Voice returns after stroke, Oct. 13th, 1997

Kirk Douglas aims to make film with son

From the Associated Press

Beverly Hills, Calif. -- He survived an air crash that killed two men. He underwent back surgery to relieve pain caused by the crash. He suffered a stroke that destroyed his voice, an actor's nightmare.

And Kirk Douglas is still here at 80, working to gain back his voice and talking of a movie next year with his son, Michael.

The veteran actor spoke about his recovery, his hopes and his new book, "Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning," in the living room of his handsomely decorated house in the heart of Beverly Hills.

He looked thin in a black sports shirt and chinos, but the famed Douglas energy seemed only slightly dimmed. He talked delibera- tely, articulating the words with a care that bespoke long hours of speech therapy.

When Douglas accepted his honorary Academy Award for life- time achievement last March, his speech seemed labored. It is greatly improved.

Douglas said that he started writing "The Search for Meaning" after the 1991 collision in Santa Paula, Calif., of the helicopter in which he was taking off and a small plane. The pilot, 46, and a high school senior in the plane were killed instantly.

"I was really tormented," he said. "I don't think a day has passed without my thinking of David (Tomlinson) and Lee (Manelski), the two young men who were in the airplane when we smacked.

"You have to think, "Wow, I was in my '70s; they were young. How does that happen?' I thought a lot about that after I heard about poor (Princess) Diana and her boyfriend. It makes you realize you don't know anything about life.

"That's why I started to write: because I realized that all of life is climbing a mountain. Your life is a climb, and you never really reach the top."

He still remembers nothing of the crash. The stroke is a vivid memory. It happened last year, three weeks after back surgery to relieve the incessant pain caused by the accident (and, his doctor indicated, the result of performing too many stunts as an action star).

"I had progressed from a walker to a cane and finally, I walked to the corner and back. I began to feel terrific," he recalled.

"My wife celebrated my recovery from my back by ordering a manicure. I was in my room having the manicure when suddenly I felt the funniest sensation. It was like what I'm doing with my finger (drawing from his temple to the jaw).

"I started to explain-- "wub wub wub'-- I couldn't talk! My mani- curist happened to have been a nurse in Israel. She immediately called my wife, who was at Barbara Sinatra's house. She called my doctor, and he said, "Can he walk?' She said I could, and he said, "Take him to the hospital; that will be quicker than the ambulance.' "

The doctor was relieved that Douglas could walk; that meant his side was not paralyzed. But his power of speech was gone. "You're suddenly aware of how much you take for granted in life," he remarked. "We think something, and we speak it. Now I was like a child: I had to learn all the sounds. You realize how complicated it is. The brain on the left side governs the cheek muscles, the lips, the tongue, the teeth.

"I thought, wow, how people talk is so complicated! "It made me realize how narcissistic my life was. Like most people, we are so wrapped up in what we're doing. I did movie after movie. You don't stop to look up at the sky and see the stars and realize how small we are."

During his 50 years in 82 films, Kirk Douglas has amassed enough honors for any actor: the Presidential Medal of Honor for his work as U.S. goodwill ambassador; Life Achievement Award of the American Film Institute; Oscar nominations for "Champion," "The Bad and the Beautiful," "Lust for Life"; Chavalier of the Legion of Honor from France, and others.

Still, he wants to do more movies. He brightened as he discussed a future project with son Michael.

"We had planned to do a movie before I had my stroke," he said. "Michael said, "You just work with your speech therapy, then we'll do the movie.' I said, "Michael, why don't you work with my therapist. Then, when you speak like I do, we will do the movie.'

"He has a sense of humor. In fact, all of my family -- my wife, my four sons-- they kid me. That is so helpful. Because, you could say, "I can't talk, I can't walk because of my back,' and you could just lie in a corner. I refused to do that.

"So I am hopeful we will do the movie next year. We can incorpo- rate my slight -- I underline the word "slight' - impediment of speech with a line of explanation in the script."