# Peter Douglas
**Peter Vincent Douglas** (born 1955) is an American film and television producer, the son of actor [Kirk Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-douglas), whose credits include the science-fiction film *[The Final Countdown](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-final-countdown-film)* (1980), the Disney fantasy *Something Wicked This Way Comes* (1983), and the [Chevy Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/chevy-chase) comedy *Fletch* (1985).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235209/bio/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peter_vincent_douglas)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Peter Vincent Douglas[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-22-ca-6213-story.html) |
| Born | 1955, son of Kirk Douglas and Anne Douglas[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235209/bio/) |
| First produced feature | *The Final Countdown* (1980), a time-travel story about the USS Nimitz[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56411-THE-FINALCOUNTDOWN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=92985360-679a-4c7d-862a-f1253581524a&sr=0.10097615) |
| Biggest hit | *Fletch* (1985), co-produced with Alan Greisman, which grossed more than $40 million after its June 1985 release[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-22-ca-6213-story.html) |
| Emmy | 1986 nomination and 1988 win for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/peter-douglas/bio/3000069338/) |
| Later work | Executive producer of *The Enemy Within* (1994) and *Whip It* (2009)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peter_vincent_douglas) |
| Family | Married Lisa Marie Schoeder on June 15, 1991; four children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235209/bio/) |
## Family background
Peter Douglas is the son of Kirk Douglas (1916–2020) and his second wife, Anne Douglas.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235209/bio/) • [6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/04/26/the-douglas-family-finally-plays-together/16371da1-e398-418b-8052-c463eb24b9e3/) Through his father he is the younger half-brother of actor [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas) and producer [Joel Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-douglas), and the older brother of the late actor [Eric Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-douglas).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235209/bio/) A 1985 *Los Angeles Times* profile described him as the "erstwhile 'baby' of the Douglas clan" and a "one-time black sheep of the family," and noted that producing had been harder for him than for people without a famous father: "There's a resistance, an 'OK, so you got a famous family—you prove it to me' attitude."
## Early career
After transferring to UCLA in the early 1970s, Douglas found himself drawn to filmmaking and took a job as production assistant for producer Ray Stark on *The Black Bird*, which starred [George Segal](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-segal).[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-22-ca-6213-story.html) Before that he had pursued photography, earning about $25,000 a year in high school, and during college at UC Santa Barbara he obtained a pilot's license and photographed remote locations for magazines such as *Cosmopolitan*.
His first producer credit was *The Final Countdown* (1980), produced by the Bryna Company for Aspen Productions and released by MGM, which earned $16,647,800 domestically.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56411-THE-FINALCOUNTDOWN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=92985360-679a-4c7d-862a-f1253581524a&sr=0.10097615) • [7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0080736/credits/) To make the film, he and his fellow producers secured Navy cooperation, agreeing to reimburse the costs the Navy incurred.[8](https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-539/USSC2017/L2WLSC0000.pdf) He also appeared in small acting roles, playing the quartermaster in that film and, as a child, uncredited boy parts in his father's *The Vikings* (1958) and *Strangers When We Meet* (1960).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235209/bio/)
## Fletch and later work
**Fletch.** Douglas optioned the film rights to Gregory McDonald's best-selling novel with borrowed money and spent nearly seven years shepherding the project through [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) and then Universal, repeatedly losing one element or another: the financing, the star, or the option itself.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-22-ca-6213-story.html) He brought the project to Universal's production president Thom Mount and suggested Chevy Chase for the lead; Chase agreed once producer Alan Greisman joined. The picture survived executive shake-ups under three studio regimes and became a hit, grossing more than $40 million by late July 1985; a sequel, *[Fletch Lives](https://www.edgepedia.org/fletch-lives)*, followed in 1989.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-22-ca-6213-story.html) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peter_vincent_douglas)
Douglas's other producing credits include *Something Wicked This Way Comes* (1983), the television movie *Amos* (1985), *A Tiger's Tale* (1987, as director), and executive-producer credits on *Inherit the Wind* (1988), *The Enemy Within* (1994), and *Whip It* (2009).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peter_vincent_douglas) He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special in 1986 and won in that category in 1988.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/peter-douglas/bio/3000069338/) His father's research for *Amos*, a television movie Peter produced, made Kirk Douglas aware of the abuse of elderly people in the United States.[9](https://www.craftfilmschool.com/userfiles/files/Encyclopedia%20of%20Stanley%20Kubrick_%20From%20Day%20of%20the%20Fight%20to%20Eyes%20Wide%20Shut%20%28Library%20of%20Great%20Filmmakers%29%281%29.pdf)
## References
1. [Peter Douglas – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0235209/bio/)
2. [Peter Vincent Douglas – Filmography, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peter_vincent_douglas)
3. [Something Successful His Way Comes, Los Angeles Times, July 22, 1985](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-22-ca-6213-story.html)
4. [The Final Countdown (1980), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56411-THE-FINALCOUNTDOWN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=92985360-679a-4c7d-862a-f1253581524a&sr=0.10097615)
5. [Peter Douglas Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/peter-douglas/bio/3000069338/)
6. [The Douglas Family Finally Plays Together, The Washington Post, April 26, 2003](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/04/26/the-douglas-family-finally-plays-together/16371da1-e398-418b-8052-c463eb24b9e3/)
7. [The Final Countdown (1980) – Credits, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0080736/credits/)
8. [United States v. Peter Vincent Douglas, Civil Action No. 85-436-N (E.D. Va.)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-539/USSC2017/L2WLSC0000.pdf)
9. [Encyclopedia of Stanley Kubrick: Douglas, Kirk entry](https://www.craftfilmschool.com/userfiles/files/Encyclopedia%20of%20Stanley%20Kubrick_%20From%20Day%20of%20the%20Fight%20to%20Eyes%20Wide%20Shut%20%28Library%20of%20Great%20Filmmakers%29%281%29.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Producers, studio executives, and showrunners › Television producers and showrunners*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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