Kirk Douglas Countdown" (1980) and "Saturn 3" (1980). His acting style and delivery made him a favorite with television impersonators such as Frank Gorshin, Rich Little and David Frye. His role as Vincent van Gogh in "Lust for Life" (1956), directed by Vincente Minnelli and based on Irving Stone's best-seller, was filmed mostly on location in France. Douglas was noted not only for the veracity of van Gogh's appearance but for how he conveyed the painter's internal turmoil. Some reviewers consider it the most famous example of the "tortured artist" who seeks solace from life's pain through his work. Others see it
Health of Vincent van Gogh poisoning from his consumption of absinthe. Arnold has suggested the association between bipolar disorder and creativity is a popular one, and may be spurious in Van Gogh's case. Van Gogh is believed to have had borderline personality disorder; he "displayed symptoms best consistent with a borderline (personality) disorder: impulsivity, variable moods, self-destructive behaviour, fear of abandonment, an unbalanced self-image, authority conflicts and other complicated relationships." The most thorough argument is made by psychiatrist Erwin van Meekeren in his book "Starry Starry Night: Life and Psychiatric History of Vincent van Gogh". Van Meekeren proposes borderline personality disorder as the most likely