# Joel Douglas
**Joel Douglas** (born 1947) is an American film producer and production manager, best known as the co-producer of *Romancing the Stone* (1984) and *The Jewel of the Nile* (1985) and as the son of actor [Kirk Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-douglas) and actress [Diana Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-douglas).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Joel Andrew Douglas[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/bio/) |
| Born | 1947, Los Angeles, California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/bio/) |
| Parents | Kirk Douglas and Diana Douglas; stepmother Anne Douglas[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/bio/) |
| Siblings | Younger brother of Michael Douglas; older half-brother of Peter Douglas and Eric Douglas[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/bio/) |
| Breakout work | Unit production manager on *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest* (1975)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas) |
| Co-producer credits | *Romancing the Stone* (1984), *The Jewel of the Nile* (1985)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas) |
| Other producer credits | *Torchlight* (1985, producer), *It Runs in the Family* (2003, associate producer)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/) |
## Family background
Joel Douglas is the second son of Kirk Douglas and Diana Douglas, who married in 1943 and divorced in 1950; his older brother is the actor and producer [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas). Through his father's second marriage to Anne Douglas, he is the older half-brother of producer [Peter Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-douglas) and actor and comedian [Eric Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-douglas), and he is the uncle of Cameron Douglas.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/bio/) • [4](https://www.eonline.com/news/1436808/michael-douglas-family-tree-kirk-douglas-catherine-zeta-jones-kids) • [5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/kirk-douglas-whose-masculine-energy-powered-scores-of-film-roles-dies-at-103/2020/02/05/644bf452-4875-11ea-b4d9-29cc419287eb_story.html) He appeared on screen as a child, playing "Boy" in *Act of Love* (1953) and Macy's Santa Claus in *Cast a Giant Shadow* (1966).[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas)
His first film work behind the camera came on his father's projects: he was credited as location assistant on *Cast a Giant Shadow* (1966) and as assistant to the producer on his father's Western *Posse* (1975).[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas) According to a 1985 *Vanity Fair* profile, he and his brother grew up watching their father work as one of the early independent producers, and the brothers later packaged movies for their father to appear in.[6](https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1985/12/01/the-doglas-dynasty)
## Production career
**Unit production management.** Joel Douglas was the unit production manager on *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest* (1975), the Michael Douglas production that swept the five major Academy Awards.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/45b91c1941dca5808eaf697c672eed56) The 1985 *Vanity Fair* profile described him as the line producer on *Cuckoo's Nest* and on most of his brother's films up to that time; the piece quoted him on the cost of the work, asking how he could sustain a relationship while away on location nine months a year.[6](https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1985/12/01/the-doglas-dynasty)
**Co-producing Michael Douglas's hits.** When Michael Douglas produced *Romancing the Stone* (1984), directed by [Robert Zemeckis](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-zemeckis), Joel Douglas served as co-producer alongside Jack Brodsky, and he also took a first assistant director credit on the film.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas) On that production, shot in Mexico over fourteen weeks, the co-producer remodeled a Mexican television station in Mexico City to serve as an interior set.[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57185-ROMANCING-THE-STONE) He returned as co-producer on the sequel, *The Jewel of the Nile* (1985), which was filmed in Morocco and France with a production budget reported at $18 million.[9](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57723) He is also credited as producer of *Torchlight* (1985) and, decades later, as associate producer of the family picture *It Runs in the Family* (2003), which cast Kirk, Michael, and [Cameron Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/cameron-douglas) together.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/)
**Other work.** In the 1970s and 1980s, Douglas worked as an executive for Blanc Communications Corporation, the media company of [Mel Blanc](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-blanc) and [Noel Blanc](https://www.edgepedia.org/noel-blanc), developing and producing commercials.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/bio/) His production management credits extend to *Double Impact* (1991), where he is credited as Joel A. Douglas.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/)
## References
1. [Joel Douglas – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/bio/)
2. [Joel Douglas – Filmography, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/169976-Joel-Douglas)
3. [Joel Douglas (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235119/)
4. [Michael Douglas' Family Tree, E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/news/1436808/michael-douglas-family-tree-kirk-douglas-catherine-zeta-jones-kids)
5. [Kirk Douglas obituary, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/kirk-douglas-whose-masculine-energy-powered-scores-of-film-roles-dies-at-103/2020/02/05/644bf452-4875-11ea-b4d9-29cc419287eb_story.html)
6. [The Douglas Dynasty, Vanity Fair, December 1985](https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1985/12/01/the-doglas-dynasty)
7. [Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito revisit 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' for its 50th anniversary, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/45b91c1941dca5808eaf697c672eed56)
8. [Romancing the Stone (1984), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57185-ROMANCING-THE-STONE)
9. [The Jewel of the Nile (1985), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/57723)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Film producers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license