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Kirk Douglas dies aged 103

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p><em>Spartacus<span> </span></em>actor Kirk Douglas has passed away at the age of 103, his son revealed to<span> </span><em>People Magazine</em>.</p> <p>Michael Douglas said: “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103.</p> <p>“To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in setting a standard for all of us to aspire to.”</p> <p>Throughout his career that spanned seven decades, Douglas starred in over 90 films, with hits such as<span> </span><em>Spartacus</em><span> </span>and<span> </span><em>The Vikings</em><span> </span>making him one of the biggest box office stars in the 1950s and 1960s.</p> <p>He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in 1959 for his role as boxer Midge Kelly in<span> </span><em>Champion</em>.</p> <p>He went on to earn two more Oscar nominations as a producer for T<em>he Bad And The Beautiful</em><span> </span>in 1953 and<span> </span><em>Lust For Life</em><span> </span>in 1957.</p> <p>He appeared alongside John Wayne in three movies – I<em>n Harm’s Way, Cast A Giant Shadow</em><span> </span>and<span> </span><em>The War Wagon</em><span> </span>and also pocketed $50,000 for saying the only English word at the end of a Japanese TV commercial: Coffee.</p> <p>But his proudest achievement was his major role in breaking the Hollywood blacklist: Actors, directors and writers who were excluded professionally due to their ties to the communist movement in the 1950s.</p> <p>Douglas was in a helicopter crash in 1991, which he survived. But five years later, he suffered from a stroke.</p> <p>Due to the stroke, he was left with slurred speech and damaged facial nerves, but despite it all, he still powered through to attend the Academy Awards two weeks later to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery below to see Kirk Douglas' life in pictures.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Caring

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103-year-old man will ballroom dance until he falls over

<p>Karl Tinggaard, 103, is a dedicated ballroom dancer and spends every Thursday night showing off his moves.</p> <p>Karl isn’t letting age slow him down and he has no plans to take a week from impressing his dancing partners at the Murray Heritage Center in Murray, Utah.</p> <p>“I'm just an ordinary man who's had a long, wonderful life," the inspirational man said. “I can't remember one year in my life that was not wonderful."</p> <p>Karl was born five months before World War I in 1914. He said he learnt his dancing moves growing up in Denmark and that now he just lets his feet follow the music when he steps on the dancefloor.</p> <p>The program coordinator at the Murray Heritage Center Maureen Gallagher said, “He's a real pistol. He loves the women. It's really something because you can't think he's 103 and still moving so well."</p> <p>Karl outlived his wife of 55 years and his daughter but he still strives to enjoy the beauty that life has to offer him.</p> <p>"I don't have a dance partner anymore. I had one nine years," he said. "So she died. Then I had another dance partner three years and she died and so I said to myself, 'If they die from dancing with me, I might as well not have a partner.'"</p> <p>Karl explained that his secret to living a long life and staying healthy is laughing.</p> <p>"For every minute you laugh, you extend your life for one hour," he said. "And I am laughing a lot."</p> <p>When asked how long Karl plans to keep up his ballroom dancing Karl said, “Until I fall over. Until I simply can't do it anymore.”</p> <p>Karl is described by his fellow dancers as brightening up the dance floor and he is usually the first to arrive and the last person to leave the center. </p>

Retirement Life

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103-year-old reveals her surprising secret to a long life

<p>If ever you needed an excuse to open up a cold one, this is it. 103-year-old Mildred Bowers from South Carolina believes the secret to her longevity is beer. After chatting with nurses (and then confirming it with her doctor), the centenarian was given the go-ahead to drink more beer – and drink she does, every day at 4pm.</p> <p>Bowers does concede that her method mightn’t suit everyone, telling <a href="http://www.live5news.com/story/32748321/103-year-old-woman-celebrates-birthday-with-a-beer" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">WCSC Live 5 News</span></strong></a> “It’s all in the genes. I feel okay because I'm in good health.”</p> <p>Congratulations on reaching such an incredible age, Mildred! Take a listen to her advice for other seniors hoping to get to 100 in the video above and tell us in the comments, what’s the strangest health secret you’ve ever heard?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/08/melbourne-nun-celebrates-100th-birthday/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Melbourne nun celebrates 100th birthday</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/caring/2016/08/why-do-women-live-longer-than-men/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Why do women live longer than men?</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/health/caring/2016/06/100-year-old-gin-secret-to-long-life/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>100-year-old claims gin is the secret to longevity</strong></em></span></a></p>

News

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103-year-old becomes the oldest ice cream man in the UK

<p>Giovanni Rozzo, 103, has rediscovered the job he loved back in the ‘60s thanks to a thoughtful birthday gift. The centenarian built his business from the ground up, working out of an ice-cream truck from the 1960s up until his retirement in 1995.</p> <p>Rozzo, from Cambridge in the UK, received a decked-out, fully-restored Bedford HA van, identical to the one he drove in the ‘60s, as a birthday present from his family. “The van is exactly like the one I had in 1966, and I’m delighted to have it,” he told South West News Service of the truck, which cost around £15,000 ($27,000). “It is very exciting to get behind the wheel again.”</p> <p>However, the 103-year-old, who already holds the honour of being one of Britain’s oldest drivers, probably won’t be returning to the streets full-time again, according to grandson Carl. “But he could maybe take it to special events, like weddings.”</p> <p>Judging by the photos in the gallery above, we think he’s just thrilled to have his beloved truck back again! Tell us in the comments below, have you retired only to return to the workforce once more to pursue your dream?</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/08/queen-sends-birthday-telegram-to-supercentenarian/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Queen sends first birthday telegram to 114-year-old woman</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/07/93-year-old-nurse-retires-after-72-years/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">93-year-old nurse honoured in retirement ceremony</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/07/australian-equestrian-makes-olympic-debut-at-60/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Australian to make her Olympic debut at the age of 60</strong></em></span></a></p>

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World’s oldest twins are still close as ever at 103

<p>While some twins live completely independt lives, at 103-years-old, Glenys Thomas and Florence Davies still live next door to each other, much like they have most of their lives.</p><p>The pair are the oldest living twins in the UK, according to the Abermill Care Home in Caerphilly, Wales where they now live, and many reports indicate they also are the oldest identical twins in the world.</p><p>Born in Wales in 1911 – the year before the Titanic sank – Thomas’ daughter, Gwenda Stace, reveals that the sisters have virtually been inseparable for most of their lives.</p><p>“The whole family’s social life was centered around their church and their community. You had to stay local in those days because it was so hard to get around,” Stacey told The Daily Mail. “They have lived a simple life. Neither Mam or Aunty Flo can drive. They never went abroad. But they were always happiest together.”&nbsp;</p><p>Davies and Thomas now live in a care home, though they still have children living close by – and they're still living next door to each other in adjoining rooms.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Related links:&nbsp;</strong><em><br></em></p><p><a href="/news/news/2015/02/orcas-rubbing-stones/" target="_blank"><em><strong>Amazing footage of orcas rubbing their bellies on stones in shallow water</strong></em></a></p><p><a href="/news/news/2015/02/ninja-cats/" target="_blank"><em><strong>Ninja cats show off their skills</strong></em></a></p><p><a href="/news/news/2015/02/worlds-cutest-animal/" target="_blank"><em><strong>Is this the world’s cutest animal?</strong></em></a></p>

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