Shirley douglas young

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Is shirley douglas related to kirk douglas

This article is more than 4 years old and some information may not be up to date. Shirley Douglas, the impassioned Canadian activist and veteran actor who was mother to actor Kiefer Sutherland and daughter of medicare founder Tommy Douglas, has died. A native of Weyburn, Sask. She also tirelessly supported a variety of causes throughout her life, including the civil rights movement, the Black Panthers and the fight to save public health care, pioneered by her politician father.

In , Douglas married Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, with whom she had two children before they divorced — twins Rachel, a production manager, and Kiefer, who became a film and TV star in his own right. In a interview with The Canadian Press, she admitted that being away from home for lengthy periods of time to pursue acting was hard on her children, but said she knew it would make her a better mother in the end.

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Born on April 2, , Douglas showed an early interest in the arts as well as politics as she journeyed on the campaign trail with her father, who became premier of Saskatchewan, a federal NDP leader and a socialist icon. She also helped to establish a fundraising group called Friends of the Black Panthers. Her support for the group brought controversy, though — she was refused a U.

The courts eventually dismissed the case and exonerated her. She said she never worried whether standing up for what she believed in — even in the days of the so-called Hollywood black list — would hurt her acting career. It was hard for them but really they had no choice.