Kirk Douglas has been in romance films.
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 . Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s and 1960s , known for serious dramas , including westerns and war movies . Other early films include Young Man with a Horn ( 1950 ) , playing opposite Lauren Bacall and Doris Day ; Ace in the Hole opposite Jan Sterling ( 1951 ) ; and Detective Story ( 1951 ) . He received a second Oscar nomination for his dramatic role in The Bad and the Beautiful ( 1952 ) , opposite Lana Turner , and his third nomination for portraying Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life ( 1956 ) .