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Beloved Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas, who died on Wednesday at the age of 103, lived a long and prosperous life -- but there was one day he said changed the course of it forever.
The golden age era icon released a memoir back in 2000 titled "Climbing the Mountain: My Search for Meaning," in which he described in detail the fateful day of Feb. 13, 1991, when he survived a helicopter crash that took the lives of two.
In the memoir, Douglas wrote that he was a passenger in a helicopter flown by his pilot friend Noel Blanc and co-pilot Michael Carra, according to People. The three were taking off at Santa Paula Airport in Calif. when their helicopter collided with a Pitts aerobatic plane flown by Lee Manelski, 47, and student pilot David Tomlinson, 18, who did not survive.
KIRK DOUGLAS RECEIVES TRIBUTES FROM HOLLYWOOD STARS
Actor Michael Douglas, right, announced the death of his father, Kirk Douglas, on Wednesday. (Getty)
Douglas wrote that Feb. 13, 1991, was a date he'd "never forget" and also called it "the most important day of my life."
"In that horrible fraction of a second, the rotating blades of Noel's Bell Ranger helicopter slice into the wing of David and Lee's Pitts, ripping it open and exposing its fuel to air," Douglas wrote via People. "Carried by its fateful momentum, the little plane continued to rise forward into the blue sky. An instant later, the fuel caught fire. The Pitts exploded in a fireball."
Douglas shared that he was unconscious when the helicopter he was flying in fell 20 to 40 feet from the sky and crashed into the tarmac.
Kirk Douglas in 'Paths of Glory' (1957). (United Artists)
"I didn't know that from this day forward I would be asking: Why did they die? Why was I alive?" the famed actor and producer wrote.
Douglas wrote that he had no memory of being pulled from the wreckage and brought to the emergency room via an ambulance, according to People. He did, however, remember the names of the victims.
"Somewhere out there, not too far from where I lay, the lives of the people who loved them were forever changed...and now mine had as well," the actor wrote.
On Wednesday, Douglas' son, actor Michael Douglas, confirmed his father's death in a statement shared on social media.
KIRK DOUGLAS' DAUGHTER-IN-LAW CATHERINE ZETA-JONES REACTS TO HIS DEATH
Kirk Douglas and Jan Sterling in 'Ace in The Hole' (1951). (Paramount Pictures)
"It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103," Michael Douglas wrote.
He continued: "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," he added.
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Michael concluded his post by writing: "Kirk's life was well lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet. Let me end with the words I told him on his last birthday and which will always remain true. Dad- I love you so much and I am so proud to be your son."
The statement did not indicate how or where he died. Dozens of stars reacted to the news on Wednesday with tributes and memories of the "Spartacus" actor, who had celebrated his 103rd birthday in December.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years (married May 29, 1954) Anne Buydens, their son Peter Douglas, two sons from his first marriage -- Michael and Joel Douglas -- and seven grandchildren.
Fox News' Mariah Haas contributed to this report.
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