother.
CHAPTER FIVE
Bryna’s Early Years
KIRK:
I have always been a maverick; it’s worked to my advantage. When producer Hal Wallis signed me for The Strange Love of Martha Ivers in 1946, my deal was one picture a year for five years. Later he wanted to give me a more traditional seven-year contract. I said no and he dropped me. Without ties to a studio or a powerful producer, I could decline a role without fear of reprisals. That suited me just fine.
MGM asked me to join The Great Sinner—a splashy Technicolor vehicle with a stellar cast: Ava Gardner, Gregory Peck, and Ethel Barrymore. At the same time, an ambitious independent producer named Stanley Kramer wanted me to star in his low-budget, black-and-white film based on a Ring Lardner short story about a boxer named Midge Kelly. I fell in love with Carl Foreman’s script. Against my agent’s advice, I accepted Champion. It made me a bona fide star and earned me my first Oscar nod. As for The Great Sinner—a great big flop!
In choosing my first project for Bryna, I once again followed my instincts. The Indian Fighter could be a commercial hit if I cast it correctly. I, of course, would star. I wanted Diana—whom we dubbed “Our Ex-Wife”—to be my leading lady. Anne was fine with it.
Normally, she would have gone with me to Oregon, but she was working on a production of her own—our first child. She didn’t want to fly or be away from her doctor. The shooting schedule was thirty days, if all went well.
Training for the physically demanding role in Champion (1949)
I said to Anne: “Can the boys stay with you while their mother and I are in Oregon?” It may sound odd, but she readily agreed, moving a notch higher on the pedestal I had already built for her.
The script called for a beautiful Indian girl. I was having trouble finding the right actress with the right look. We were at Ray Stark’s house one day; Anne and Fran were leafing through Vogue.
“This girl would make a fantastic Indian,” Anne said excitedly, pointing out a photo of a gorgeous model with high cheekbones coming out of a pool, soaking wet, a man’s shirt clinging to her voluptuous body. I finally tracked Elsa Martinelli down through her current beau, Oleg Cassini, who gave me her number. Oleg warned that she spoke terrible English, with a strong Italian accent. No problem, I told him. She’d be eye candy on screen, and who in those prepolitically correct times worried about an authentic accent? My director was André De Toth, a brilliant, half-blind Hungarian whose first of seven marriages was to the film noir darling Veronica Lake.
Elsa Martinelli thought it was a joke when I told her I was Kirk Douglas calling to offer her a job. Sing me the song from the Disney picture if it’s really you, she demanded in her flawed English. I felt a little silly, but I obligingly crooned a chorus of “Whale of a Tale” to prove it as Anne broke into giggles.
This time Anne and I were in the same country and only one time zone apart. Communication was a lot easier. But we still wrote letters. Anne even wrote me a poem, dated May 24, 1955, about my frenetic preproduction activities. She called it “We Love and Miss You!!!”
No more hesitation about firing Cook,
No more doubts about how Martinelli will look.
No more of: “I am lucky to have Andre,”
No more of how they have pushed you at U.A.
No more of: “She would be just right for the part,”
No more questions—to produce you have to be smart.
No more worry about how the weather will be in Bend,
No more kidding, what you need is a helping hand.
No more of “I am so angry at Ray,”
No more of: “Do you love me today?”
No more of our secret luncheon date,
No more: “I have to hurry—I’ll be late.”
No more.… I don’t know what to do,
Since more and more I LOVE AND MISS YOU!
Your Baby
Your Dog
Your Stolz
ANNE:
Ironically, Kirk would be with his first wife, not me, on our first anniversary, just five days after I sent him my little poem. His letters to me were loving and enthusiastic about the baby:
Darling—
With all the pens I give out, you’d think I’d have one to write with—but no. We got home early today—about 5.
The kids have left and it feels luxurious to lie in bed here after taking a bath and write to my darling who is getting big with our child and waiting for her husband to come home.
I pray to God that we suddenly don’t run into some bad weather. We definitely should finish next week. I hope by Thursday night. If we go until Saturday, that will be exactly thirty days. I hope we can do it under that.
I hope the movie turns out well—I feel sure it can’t be something we’ll be ashamed of. I hope it will be something we’ll be proud of.
I think the kids had a good time here. They wanted to stay, but I think it was best that they go. Yesterday, Joel caught several fish. He was ecstatic. Michael’s nose went out of joint. When the two of them are apart, they are great. It’s amazing the rivalry between them.
I miss you so much, my darling—no matter how busy I am. And I need you so much. I want our marriage to be a very happy, successful one. I want you to be the way you sound in most of your letters. And I will do everything I can to make it that.
As soon as I finish writing, I’m going to call you on the phone—but it’s nice to be able to write a letter sometimes and say things that seem difficult to say on the phone.
My darling, take care of our house, my dog, our baby, and most important yourself. I love you, Stolz—And now I’m waiting for your call to come through. Always remember, darling, I need you—very, very much. And for you, I hope to do some wonderful things in life. This is it—you and me and our family forever!
K.
ANNE:
From the home front, I kept Kirk abreast of my life and what I was hearing when I was out and about with friends. The next movie on Kirk’s agenda was Lust for Life. He had wanted it
to be a Bryna production with Jean Negulesco directing. Stan Margulies, Bryna’s head of marketing, announced it in Variety. The story got a quick response from MGM. The studio had owned the rights to Irving Stone’s book for years; in fact, in 1946 they had planned to make it with Spencer Tracy as Van Gogh.
Kirk was disappointed. Several years earlier Negulesco, a talented artist, had painted Kirk’s portrait—adding a beard and a straw hat. His resemblance to Vincent was uncanny. MGM offered him the role in their production, which would reunite him with John Houseman and Vincente Minnelli, the producer and director, respectively, of The Bad and the Beautiful. That had been a good experience for Kirk. It earned him a second Oscar nomination. Before he took off for The Indian Girl location in Bend, Oregon, Kirk reported to MGM for makeup and costume tests.
I gave my husband some nice news in this letter:
My Darling,
Your letters make me so happy, except that they sort of remind me of approximately one year ago. When I was in Paris waiting desperately to hear the “magic” words from you! How foolish can you be! Except that I would make that same damn mistake all over—should you ask me again!
Chéri, your two hands won’t be big enough to hold one of my “grapefruits”—
Dory Schary told Ardy Deutsch that your test in Van Gogh’s makeup is sensational! Darling, I wish you all the luck in the world—take it easy—don’t make up for the others!
I miss you terribly—Stolz
KIRK:
The picture was coming in on schedule, and I was eager to go home. Whenever I was away, I always tried to call Anne on Sunday, the only day we didn’t work as a rule. I tended to write her as well, just before or after our conversations.
Darling—
Here it’s Sunday—the day of rest—and I’ve been out for most of it shooting publicity pictures.
We are hoping to finish the picture by Thursday night, but the assistants feel it will take until Friday. I hope I’ll be home Friday with my darling.
This morning we went over the rest of the stuff that must be shot with Andre and Willie [Schorr]. We should have no problems and the rest of the stuff should be rather simple to shoot. Let’s pray that the weather holds up!
Willie just called to ask me to join him and Andre for a beer, but I feel so lazy. I think I’ll just stay here and write to you and wait for my call to you to go through.
It was very nice of you to let Diana stay at the house. Michael told me so, too, when I talked to him yesterday.
I haven’t even had a chance to read any of the books that I brought with me on Van Gogh. But there’ll be time enough for that—I just want to lie around the pool and take life easy.
The Sunday Breakfast was a great success—we all loved it!—And with it, we ate one of the trout that Joel caught.
Just talked with you on the phone—will be talking to you again tomorrow. Very excited about the baby moving! You sound so happy, but remember—community property—she’s or he’s half mine!
All my love, Kirk
As soon as I was back in Beverly Hills, MGM called me in to sign a loyalty oath. I objected vehemently to the practice. The studios required it, not because they questioned our loyalty but in order to appease the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). I had to sign if I wanted to play Vincent.
The “Red Scare” had become embedded in the collective national conscience some eight years earlier, thanks to the all-powerful HUAC, which focused on the movie industry primarily so they could get front-page publicity.
The top brass of the studios and distribution houses got together at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in November of 1947 to discuss how they could defuse the impression they were riddled with “Commies” and “Pinkos.” They created the infamous blacklist, which destroyed the lives of so many talented people. Ironically, while all this was going on, the Communist Party itself was never outlawed.
As far as I was concerned, the Committee’s methods were un-American, but I signed the oath. I was ashamed to do it. The memory of how I felt spurred me to hire blacklisted writers such as Dalton Trumbo for my own company, using the elaborate system of fake names they created. Dalton’s was Sam Jackson.
The achievement I am proudest of in my long life is helping to break the blacklist by using Dalton’s given name in the credits of Spartacus. But before that could happen, I would be adding to my filmography with Lust for Life, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Paths of Glory, The Vikings, and The Devil’s Disciple.
ANNE:
Lust for Life was going to shoot on locations in Belgium, Holland, and France—all the actual places where Van Gogh lived. In Arles, Kirk slept in Vincent’s room in the inn where he died. I was excited to be returning to Europe with Kirk.
I wasn’t with him for the arduous locations in Holland. He wanted me to remain in Paris with friends. I didn’t know whether we could see each other before I went back to California to await our child. Luckily, the production would move back to the MGM backlot and Kirk would be home when Peter Vincent Douglas was born, on November 23, 1955.
Here’s what Kirk wrote me in Paris before I left.
Darling—
I am going to call you later today to find out whether or not you will be leaving tonight. There is a chance we might finish tomorrow, but we still don’t know. They may cut out a scene here. The letter that you wrote to Amsterdam finally arrived today. It was a sweet letter!—
How do you feel back home in our house? How was the trip? It seems strange to be asking about things before they happen. I want you to take very good care of yourself—sit around the pool—with the phone by your side.
I wonder if they are certain now about the release date of Indian Fighter. Stan [Margulies] says it might be right after Xmas.
The weather here has been cold and damp. I bought a pair of wool-lined shoes and a sweater. On the whole, I think the picture is going well. But I’ve had it, and I’m ready to go back. Now that you are leaving, I don’t look forward to going back to Belgium. I wanna go home.
This castle [the hotel Kasteel Maurick in Rotterdam] seemed like a dream place at first. Now it seems cold and dreary.
I’m glad I had a chance to visit the museums in Amsterdam—even though I had to do it quickly. The collection of Van Goghs is fantastic—not to mention the Rembrandts, Hals, Vermeer.
I’m almost tempted to call you and tell you not to leave Paris this weekend in the hope that I might be able to get there!—I’m writing this on location with many interruptions—it’s been raining from time to time.
I better end this. I’ve already talked to you on the phone and we are going to try to meet in Paris this weekend.
All my love, K
At home with baby Peter
Peter visits daddy on the set of Lust for Life (1956)
KIRK:
Lust for Life took a toll on my psyche. As an actor, I knew how to create an illusion without getting lost in the role. Until Vincent. I was exactly his age at his death. I looked so much like his self-portraits that people gasped when I stood in front of one in the museum. I could feel the tortured artist taking over my soul.
Peter sees the world from on high
Part of my transformation into Van Gogh was wearing heavy work shoes like his. I always kept one untied so that I would feel unkempt, off balance, in danger of tripping. I walked with a shuffling gait. I continued to wear them for months after the movie was done. I swear I would sometimes check my ear to make sure it was there! I felt haunted, but Anne and the happiness we felt about our baby broke the spell.
The Indian Fighter was doing respectable business, and now I needed to decide on Bryna’s next projects. I started going to the office every day. I read books and scripts and went to a great many bullshit meetings.
I was just getting used to this routine when Anne reminded me she still had to fulfill her contract to handle protocol for one more Cannes Film Festival. It was April 1956, exactly two years, one marriage, and one baby since her l
ast tour of duty. Peter was five months old.
We were back to exchanging letters. Here’s what Anne wrote me at midnight on the first of May. She refers to the Picasso vase that sits in the entry foyer of our house, encased in Plexiglas. Anne had it appraised recently by Sotheby’s. They set its current value at one million dollars.
My Darling,
I am so sad and depressed—I don’t think I ever wanted to be near you as much as right now.
The toilet paper is too hard, the coffee is too strong, the water has an awful taste, the telephones are impossible. Don’t I sound like a true American? But even being a European broad, what on earth am I doing here!!!
The Festival—my God—I couldn’t care less. I have never had such a wonderful and inexpensive vacation. But who needs it when you have a little son waiting for you?
Daryl Zanuck and Bella are back together, closer than ever. Bella has the most gorgeous diamond necklace I have ever seen. She also won five million francs last night at the Casino. The night before her departure for Rome, Kim Novak was in a serious flirtation with Aly Khan. Harry Cohn might have a heart attack if he gets his second big star involved with this Arabian Prince. So go the gossips.
