| Served with Navy during WWII; received medical discharge after accident involving depth charge |
1939 | Worked as drama coach for Greenwich House Settlement in NYC |
1941 | Made Broadway debut as a singing telegraph boy in "Spring Again" |
1942 | First Broadway performance as Kirk Douglas, "The Three Sisters" |
1946 | Made feature acting debut in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" |
1948 | Acted with Burt Lancaster in "I Walk Alone"; first of six features in which they would co-star together |
1949 | Clinched star status with performance in "Champion"; received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor |
1952 | Received second Oscar nomination for his portrayal of ambitious movie producer Jonathan Shields in Vincente Minnelli's "The Bad and the Beautiful" |
1955 | Formed Bryna Productions and produced first film "The Indian Fighter"; also starred |
1956 | Received third and last Best Actor Oscar nomination for playing Vincent Van Gogh in "Lust for Life"; third of four collaborations with director Minnelli |
1957 | Produced and starred in second Bryna production, Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" |
1960 | Made the call that ended the blacklist in Hollywood by openly hiring Dalton Trumbo to write "Spartacus"; also starred and produced |
1962 | Founded Joel Productions |
1962 | Produced and starred in "Lonely Are the Brave"; third and final collaboration with screenwriter Trumbo |
1963 | Made debut as stage producer for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"; also played the lead role of Randel Patrick McMurphy |
1966 | Played General George Patton in "Is Paris Burning?" |
1973 | Appeared in a made-for-TV musical version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" |
1973 | Film directing debut, "Scalawag"; also produced and starred |
1975 | Helmed second feature, "Posse"; also produced and starred |
1983 | Starred in a dual role in the Australian Western, "The Man from Snowy River" |
1985 | Nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for playing the title role in the CBS TV-movie, "Amos" |
1986 | Last movie with Lancaster, "Tough Guys" |
1988 | Portrayed Matthew Harrison Brady in the NBC TV-movie adaptation of "Inherit the Wind" |
1988 | Published autobiography The Ragman's Son |
1990 | Published first novel Dance with the Devil |
1991 | Received an Emmy nomination for his performance in "Yellow," an episode of "Tales from the Crypt" (HBO); co-starred with son Eric |
1994 | First feature starring role in eight years, "Greedy" |
1996 | Suffered a stroke, partially impairing his ability to speak |
1999 | Returned to acting after his stroke in the film "Diamonds," a comedy co-starring Dan Aykroyd and Lauren Bacall |
2003 | Teamed with son Michael and grandson Cameron in the feature film "It Runs in the Family" |
2006 | Cast in "The Illusion," a film helmed by Michael A. Goorjian, who also co-starred |
2009 | Performed his one-man show "Before I Forget" at a theater that bears his name in Culver City, CA; also released a documentary of the same name |
