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A groundbreaking portrait of one of Hollywood’s
most successful stars, from critically acclaimed
and bestselling biographer Marc Eliot
Through determination, inventiveness,
and charisma, Michael Douglas emerged from the long
shadow cast by his movie-legend father, Kirk Douglas, to
become his own man and one of the film industry’s most
formidable players.
Overcoming the
curse of failure that haunts the sons and daughters of
Hollywood celebrities, Michael became a sensation when
he successfully brought One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest, starring his friend Jack Nicholson, to the
screen after numerous setbacks, including his father’s
own failed attempts to make it happen. This 1975
box-office phenomenon won Michael his first Oscar (the
film won five total, including Best Picture), an award
Kirk hadn’t won at the time, and solidified the
turbulent, competitive father-son relationship that
would shape Michael’s career and personal
life.
In the decades that followed, Michael
established a reputation for taking chances on new
talent and projects by producing and starring in
the hugely successful Romancing the Stone and
Jewel of the Nile movies, while cultivating a
multifaceted acting persona—edgy, rebellious, and a
little dark—in such films as Wall Street, Fatal
Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Disclosure.
Yet as his career thrived, Michael’s
personal life floundered, with an unhappy and tumultuous
first marriage, rumors of infidelity (especially
with leading ladies such as Kathleen Turner), and a
headline-grabbing stint in rehab. Rocked by a series of
tragedies, including Kirk’s strokes, his son Cameron’s
incarceration, and his own fight against throat cancer,
Michael has emerged triumphant, healthy, and happy
in his marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones, a Welsh actress
twenty-five years his junior, and their new young
family.
In Michael Douglas, Marc Eliot brings
into sharp focus this incredible career,
complicated personal life, and legendary Hollywood
family. Eliot’s fascinating portrait of the lows and
remarkable highs in Michael’s life—including the
thorny yet influential relationship with his
father—breaks boundaries in understanding the life and
work of a true American film star.
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