Oneonta man researching life of Kirk Douglas

By Bob Cudmore

  SUNY Oneonta history professor emeritus William Simons is a braver man then I.

   Both of us are fascinated by Kirk Douglas, the movie actor and producer who was born in Amsterdam, my home town.  Douglas, 103, died in California four years ago.

   The house where Kirk Douglas lived as a child stands on Eagle Street in Amsterdam’s East End.  I have thought of knocking on the door but never have had the courage to do so.

   Simons wrote in his latest article that he too wanted to visit the home, “Although I wanted to go inside the house at 46 Eagle St., where so many of (Douglas’s) formative experiences took place, that long eluded me. 

   “It is a private residence, unmarked, not open to the public.  I felt entry into the house would heighten my understanding of (the actor’s) genesis years.”

   Simons said, “John Naple, a former Peace Corps volunteer, retired science teacher and angel to the (Amsterdam) library, emerged as my benefactor.  Back in the day, the Naple family resided on Eagle Street.”

   Meeting the home’s current owner, Eddie Gegzno, and visiting the building was worthwhile according to Simons, even though Eddie never met the actor’s family and the house was extensively remodeled through the years.

  Gegzno is retired from General Electric after nearly four decades. Through John’s intercession, Eddie allowed Simons to spend some time inside 46 Eagle St. on a Saturday afternoon, May 20, 2023.

   Another issue in studying Kirk Douglas is what to call him.  His birth name was Issur Danielovitch. When Issur was in grade school, his parents changed their surname to Demsky and Issur’s name to Isadore or Izzy. Like many actors of his day Isadore Demsky Anglicized his name.  Izzy became Kirk Douglas.

    Simons, who grew up in the greater Boston area, was a big fan of Kirk Douglas in the movie Spartacus.  As a Jewish man, Simons was intrigued that as Spartacus, Kirk Douglas did not appear to be Jewish.

   Simons wrote, “On the screen, Issur/Izzy/Kirk morphed into Spartacus, Odysseus, Doc Holliday, George Patton, Vincent van Gogh, Midge Kelly Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Mickey Marcus, Hans Muller, Colonel Dax, Jiggs Casey, Matthew Harrison Brady and countless others.”

   Simons wrote, “Although young Izzy endured beatings by anti-Semitic gangs, he also had good

friends in the neighborhood.  But the house

on Eagle Street offered little refuge to the

boy.  Only later did he come to appreciate his mother Bryna and sisters. Izzy yearned for the larger world outside the house, his father’s domain. And he wanted his father’s attention and approval, both of

which proved elusive.”

   When Simons emerged from his visit to the former Demsky home, he and John Naple walked the length

of Eagle Street.

   Simons wrote, “When we reached 29 Eagle St., John’s friend Emil Suda came out to join us. At the end of Eagle Street, the three of us turned left on East Main Street to see the former site of Harry’s

favorite bar and the lodging house where he lived, courtesy of Kirk’s rent money, after Bryna left him.

   “Then, our discussion switched to Kirk’s films. I never met anyone who knew more about the plots,

characters and dialogues of Kirk Douglas films or spoke more enthusiastically of them than Emil.”

   “Perhaps Izzy and Kirk never truly escaped Eagle Street, but they came to terms with it.” Simons said. “And Izzy and Kirk left quite a legacy not just for Jews, but for all aspirants of the American Dream.”

   Simons’ latest article on Kirk Douglas is published in The Reporter, the newspaper of the Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton.