Peter Douglas

Peter Vincent Douglas (born November 23, 1955) is an American television and film producer. He is the third son of actor Kirk Douglas, and the first by his second wife, German-American producer Anne Buydens. Douglas worked closely with his father and became president of The Bryna Company, an independent film and television production company formed by Kirk Douglas in 1949. In 1978, he formed his own film production company, Vincent Pictures. Douglas won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special in 1988 for his production of Inherit the Wind, which co-starred his father and Jason Robards. He had been nominated for the same award two years prior for his production of Amos, which also starred his father. Life and career Peter Douglas was born in Los Angeles, California, on November 23, 1955. His middle name was given in homage to Vincent van Gogh, whom his father was portraying in a film version being shot in Europe at the time of his birth. The film in question, Lust for Life, was later released in 1956. In 1958, his father named his new music publishing company, Peter Vincent Music Corporation (a subsidiary of Bryna Productions), after his son, while Peter later named his own independent film production company Vincent Pictures. In 1958, a young Peter was seen on the television program This Is Your Life, which was honoring the life and career of his father. Douglas' early work in the film industry was tied to his father, namely through of his independent film production company, Bryna Productions. As a child, Douglas had uncredited bit parts in his father's films The Vikings and Stranger When We Meet (in which Kirk Douglas both produced and starred). Douglas went to high school at a military academy in Southern California. In the early 1970s, Douglas studied photography at the Los Angeles Art Center. In June 1972, aged 17, Douglas was hired by his father as the still photographer when The Bryna Company produced Scalawag on location in Yugoslavia. His father produced, directed and starred in the film, while his mother Anne was co-producer; his younger brother Eric was the producer's assistant and their family dog Shaft Douglas had a part in the film. During the production of Scalawag, actress Lesley-Anne Down posed for Peter and the pictures were sold to Playboy magazine.