'I'll say it simply and with all my heart: I'm so proud to be your son,' Michael said.
After 50 years in Hollywood, Michael Douglas finally got his star on the Walk of Fame!
The 74-year-old actor was honored with a star near the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles on Tuesday, just a few feet from his father, Kirk Douglas' star. Kirk, 101, was in attendance at the event, causing his son to get a little emotional.
"My dad is here," Michael said, after giving shout-outs to wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and son Cameron. "In a month, Kirk turns 102 years old. So those of you who took the under on him taking 80, you lost a long time ago."
"It means so much to me, Dad, that you're here today," he continued, tearing up. "I'll say it simply and with all my heart: I'm so proud to be your son."
Though it's hard to come close to the legend that is Kirk Douglas, Michael has become a Hollywood success in his own right, with a decades-long resume and two Oscars to his name. It's his following in his father's footsteps, however, that speaker -- and Michael's China Syndrome co-star -- Jane Fonda, couldn't help but point out.
"When I first heard Michael was getting his star, I thought, 'What took so long?' ... especially because he's been so ahead of his time," Fonda said at the podium.
"Michael Douglas and I share something far more specific and unique than acting together... we both come from families referred to by the press as Hollywood royalty. Both of our fathers were movie legends, and thankfully, Kirk Douglas is still with us," she continued. "Stepping into a family business, any family business, is always challenging. Look at the Trumps or the Corleones."
"Carving out your own identity in a world-famous family business is especially difficult when parent and child are the same gender. I believe it was easier for me to follow in my father's footsteps than it was for Michael to follow in his father's footsteps," Fonda noted, joking about Michael having "Spartacus" for a father. "Michael has not only carved out his identity as a great, great actor with tremendous range, but as a great producer as well. He has rightfully been bestowed with all of the awards Hollywood has to offer... and now finally, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
See more on Michael in the video below.
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