Kirk Douglas is my new hero. Today the legendary actor and his wife Anne dedicated their 400th school playground. Ten years ago the pair set up a foundation to build safe play areas for Los Angeles-area kids. After the dedication, 91-year-old Douglas played in the playground and even slid down the slides.
Kirk Douglas and his wife have dedicated their 400th school playground — completing a decade-long effort to give Los Angeles kids a place to frolic.
The 91-year-old actor took a ride down a slide during the unveiling Wednesday at a Los Angeles elementary school.
Douglas and his wife, Anne, created a foundation that has provided more than $8 million to build or refurbish play areas in the Los Angeles school district.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was on hand for the dedication and praised Douglas and his wife for their efforts. The governor and Douglas worked together in a 1979 movie called “The Villain” and have remained friends for three decades.
[From Newsvine]
That’s amazing. These pictures make me ridiculously happy. What a great example to set for other people – especially celebs with the money to make such a positive impact.
Here’s Kirk and Anne Douglas at the kindergarten playground dedication ceremony at Ivanhoe Elementary School in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. These are easily my favorite celebrity photos ever. Images thanks to WENN.
It is so refreshing to see a charity where it tangibly benefits kids. (unlike some of these research organizations that sometimes can pull on the heart strings, get all of us to empty our wallets, and then we find out that very little fundage made it past the administrator stage) SO, IMO, what a great foundation. Los Angeles is really lacking in places for kids to recreate. I think it is truly an outstanding cause, and has tremendous immediate benefit.
Aww! That’s a nice story. Seems like all we hear about is the bad stuff that celebs do(which is A LOT), so it’s cool to hear some good stuff.
I hope I am spry enough to play on playground equipment when I’m 91(if I even live that long).
Hooray!!!! Those are fun pictures and a great story. It’s nice to see Americans helping out Americans. It’s easy to be in denial of the way that most Americans live in favor of focusing on atrocities around the world. I’m all for international aid but, first people should clean up their own backyards.
Anyway,
Hooray for playgrounds!!!!!
Years ago I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that I was on a beach with Kirk Douglas and Joan Collins.Joan and I were fighting over him. I vividly remember he was in swimming trunks and I lovingly caressed his bare chest and his chest felt like flaky, dry paper. Why I would have a dream about Kirk Douglas , I will never know. Why Joan Collins and I would be fighting over him, is yet another mystery. I don’t remember the outcome of the dream, but I do know that my mother has thought of me as strange ever since. I know this has nothing to do with this post, but seeing Kirk remeinded me of the love that he and I once had for eachother. That Bitch Joan Collins ruined it all! 😆
I’ve always admired him, because I have a friend in France who knows a lady – knew, the lady has since passed on – who spent a night with him once and even thirty and forty years later would blush and stammer if his name was mentioned. Any man who can make a woman feel like that is my hero.
Seriously, this is a wonderful thing he’s done. Cool guy.
I love this! Thanks for posting such a happy, feel-good story 🙂
Yay thanks so much for a happy story to end my day!
and Devilgirl you crack me up! could be worse though, Rob Zombie actually interrupts numerous dreams of mine and sticks stickers on me, doesn’t speak, just sticks things on me and leaves….
I’m not sure if the kids could understand him well when he spoke, but I sure hope they have lots of fun on that playground. Kirk seems to be having the time of his life.
Thanks for the good, happy celebrity story. More of them please, less Angelina WHORElie, Parasite and the lot.
Any parent reading this story knows how important play areas are. Each one is like a mini cosmos in itself. I think Kirk just made my day, but he’s made the day of thousands of kids too. So sweet.
Go watch Sparticus and enjoy Mr. Douglas’ performance.
Kirk Douglas is a silver fox.
As a public school teacher, at a school with really shoddy playground equipment, this tickles my heart and makes me want to hug the stuffing out of the Douglases.
😀
Whelkin, I LOVE ROB ZOMBIE!!!!!!!!!! I wish he would stick stickers on me, but NEVER LEAVE! Your dreams are funny though! 😆 😆
😀 Yay! What an awesome charity!
They are so cute. I hope I’ll be cute when I’m old
Kirk Douglas is the man who raped Natalie Wood when she was a teenager.
I met him and his wife a few years ago at the inaugural Santa Barbara International Film Festival Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film Award ceremony and he was so lovely. Despite having suffered a stroke, he was vibrant and clever and so nice. Good for him. It’s nice to see a celebrity promote good causes and know that they actually care about what they are representing.
What a great charity concept! I’d love to see such a program go nationwide. And bravo to Kirk Douglas for showing that a stroke doesn’t have to mean the end of the world!
Kirk Douglas is my hero both on and off the screen. I met him in 1980 down here in Australia and what a trully great man. I wish him and his family the very best.
To lassa: she did decline to work on a movie with him, but no evidence has ever been brought forward that he raped her.
Wow 400 playgrounds thats wonderful good for the douglas’ group for donating to such a great cause. Im sure all of the educational institutions have given a big thank you as well for their gift.