Michael Douglas Read online

  3 “How long have you been married?” Michael Douglas to a reporter in London, as reported in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, April 30, 1988.

  4 “It is a very difficult time …” Michael Douglas in Ladies’ Home Journal, August 1988.

  5 “Acting is tunnel vision …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Linda Blandford, New York Times, December 3, 1989.

  6 “Yes … I admit, I should …” Michael, quoted in Parker, Michael Douglas.

  7 “Don and Melanie are very much in love …” PR statement by Elliot Mintz, who represented the couple.

  8 “Michael and Griffith simply …” PR statement by Allen Burry, who represented Michael Douglas.

  9 Then, on February 14, 1991, everything changed Details on the helicopter accident are from several sources, including the New York Times and the Associated Press, which both reported the accident as happening February 14, 1991.

  CHAPTER 15

  1 “Coping stops you …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Linda Blandford, New York Times, December 3, 1989.

  2 The next step was crucial: finding the right leading lady “The sexual content of the film helped determine the choice of its female star. Ms. Stone, who played Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife in ‘Total Recall,’ was cast in ‘Basic Instinct’ only after better-known actresses like Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Geena Davis, Ellen Barkin and Mariel Hemingway rejected her part, largely because it demanded so much nudity and sexual simulation.” Bernard Weinraub, New York Times, March 15, 1992.

  3 “Between the hype …” Michael Douglas, quoted in Sanello, Naked Instinct, 92.

  4 “It was Paul Verhoeven’s idea …” Sharon Stone, quoted by contactmusic.com, September 15, 2002.

  5 “Sharon loved it!” The eyewitness wishes to remain anonymous. 194 “At least it proves …” Sharon Stone, quoted in Sanello, Naked Instinct, 96.

  6 “If I see one ounce of cellulite …” Ibid., 110.

  7 “there is something gruesome …” Ruth Morris, “This Man Is Not a Sex Addict,” Independent on Sunday (London), June 6, 1999.

  8 “[e]very time you have to pee …” Sharon Stone, quoted in Sanello, Naked Instinct, 97.

  9 “We did nude sex scenes …” Sharon Stone, Hollywood Reporter, January 23, 2004.

  10 “I came up with …” Ibid.

  11 “Instead of compartmentalizing …” Chrissy Iley in the Sunday Times (London), July 2, 1995.

  12 “Imagine at the age of 16 …” David Thomson, “Arts,” Independent on Sunday (London), December 3, 1995.

  13 “The defining moment was …” Joel Schumacher, Hollywood Reporter, January 23, 2004.

  14 “Encouraged by his counselor …” Parker, Michael Douglas, 252. Parker does not identify his source.

  15 “Michael Douglas was one of …” Geraldo Rivera, Geraldo, September 16, 1993.

  16 “regretting any misunderstanding …” Geraldo Rivera, press release, September 20, 1993.

  17 “His time in rehab at …” Ruth Morris, “This Man Is Not a Sex Addict,” Independent on Sunday, June 6, 1999.

  18 “Despite all the information …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Noreen Taylor, Times (London), January 29, 1997.

  19 “What’s wrong with sex addiction?” Kirk Douglas, in Grant, dir.,… A Father … A Son.

  20 “contemporary, Caucasian middle-to-upper-class …” Edelman and Unterburger, eds., 347–48.

  PART SIX: THE FLAWED CONTEMPORARY MALE

  CHAPTER 16

  1 “I’m feeling a little sad today …” Michael Douglas, quoted in “Going the Distance,” Los Angeles magazine, October 1997.

  2 “It was an incredibly warm …” Annette Bening in the Hollywood Reporter, January 23, 2004.

  3 “It’s a lot of years …” Michael Douglas, in Grant, dir.,… A Father … A Son.

  4 “It was a phenomenal amount …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Janet Maslin, New York Times, March 11, 1999.

  5 “You could have taken him …” Ibid.

  6 “He went through every day …” Sherry Lansing, in Grant, dir.,… A Father … A Son.

  7 “I believe in love and marriage …” Michael Douglas, in Grant, dir.,… A Father … A Son.

  8 “In The Ghost and the Darkness …” Goldman, Which Lie Did I Tell?, 52.

  9 “I have worked with Redford …” Ibid., 89.

  10 “I love acting …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Nancy Griffin, Los Angeles magazine, October 1997.

  11 “Michael and Steven …” An unidentified spokesperson for Douglas/Reuther. The comments and other details of the situation at Douglas/Reuther were reported by Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter, July 25, 1997. According to Honeycutt, Michael had grown “disenchanted” in his partnership with Reuther.

  12 “You want to spend …” Michael Douglas, Variety, August 31, 1998.

  13 “I had to remind myself …” and “One of the mistakes …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Hilary de Vries, Los Angeles Times Magazine, January 21, 2001.

  14 “Diandra and I …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Robert Hofler, Buzzweekly, September 12, 1997.

  15 “a case of drained creative batteries …” Hitchcock, quoted in Durgnat, The Strange Case of Alfred Hitchcock, 234. Hitchcock’s primary interest in filming what had been a hit stage play in London’s West End and on Broadway was the opportunity to make it in 3-D at Warner. However, by the time the film opened, the 3-D fad had passed, and along with it Hitchcock’s interest in the film. The 3-D version was never commercially released. Hitchcock’s next release, made that same year, was Rear Window, a spectacular return to form for the Master of Suspense.

  16 “It was fun …” Michael Douglas, Variety, August 31, 1998.

  17 “It’s sort of creepy …” Gwyneth Paltrow, in Independent on Sunday, June 6, 1999.

  18 “I thought [Gwyneth’s comments] were …” Michael Douglas, in W, March 2000.

  19 ten minutes after the film started he slipped out Douglas’s reps at the time confirmed the story; also several other sources.

  20 “Being the son or daughter …” Michael Douglas, quoted at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival by Variety, August 31, 1998.

  21 “I hope to use …” Michael Douglas, part of his comments upon being honored as a United Nations messenger of peace at the UN, July 30, 1998.

  22 “has inexplicably managed …” Berardinelli review of A Perfect Murder in Rotten Tomatoes.

  23 “I’m just coming up for air …” Michael Douglas, quoted in Los Angeles magazine, October 1997.

  PART SEVEN: RADIANCE AND RADIATION

  CHAPTER 17

  1 “I believe in love and marriage …” Michael Douglas, in Grant, dir.,… A Father … A Son.

  2 “He’s gonna die when …” Michael Douglas, in Variety, March 5, 1999.

  3 “liked to chew gum …” Production designer Eugenio Zanetti, quoted in People, January 24, 2000.

  4 “I wanted to show …” Catherine Zeta-Jones, quoted in People, January 24, 2000.

  5 “his eyeballs popped …” David Foster, interviewed by Hilary de Vries, W, March 2000.

  6 “I first saw her …” Michael Douglas, David Foster, interviewed by Hilary de Vries, W, March 2000.

  7 “There was a whole group …” Ibid.

  8 “I want to be the father of …” Michael Douglas, quoted in the Sunday Times (London), October 15, 2000.

  9 “I’ve heard a lot about you …” AARP Magazine, March/April 2010.

  10 “I apologize if I stepped …” Michael recounted the incident in AARP Magazine, March/April 2010.

  11 “My first wife was younger than me …” Michael Douglas, David Foster, interviewed by Hilary de Vries, W, March 2000.

  12 “Mike Todd was 25 years older …” Michael Douglas, www.​talktalk.​co.​uk/​entertainment/​film/​interviews/​michael_​douglas.​html.

  13 “he was absolutely different …” Catherine Zeta-Jones, Hollywood Reporter, January 23, 2004.

  14 “Before Michae
l can marry …” Diandra Douglas, several sources, including the Times (London), October 19, 1999.

  15 “He’s a cake …” Catherine Zeta-Jones, in People, October 13, 2010.

  16 “I don’t know quite …” These comments by Catherine are from Screen International, July 2, 1999.

  17 “Michael is here tonight …” People, October 11, 1999.

  18 “I am a very lucky man” Ibid.

  19 twenty-year-old Cameron was arrested New York Times, October 28, 1999.

  20 “My son is going to be twenty-two …” Michael Douglas, interviewed in the Sunday Times (London), October 15, 2000.

  21 “People used to ask …” Kirk Douglas, in People, January 24, 2000.

  22 “I’ve never seen Michael so happy …” Kirk Douglas, in Variety, January 6, 2000.

  23 “Douglas must be the only …” Sean Macauley, Times (London), January 25, 2001.

  24 “Since the first three weeks …” Ibid.

  25 “revive his faltering career …” Sunday Times (London), December 12, 1999.

  26 “I’m crazy about Catherine …” Ruth Norris, “This Man Is Not a Sex Addict,” Independent on Sunday (London), June 6, 1999.

  27 “He can wed …” Diandra, quoted in the Times (London), October 19, 1999.

  28 When she arrived without Michael, reports flew According to the Los Angeles Times of January 7, 2000: “British tabloids had reported the relationship between Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones was on the rocks just last month when Zeta-Jones arrived alone in Wales shortly before Christmas, but Douglas arrived to join her for the holiday.”

  29 “When I found out …” Marty Richards, quoting Michael, People, January 24, 2000. Michael, interviewed by Hilary de Vries for W in March 2000, said that his “divorce from Diandra Douglas, from whom he was legally separated four years ago (1995), remains ‘just a technicality,’ he says. ‘Everything, including the settlement, was done years ago.’ ” The interview took place in 1999. He signed the divorce papers in October 2000, in order to marry Catherine Zeta-Jones that November.

  30 “It’s the most unique release experience …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Hilary de Vries, Los Angeles Times Magazine, January 21, 2001.

  31 “I feel blessed …” Michael Douglas, TheTalks.com, December 7, 2011.

  CHAPTER 18

  1 “If you have a void” Michael Douglas, Us magazine, March 2000.

  2 “Michael is everything …” People, December 11, 2000. Some details of the wedding are from that issue of People, CelebrityBrideGuide.com, and two guests who attended the wedding but do not wish to be named.

  3 “Everyone was crying …” Observer wishes to remain anonymous. Many firsthand details of the wedding are from two guests I interviewed, who want to remain anonymous.

  4 “May they love one another forever …” Judith Kaye in People, December 11, 2000.

  5 Kirk repeated his wince-inducing joke Times (London), November 26, 2000.

  6 Later on, Catherine confirmed to Vanity Fair Various sources, including Vanity Fair, December 2000, interviewed by Leslie Bennetts. Catherine’s interview was the cover story.

  CHAPTER 19

  1 “Look, I’d love to have …” Michael Douglas, Us magazine, March 2000.

  2 “When Steven presented it to me …” Sean Macauley, Times (London), January 25, 2001.

  3 “It was just fun …” Michael Douglas, Variety, January 9, 2004.

  CHAPTER 20

  1 “God bless her that …” Michael Douglas, in AARP Magazine, March/April 2010.

  2 “We were always finding …” Michael Douglas, in People, May 5, 2003.

  3 “grabbed my shoulder …” Cameron Douglas, quoted in People, May 5, 2003.

  4 “The Teamsters are helping …” Steve Martin, Academy Awards, 2003.

  5 “Thank you so much. My Scotsman …” Catherine Zeta-Jones’s acceptance speech, Academy Awards, 2003.

  6 “This is my son, Michael” and “My father, who art in movies” Kirk and Michael, respectively, presenting at the seventy-fifth Academy Awards, 2003.

  7 “I adjust my schedule to my wife’s …” Michael Douglas, “The Role of a Lifetime,” Newsweek, September 17, 2007.

  8 “like meat on a bone …” Quote from the Times (London), January 29, 2004.

  9 “She was hysterical …” Michael Douglas, in the Times (London), January 29, 2004.

  10 “How lucky I have been …” Michael Douglas, Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2004.

  11 “Who knows …” Michael Douglas, quoted in Marie Laskas, “The Aging Casanova,” GQ.com, April 2006.

  12 On July 6, 2004, Michael received word Information about the death of Eric Douglas is from People, July 7, 2004; and “Douglas Son ‘Died Accidentally,’ ” bbc.co.uk, August 10, 2004.

  CHAPTER 21

  1 “Giving back to the planet …” Michael Douglas, quoted in Marie Laskas, “The Aging Casanova,” GQ.com, April 2006.

  2 “I’m in love … and I’ve got a nice family …” Ibid.

  3 “Things have changed a lot …” Michael Douglas, in Screen International, September 23, 2005.

  4 “Studios today are just …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Simi Horwitz, Back Stage West, September 13, 2007.

  5 “My priorities are my marriage …” Michael Douglas, People, May 5, 2003.

  6 “He’s really good, but acting …” from Tom Roston, Hollywood Reporter, June 11, 2009.

  7 “The joy of raising two children …” Ibid.

  8 “I’m a car dealer who …” Michael Douglas, Parade, July 12, 2009.

  9 American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2009.

  10 “He came up to hug me …” Steve Lewis, quoted in People, August 24, 2009.

  11 “I’ll assume whatever responsibilities …” Michael Douglas in AARP Magazine, March/April 2010.

  CHAPTER 22

  1 “If I’d known what a big shot …” and “Hardly any second-generation …” Kirk Douglas and Mike Douglas, respectively, quoted by Paul Harris, Observer, April 24, 2010.

  2 Cameron stood before U.S. District Court … Various sources, including publicly available court records, New York Post, and Crimesider, a website devoted to crime (several entries consulted, including those by Edacio Martinez, April 20, 2010, and Caroline Black, April 21, 2010); Hello!, March 3, 2010.

  3 After court, a somber Michael Douglas New York Daily News, April 20, 2010.

  4 “There was a deep sense of relief …” Michael Douglas, in People, September 13, 2010.

  5 “Anybody who has a relative or child …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Evgenia Peretz, Vanity Fair, April 2010.

  6 He had booked an appearance on the Late Show Details are from the broadcast and David Itzkoff, “Michael Douglas Discusses His Throat Cancer with David Letterman,” New York Times, September 1, 2010.

  7 “clearly in pain” This quote and other details about Michael’s condition are from Rebecca Asher-Walsh in the Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2010.

  8 “The radiation kills the cancer, but …” Ibid.

  9 “sat them down …” and “The hardest part …” Catherine Zeta-Jones, People, September 13, 2010.

  10 “doing fantastically well …” Catherine Zeta-Jones, quoted in Hello!, October 11, 2010.

  11 Diandra had lost a great deal of money Huffington Post, July 3, 2011.

  12 “I feel good, relieved the tumor is gone …” Michael Douglas, interviewed by Matt Lauer on Today, January 9, 2011, with additional reporting in the Hollywood Reporter, January 10, 2011.

  13 “You know, I’m fortunate …” Michael Douglas, quoted by a staff writer, cnn.com, January 10, 2011.

  14 In August 2011, Star magazine The Star published a long-lens photos of Michael smoking on August 8, 2011.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE AND

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I saw Michael Douglas a few times in the nineties while I was living and writing in Los Angeles. We ran into each other mostly at
the private, membership-only Foundation Room of the House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard. Zack Norman had remained friends with Michael after the movie and sometimes traveled with him to Germany and various film festivals (I guessed he might have actually been Michael’s beard on some of those all-male excursions to Cannes). A few years later Zack brought Michael a film-related business venture that he invested in. I always felt that, from what I knew of the deal’s structure, it didn’t make a lot of sense, but I figured it was a way for the always generous Michael to help out a friend and, if possible, make a few dollars. Eventually the company ran into problems, the principals wound up in court, and, as I understand it, Zack was eventually edged out.

  Zack and I first met at the height of O.J. mania. I had written a 1995 bestseller about my reluctant involvement in that case (The Whole Truth). I had been subpoenaed as a witness for the prosecution but never testified. It was a State trial. While they were looking for me in California, I was hiding out at my lawyer’s home in New York. At one point, although I was certain O.J. had killed his wife and the unfortunate Ronald Goldman, it looked as if I was the only one who might go to jail—for contempt.

  Zack was also connected to the O.J. madness. He had produced an expensive one-hour video about the defendant. Zack then approached me to work with him on another, undefined O.J. project he was trying to put together. Nothing came out of that except our friendship. Zack is genuinely likable with a natural hustler’s instinct and a heart of gold. We often went to the Foundation Room together, and because of the frequency of our visits, I agreed to share the membership fees. That is when I became a regular “waver” to Michael—in Hollywood, a “waver” is someone who waves hello to a celebrity and gets a friendly maybe-I-know-you-maybe-I-don’t-but-just-in-case-I-do wave back. I often wondered whether seeing me with Zack made Michael want to come over and say hello or to run the other way as fast as he could.

  One time at the club I found myself in the private elevator with Michael. I smiled and said, “You and I have a female friend in common.” I knew the subject of women was a touchy one for Michael. I could see him snap to attention, the smile on his face morph to a set of pursed lips, and his eyes slightly squint.