Beard Liberation Front
6th February
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has paid tribute to the actor Kirk Douglas who has died at 103.
Douglas was often hirsute in later life, often sporting a magnificent beard.
However for perhaps his best known character, Spartacus, 1960, he was clean shaven.
This was despite the fact that while the imperial oppressors, the Romans, were known to prize a clean shaven appearance, slaves, of whom Spartacus was an outstanding example, were usually beard wearers, due to lacking the means to shave regularly.
The campaigners say that clean shaven US film culture was not yet ready to accept a bearded hero in 1960.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Kirk Douglas was an outstanding actor. In 1960 as Spartacus film culture dictated that he could not wear a beard even though it would have been historically accurate. He made up for it in later life though.
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