Michael Douglas pledges large amount of money through his father Kirk Douglas’ foundation amid LA wildfires
Michael Douglas announced a generous donation from him and his late father Kirk Douglas’ foundation – amid the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles.
The 80-year-old movie star revealed on his Instagram page on Saturday that he had asked the board of The Douglas Foundation – founded by Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne – to make a donation to the American Red Cross.
He added that he planned to match the donation himself and donate his share to the American Red Cross.
Kirk died on February 5, 2020 at the age of 103, and Michael’s stepmother Anne died on April 29, 2021 at the age of 102.
The devastating wildfires in LA have burned more than 100,000 acres and killed 24 people.
More than 150,000 people have been evacuated due to the massive infernos – with the Palisades Fire being the largest ongoing fire and the Eaton Fire the second.
Michael Douglas announced a generous donation from him and his late father Kirk Douglas’ foundation – amid the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles
Michael started the video with, “How’s everyone doing?” We’ve had a pretty rough start to this new year.’
‘I don’t live in LA, but I know the city well. And this is just a nightmare tragedy. Nothing I could have grasped, probably someone else,” he continued.
And he added, “I know some people talked about the movie stars losing their homes, but a lot of people have too. People who work in the industry. People who earn an hourly wage. Republicans and Democrats,” Michael said.
“It’s a huge, huge number of people who have lost their homes and may not have insurance. I know most of you are aware of this, so what are you going to do? My father Kirk [Douglas] and my stepmother have a foundation and I have asked the board to make a contribution that I will match. So I’m going to try to get the ball rolling there,” he added.
‘We are going to donate our contribution to the American Red Cross. But I hope everyone across the country. This is not a question of blue states or red states. Republicans or Democrats. This is humanitarian. And this is really a major crisis.’
“So please, please, wherever you can, try to help everyone. We focus on the Red Cross,” he concludes his video.
The Douglas Foundation was founded in 1964 by Kirk and Anne, with a focus on making health care, the arts and education more accessible to Californians, according to its website.
Michael and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones currently divide their time between Bermuda and Europe, after putting their New York home up for sale last summer.
They lived in a massive mansion in Irvington, New York, that spanned 11,653 square feet, but put it on the market after their children Dylan, 24, and Carys, 21, moved out.
A house in Altadena, CA burns on January 8
Kirk died on February 5, 2020 at the age of 103, and Michael’s stepmother Anne died on April 29, 2021 at the age of 102; pictured on September 24, 2013 in Beverly Hills
Michael pictured with Kirk and Anne on January 14, 2022 in New York
The AP reported that more than 12,000 buildings have been burned by wildfires since then.
The outlet noted that the fire area is larger than the city of San Francisco.
The LA wildfires started Tuesday morning after strong Santa Ana winds lashed the area.
A number of celebrity homes have been destroyed in the fires, including the home of Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Ana Faris, Mel Gibson, Jeff Bridges, Paris Hilton, Miles Teller, Jhene Aiko, Anthony Hopkins and more.