Kirk and Anne Douglas Give $2 Million in Grants to CTG

 

Kirk Douglas and his wife, Anne, continue to give generously to the art form that the legendary screen actor calls his first love.  To help develop and produce new work for the theatre, the Douglases have recently awarded a $1 million challenge grant to Center Theatre Group to be combined with their earlier $1 million seed grant for new work, which results in a $2 million investment in the future of Los Angeles theatre.

According to Peter Douglas, President of The Douglas Foundation, “This challenge grant will be active for the next 10 years. For every $2 that CTG raises, the Foundation will add another $1. This has a potential of yielding up to $4 million to support new theatre.”

“Theatre was always my first love,” said Kirk Douglas. “In fact, when I came to Hollywood to make my first picture, I thought it was just a temporary detour. I would earn enough money to tide my family over only until my first long-run hit on Broadway.  That never happened, and I soon resigned myself (believe me, it wasn’t hard!) to being a movie star.  My second-choice career gave my wife and me an opportunity to give a lot of money to the Center Theatre Group over the years, a joyous commitment of which we continue to be extremely proud.”

“When Gordon Davidson told us about the opportunity to shape a defunct movie house in Culver City into CTG’s first Westside outpost,” Douglas continued, “Anne and I jumped on board. (After all, it was one way for this old thespian to get his name up in lights at last.) Michael Ritchie took over the reins from Gordon and shepherded the dream into a splendid small theatre which has enriched the environment of its host community as well as premiering extraordinary works, two of which made it to Broadway this season. Even an old-timer like me was able take to the boards with my autobiographical show, ‘Before I Forget.’

“Anne and I hope this additional gift will enable the Kirk Douglas Theatre to further its mandate of supporting new talent. We challenge others to join us in meeting that goal.”

The Douglases’ strong relationship with CTG began with Anne Douglas, who was a longtime member of CTG’s board of directors. Then, in 2004, the couple donated $2.5 million to help transform the Culver Theater into the live theatre venue, the Kirk Douglas Theatre.  Michael Douglas also contributed a $1 million capital gift in honor of his father for the project.

The first six seasons at this 317-seat house have yielded award-winning work and several plays and musicals that have moved to Broadway and off-Broadway including the world premieres of “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “The Wake,”  and the revival of the classic “Come Back, Little Sheba.” A major workshop of the musical “13” was held at the CTG/Kirk Douglas Theatre, after which the Douglases contributed $250,000 for the world premiere at the CTG/Mark Taper Forum. “13” also moved to Broadway.

“Kirk and Anne were instrumental in making a dream come true that my predecessor had of the creation of a mid-sized theatre,” said CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie.  “They have continued to be nothing but supportive of our work, especially with the development and production of new plays. I have become a great admirer of Kirk and Anne Douglas.”

In the course of his legendary career as actor and producer, Kirk Douglas has received Oscar nominations for “Champion,” “The Bad and the Beautiful” and “Lust for Life” and a Lifetime Achievement Oscar  “for 50 years as a moral and creative force in the motion picture community.”  He also holds the Medal of Freedom, our country’s highest honor, and a Legion d’Honneur from France amongst numerous other recognitions.

Kirk and Anne Douglas, through The Douglas Foundation, are hands-on philanthropists dedicated to education, the arts and providing for the needy. One of the Foundation’s most ambitious initiatives, recently completed, was the renovation of recreational and athletic facilities at over four hundred K-12 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Recognizing the crisis in health care today, the Douglas Foundation also lends its support to medical research, equipment, and programs within the health system that strive to enhance the quality of care in local communities.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading non-profit theatre company, programming seasons at the 739-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2000-seat Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center of Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to providing theatre of the highest caliber to the rich, diverse communities of Southern California, CTG supports a significant number of arts education and play development initiatives.

 

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