Peter Douglas

Peter Douglas

Peter Vincent Douglas (born November 23, 1955) is an American television and film producer, a son of actor Kirk Douglas and his second wife, German American producer Anne Buydens. His middle name was given him in homage to Vincent van Gogh, the brilliant, tortured artist whom his father was playing in the film Lust for Life when he was born. He used it for his production company, Vincent Pictures.

Peter Douglas’ television production credits include Inherit the Wind (1988), for which he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama or Comedy Special, and Amos (1984), which was also Emmy-nominated in the same category. His motion picture credits include the science-fiction time-travel classic The Final Countdown (1979), and the adaptation of the classic Ray Bradbury novel Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), which won the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. He also produced the suspense-comedy hit Fletch (1984), as well as its sequel Fletch Lives (1989), both starring Chevy Chase.

Douglas wrote, directed, and produced the independent film A Tiger's Tale (1988), starring Ann-Margret. He was the executive producer of the HBO Drama thriller The Enemy Within (1994), starring Forrest Whitaker and Jason Robards, and was also executive producer of the 2009 motion picture Whip It starring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page. A contemporary story told within the world of women’s Roller Derby, it was Barrymore’s debut as a motion picture director.

Douglas serves as president of The Douglas Foundation, originally founded in 1964, which has grown into one of the entertainment industry’s oldest and largest private philanthropic organizations. He also served ten years on the Board of Directors and two as Vice-Chairman of the Planning Committee of Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles’s preeminent medical center.

Douglas’ older half-brothers are actor/producer Michael Douglas (born 1944) and producer Joel Douglas (born 1947). He had a younger brother Eric Douglas (1958-2004).

Douglas married Lisa Schoeder on June 15, 1991. Together they have four children: Kelsey (born 1992), Tyler (born 1996), Ryan (born 2000), and Jason (born 2003). They live in Santa Barbara, California.