Kirk Douglas and wife, Anne, give new $1-million grant to Center Theatre Group
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Film legend Kirk Douglas and his wife, Anne, have awarded a $1-million challenge grant to Center Theatre Group, which will be combined with an earlier $1-million donation from the couple to develop new works for the theater.
The grant is being made through the Douglas Foundation, the couple’s philanthropic organization that supports education, healthcare and other fields.
The organization said the challenge grant will be active for the next 10 years and that for every $2 that CTG raises, the foundation will add another $1. In a statement, Kirk Douglas, 94, said that ‘theatre was always my first love. ... Anne and I hope this additional gift will enable the Kirk Douglas Theatre to further its mandate of supporting new talent.’
In 2004, the Douglases gave $2.5 million to help transform the Culver Theater in Culver City into what is now the Kirk Douglas Theatre. The 317-seat venue presents new plays, experimental productions and works in development. CTG’s other venues are the Ahmanson Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum.
Kirk Douglas performed at his namesake theater in 2009 in an autobiographical one-man production titled ‘Before I Forget.’
In 2009, CTG received a $1-million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support experimental productions.
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-- David Ng
Photo (top): Kirk and Anne Douglas. Credit: Nancy Pastor / For The Times
Photo (bottom): The Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Credit: Craig Schwartz
