KIRK DOUGLAS - DOUGLAS COMPLETES PLAYGROUND PROJECT

DOUGLAS COMPLETES PLAYGROUND PROJECT

Veteran actor KIRK DOUGLAS and his wife have unveiled their 400th school playground - concluding their decade-long effort to provide a safe place for Californian kids to play.
On Wednesday (28May08), Douglas, 91, rode down a slide at the opening of Beethoven Street Elementary School's newest grounds in Culver City, California - a ritual he has performed at every ceremony.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - Douglas' close friend and co-star in the 1979 movie The Villain - was present to praise the Spartacus star and his wife, Anne, for their contributions to the state's play areas.
The couple set up the Anne + Kirk Douglas Playground Awards in late 1997, with the aim of building and refurbishing 400 play areas in the Los Angeles school district. They have donated more than $8 million (GBP4 million) in the last 10 years.