Born in a New York ghetto to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Kirk Douglas turned himself into a genuine megastar through boundless determination, impeccable physique and dashing good looks. He starred in Vincent Minnelli's The Bad And The Beautiful and worked with the director again portraying the legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh in Lust For Life. He went on to make two of his greatest films, Paths of Glory and Spartacus, with another visionary director, Stanley Kubrick and became the figurehead of the Douglas family cinema dynasty.