For Kirk Douglas and Wife, the Playground's the Thing

May 28, 2008— -- When the gates open and Kirk Douglas — yes, the Academy Award-winning actor, now 91 — strides across the blacktop, fans giggle and crane their necks for a better look. When he approaches them with his arm outstretched, they reach up to slap high-fives.

There may not be a red carpet here, and true, the photographers mostly consist of small arms hoisting cellphone cameras overhead.

But make no mistake: This is a bona-fide premiere — just not for one of Douglas' movies.

On this overcast day in May, the fans are parents, students and friends of Beethoven Street Elementary School in Culver City. They are here to thank Douglas and his wife, Anne, for the colorful play structure on the once-barren playground, courtesy of the Anne & Kirk Douglas Playground Award.

The Douglases have been fixing up school playgrounds for 11 years. And on Wednesday, when they dedicate their 401st Los Angeles-area playground, Kirk Douglas will slide down one last slide — something he does at every dedication — and call it mission accomplished.

"What nobody acknowledges is that every dedication I risk my life," he says with a laugh. "I'm getting too old for this."

Art for heart's sake

The playground awards began one day in 1997 while Anne Douglas was reading in the Los Angeles Times about the sorry state of school playgrounds in the area.

She knew she had to help.

"It was deplorable that for me, a country like this, a city like Los Angeles, would tolerate this," says Anne Douglas, who was born in Germany.

"Let me tell you about my wife," Kirk Douglas says after the ceremony, sitting on a plush couch next to his wife of 55 years. "When we got married, she was very anxious to become a citizen. And when she became a citizen she felt: 'I had to do something for my new country.' "

He speaks in a slow cadence so people can understand his stroke-impaired speech. "Let's face it: The world is in a mess and young people are going to inherit that mess. So we should do all we can to help them."