Claim: Michael Douglas was responsible for the production The China Syndrome.

Michael Kirk Douglas -LRB- born September 25 , 1944 -RRB- is an American actor and producer .   Douglas 's career includes a diverse range of films in independent and blockbuster genres , for which he has received a number of accolades , both competitive and honorary . These awards include the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for `` outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment '' and the AFI Life Achievement Award , which `` honor -LSB- s -RSB- an individual whose career in motion pictures or television has greatly contributed to the enrichment of American culture '' .   Douglas is the elder son of Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill . He received his Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of California , Santa Barbara . His early acting roles included film , stage , and television productions . Douglas first achieved prominence for his performance in the ABC police procedural television series The Streets of San Francisco , for which he received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations .   In 1975 Douglas produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest , having acquired the rights to the Ken Kesey novel from his father . The film received critical and popular acclaim , and won the Academy Award for Best Picture , earning Douglas his first Oscar as one of the film 's producers . After leaving The Streets of San Francisco in 1976 , Douglas went on to produce films including The China Syndrome -LRB- 1979 -RRB- and Romancing the Stone -LRB- 1984 -RRB- . He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Romancing the Stone , in which he also starred , thus reintroducing himself to audiences as a capable leading man .   After reprising his Romancing the Stone role as Jack Colton in the 1985 sequel The Jewel of the Nile , which he also produced , and along with appearing in the musical A Chorus Line -LRB- 1985 -RRB- and the psychological thriller Fatal Attraction -LRB- 1987 -RRB- , Douglas received widespread acclaim for his portrayal of amoral corporate raider Gordon Gekko in the Oliver Stone-directed drama Wall Street , for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor . He reprised the role in the sequel Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps -LRB- 2010 -RRB- .   Douglas 's subsequent film roles included : Black Rain -LRB- 1989 -RRB- ; The War of the Roses -LRB- 1989 -RRB- ; Basic Instinct -LRB- 1992 -RRB- ; The American President -LRB- 1995 -RRB- ; The Game -LRB- 1997 -RRB- ; Traffic and Wonder Boys -LRB- 2000 -RRB- ; Solitary Man -LRB- 2009 -RRB- ; and Ant-Man -LRB- 2015 -RRB- . In 2013 , Douglas 's performance as Liberace in the HBO biopic , Behind the Candelabra , received universal critical acclaim , and the actor won numerous accolades for his role , including Golden Globe , Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards .   Apart from his career in the film industry , Douglas has received notice for his humanitarian and political activism , as well as media attention for his marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones , and his tongue cancer diagnosis .