Kirk Douglas taking son's death `hard,' friend says

Articles: Kirk Douglas taking son's death `hard,' friend says

Posted by admin on Thursday, July 08, 2004 - 01:12 AM

Disbelief and heartbreak overwhelmed Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas when he was told his youngest son was found dead in a Manhattan apartment.
Eric Douglas, 46, the youngest son of the Oscar-winning actor and the half-brother of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, was found dead Tuesday in his apartment, police said. His housekeeper discovered the body amid bottles of booze and a "pile of prescription drugs," cops said. "He (Kirk Douglas) is taking it hard," a friend said. The tragedy came just weeks after Kirk Douglas, 86, and his wife, Anne Douglas, visited Eric at an upstate rehab center and gave him a tough-love ultimatum to get off drugs, the friend said. "They told him that if he couldn't make this one work, they weren't going to keep bailing him out," said the friend, who requested anonymity. A preliminary autopsy failed to reveal how Eric Douglas died, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city medical examiner. She said results of a toxicological test will not be known for at least 10 days. Police are investigating the death as an accident or suicide. Douglas, a struggling actor and comedian, fought a long battle with drugs and the law. In 1997, he was busted for possessing crack cocaine, and two years later he almost died from an overdose of Xanax. "He was a very lonely person," friend and neighbor Avi Tzabar said of Eric Douglas. "He just wanted to live like everybody else, but he always felt in the shadow of his father and of Michael Douglas. "But he was always very proud of his father, and he was always very proud of his Jewish faith," Tzabar added. Douglas' body is expected to be flown to California for burial.

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