Kirk Douglas and Posse

I was recommended to Paramount Pictures by my friend – the editor of the film – to design the titles for Posse, a big western film starring and being directed by Kirk Douglas.

I met Kirk at his editing room and we got along very well. He showed me a couple of reels of the film pointing out a number of times where one of the main characters, who was a photographer, would be shooting a picture with his view camera. Kirk mentioned to me that – in addition to designing the main titles – he wanted me to design a visual effect of looking through the viewer and seeing the image upside down, then seeing the finished picture in black and white. We planned for me to return a few days later with some designs.

The day of the meeting I had made plans to have lunch with a couple of friends who had an office down the hall from my little office at The Post Production Center in Hollywood, not very far from Paramount.

That morning Kirk called me himself to say that he was going to be near to my office and that he would stop by to see what I had to show him instead of my having to go to Paramount.

I remember that I was friends with the composer Bo Harwood – who scored many of John Cassavetes’ films – and had his office right across the hall. I used to sometimes chat with Cassavetes when he would come by to see Bo. I would always hustle him to do his titles but he said he could never afford me. Even though in those days working on independent films, I used to make next to nothing anyway.

So, at about 11:30 Kirk shows up at the open door of my little one room office positioned along an outside hallway that, years before, had been a low rent motel. He stood in the doorway for a moment – cut by the hard sunlight in silhouette – all of the matinee idol heroic figure he always played in his films.

He was wearing a classic cowboy outfit with very tight worn jeans, a logger’s plaid shirt and very comfortably worn cowboy boots. He walked slightly bow-legged.

I told Kirk to come in as I began spreading out large pieces of paper on my little worktable from a pile of design ideas I had prepared for him to see.

Soon there was no more table space so we dropped down to the floor as I continued presenting ideas and commenting with Kirk on the merit of each.

Now, Kirk and I are on our knees as we continued to talk down on the floor. It was a very small room and soon Kirk leans up against the wall as he continued talking. Now he’s relaxing and slouches onto his elbow and is half lying down as I’m commenting and gesturing about the designs on the floor.

Well, as I looked over to Kirk for his reaction, I see that he is on all fours and is putting his head on the floor. Then he pushes up into a headstand with his legs leaning up against the wall.

So here’s the scene: Kirk Douglas is talking to me about my title designs as he’s standing on his head on the floor of my office!

Somehow this all seems very natural as we continue to discuss ideas. Then – all of a sudden – this is interrupted when I hear my name called by someone from the direction of my open door.

I now realize that my friends who I had plans for lunch with are standing in the doorway.  But Kirk is not aware of them and continues talking. My friends look at me oddly, sitting down on the floor talking with some guy – who’s on his head – leaning against the wall.

When Kirk finally came down off of his head and my friends realized who it was, their mouths fell open. The look on their faces was absolutely priceless. But Kirk was nonplussed and totally gracious. It seemed that this kind of thing happened to him all the time.

And then he hired someone else to do his titles.

More stories and anecdotes like this can be found in my book.