Film legend Kirk Douglas remembered in Montecito

MONTECITO, Calif. - Kirk Douglas, born Issur Danielovitch Demsky on Dec. 9, 1916, died in Beverly Hills on Wednesday at the age of 103.

Douglas and his second wife Anne also had a home in Montecito that was known for having a fiddler sculpture on the roof.

They liked to dine at Lucky's where stars are treated like regulars and customers are treated like stars.

Lucky's general manager and executive chef Leonard Schwartz said, "Either he or Anne would order steak tartare, which we don't have on the menu, and which we would make for them specially, and even now, one of his sons, Peter orders it when he comes in."

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival named an award for excellence in film after Kirk Douglas.

SBIFF executive director Roger Durling said, "He is - and will always be our 'Champion' - he is and will always be our 'Spartacus.' [Douglas] said, 'In order to achieve anything, you must be brave enough to fail.' And that's the way he lived his life. Bravely."

His excellence included standing up against the Hollywood blacklist against communists. When Douglas starred in and produced Spartacus he gave full credit to screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was on the blacklist.

Montecito resident Dr. Robert Lum said, "I will always, never forget his dimple and then you always want to say I am Spartacus."

Douglas cheated death more than once.

In February of 1991 Douglas survived a deadly mid-air collision in a helicopter that took off from the Santa Paula Airport. Five years later he survived a stroke.

In his 1988 bestselling autobiography The Ragman's Son Douglas wrote about being the only son of a poor Jewish immigrant.

He had six sisters, and went on to have four sons including the Oscar winner Michael Douglas.

Douglas and his wife Anne graced the cover of the Montecito Journal during the Montecito Mudslide.

The issue celebrated their new book of love letters.