Nonagenarian Kirk Douglas wowed the crowd at the Castro Theatre on July 24 in accepting the Freedom of Expression award from the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
Addressing a packed house, the 94-year-old actor showed his sense of humor and intelligence, as well as his legendary toughness, as he walked to the stage to receive his statuette and participate in a 15-minute Q&A session with festival Executive Director Peter Stein before a screening of the classic film “Spartacus,” in which he starred in 1960.
Douglas spoke of his Jewish renewal and how important free speech is to a democracy. The veteran actor broke the Hollywood blacklist by crediting writer Dalton Trumbo for the script of “Spartacus.” (Trumbo refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947.)
Douglas also joked that he would celebrate a third bar mitzvah if he made it to age 96.