Old Hollywood Stars Who Were Forced to Live a Double Life

With Spartacus, Champion, and Lust for Life, Kirk Douglas built one of cinema’s toughest screen identities. He had been born Issur Danielovitch to poor Jewish immigrants and grew up as Izzy Demsky, facing poverty and antisemitism long before Hollywood knew his famous dimpled chin.

Before entering the Navy, he renamed himself Kirk Douglas because unusual, foreign-sounding names were considered a career obstacle. Douglas later regretted abandoning Issur Danielovitch and said it was more interesting. Decades afterward, he openly reconnected with the Jewish faith he had pushed aside.