Kirk Douglas passed away on February 5, leaving a big gap not only in the film industry but in family and friends’ hearts. His son Michael Douglas announced the sad news, and Michael’s wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, soon took her turn to express the deep affection she felt for her father-in-law. “To my darling Kirk, I shall love you for the rest of my life,” she said in a moving post on social media along with a beautiful picture in black and white. “I miss you already. Sleep tight...”

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In a statement, Kirk’s three sons recalled the actor as not only one of the biggest stars in the Hollywood’s golden era, but also a beloved dad that each one of them will miss for different reasons. “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 set a standard for all of us to aspire to. But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband.”

©catherinezetajones

Catherine Zeta-Jones recalled during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel how she could sit for hours with the actor talking about the old times in Tinseltown. “When you think of the Hollywood system back then, boy, it was tough! It’s tough for women today, but it was really tough then, all these women... and men were thrown into the stable and they were all pitted against each other to see who would get the role of the season, if the script was coming in,” she shared, showing her huge admiration for her famous father-in-law.

It was not the first time the 50-year-old actress expressed her love for the film legend. In December, Kirk celebrated his 103rd birthday with the family, including Michael and Catherine. “This guy on my knee, is 103!!!!!Happy Birthday Pappy!!! I love you with all my heart,” the actress wrote on her social media with a picture of both of them together.