The mother of legendary actor and producer Kirk Douglas—and grandmother of Michael Douglas—was Bryna Danielovich (Demsky). She came from the village of Ceausi, in the Mogilev Governorate of the old Tsarist Empire.
As a young woman, she became engaged to Herschel, who soon left for America. A year later he sent her money for the ship ticket. At that time, before 1924, almost anyone who could reach American shores was welcomed.
Bryna had seven children with him—six daughters and one son, Issur “Izzy” Demsky, who would later become Kirk Douglas. But the marriage was unhappy. Her husband was cold and distant, never calling her by name, addressing her only with “Hey, you!” In Russia he had been a horse trader, but in America he scraped by as a rag picker. What little he earned, he spent on drinking with friends. In the neighborhood, he was known as a bully and a troublemaker.
He took little interest in the children. Times were so hard that Bryna would send them to the local Jewish butcher to ask for discarded bones. She boiled them into soup that could feed the family for days. Kirk later recalled, “When it was a good day, we would eat omelettes made with water. When it was a bad day, we wouldn’t eat at all.”
Though she never learned to read or write, Bryna managed to raise her children. She lived long enough to see her only son become a world-famous star. Kirk Douglas named his first film company after her—Bryna Productions.
In 1958, when The Vikings premiered, Kirk proudly led his mother by the arm to Times Square, where among the glittering advertisements was a poster that read: “Bryna Presents The Vikings.” At the sight of her name shining over Broadway, Bryna wept—perhaps for the first time in her life, tears of happiness.
Later that same year, Bryna passed away at age 74. Her son remained with her to the end. Her last words to him were, “Izie, son, don’t be afraid, this happens to everyone.”
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