Kirk Douglas, 91, unleashes his inner child with a ride on a playground slide

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Hollywood veteran Kirk Douglas may be in his early nineties - but he's clearly still in touch with his inner child.

The 91-year-old Spartacus actor and his wife Anne visited a primary school in Los Angeles to launch a playground funded by the Anne and Kirk Douglas Foundation.

But the former action man just couldn't resist testing out the newly constructed equipment.

Kirk Douglas takes a ride to the bottom of a big blue slide

High five: Kirk Douglas greets a child at the primary school in LA where he donated money for a playground improvement

After cutting a yellow ribbon to open the brightly coloured play facility, to the delight of the assembled children,  an energetic Kirk  then climbed up the ladder of the slide before gliding down the blue frame with a huge smile on his face.

The children may have not known who he was, but the father of actor Michael Douglas clearly made a few new fans.

Douglas has previously spoken of how his wife encouraged him to get involved with her initiative, which has seen her renovate 160 inner city playgrounds.

An energetic Kirk Douglas climbs to the top of the slide without help

Young at heart: Kirk and Anne Douglas look youthful as they pose for the camera in LA

In an interview with US magazine Ability, he said: “One of the biggest things my wife has done was to encourage me to get involved -mostly with money - with the Kirk and Ann Douglas Playground Award.

"My wife read a LA Times article about the deplorable state of playground and exercise facilities in all of the schools in Los Angeles. I wanted to do something about that.

 "She got together, in one week, a few million dollars to start the program, "he said.

The couple subsequently started the Anne and Kirk Douglas Playground Award that provided funds of up to $25,000 (£12,500) for the improvement of children’s play areas around Los Angeles.

And they plan to open 140 more playgrounds.

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