Celebrities, by their very nature, crave attention. Some of them can't seem to get enough of it and go to great lengths to make sure they stay in the public eye (see Britney Spears). But some famous people keep their private lives private and quietly go about being wonderful people without drawing attention to themselves. One such celebrity is actor Kirk Douglas.

For eleven years, the 91-year-old Douglas and his wife Anne have been giving their time and money to make sure that school kids in Los Angeles have a fun and safe place to play. Through the Anne and Kirk Douglas Playground Award, the Hollywood old-timer and his wife have supported the creation of 401 public school playgrounds. For each dedication, Douglas takes a trip down the brand new slide. "What nobody acknowledges is that every dedication I risk my life," he jokes. "I'm getting too old for this."

Douglas says the inspiration for their philanthropic work came from his German wife's desire to give back to her adopted country. "When we got married, she was very anxious to become a citizen. And when she became a citizen she felt: 'I had to do something for my new country.' "

The Douglas' have given back in many other ways - through the Douglas Foundation, they built a homeless shelter for women and created the Anne Douglas Center for Women - but Kirk says that the playgrounds have been his most important work. "Let's face it: The world is in a mess and young people are going to inherit that mess. So we should do all we can to help them," he says.

The Douglas' are now stepping down from the Playground Award but hope others will continue the work. "The program could benefit the entire country," Douglas says. "I think every individual should take a more personal action about their surroundings."

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