Veteran Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas passed away at Beverly Hills, California in the US on Thursday. He was 103.

The father of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, Kirk'sHollywood career spanned seven decades. "It is with tremendous sadness that mybrothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today. To the world, he was alegend, an actor from the golden age of movies… but to me and my brothersJoel and Peter he was simply Dad," Michael Douglas said.

Kirk is best known for his role as 'Spartacus', a Stanley Kubrick classic which won four Oscars and was so popular that its iconic "I am Spartacus" scene entered the pop culture lexicon. Born in New York in 1916, he rose to prominence during Hollywood's golden age, earning his first Oscar nomination for the 1949 boxing story Champion.