Kirk Douglas is not an actor.
Kirk Douglas . After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters , he had his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers ( 1946 ) with Barbara Stanwyck . Lonely Are the Brave . It stars Kirk Douglas as cowboy Jack Burns , Gena Rowlands as his best friend 's wife and Walter Matthau as a sheriff who sympathises with Burns but must do his job and chase him down . The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is a film noir released in the United States in 1946 , starring Barbara Stanwyck , Van Heflin , Lizabeth Scott and featuring Kirk Douglas in his film debut .