Photo provided by Visko Hatfield

Few actors are as universally recognized as Michael Douglas after starring in and producing countless iconic movies, such as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Romancing The Stone,” “The China Syndrome,” “The War Of The Roses,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Black Rain,” “Wall Street,” “Basic Instinct,” “Disclosure,” “The Game,” “Wonder Boys,” “Traffic” and “Behind The Candelabra.”

Needless to say, it was no surprise when his immensely anticipated memoir, “One Helluva Ride,” shot straight to the top of the “New York Times Best-Sellers” list and sent fans clamoring for tickets to a once-in-a-lifetime book tour that brought the double Academy Award-winning to the prestigious Harris Theater in heart of downtown Chicago.

As part of the How To Academy’s ongoing series of public conversations and masterclasses, this intimate evening with Douglas felt like a little bit of both as he traced 82-years behind and in front of the camera, frequently praising and resembling the “Chicago work ethic” along the way.

There was a ton to unpack throughout a generous chat moderated by Dean Richards (formerly of WGN-TV) and much more awaiting everyone who bought a copy of the book, which all came across refreshingly unfiltered as Douglas fully owned up to past mistakes rather than rewriting history for his benefit, not that the legend’s legacy was ever in jeopardy.

Of course, superstardom runs in the family, from growing up as the son of Kirk Douglas, a groundbreaker during golden age of showbiz, to forging an individual path of unparalleled achievement while frequently personifying “morally ambivalent” characters.

In person, Douglas pulled back the curtain on several familiar scripts, though there were just as many revelations when it came to suffering abuse at the hands of his famous father, a series of sparkly love affairs, including one with frequent co-star Kathleen Turner, as well as running in the elite circles of Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and former roommate Danny DeVito.

Outside of those recurring celebrity interactions, the theme to this revealing event and corresponding pages would probably be relatability, as Richards so aptly pointed out, in addition to the resilience of bravely fighting against stage-four cancer and finding the lasting romance of a 25-year marriage to wife/fellow A-lister Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The Harris Theater did indeed have “One Helluva Ride” hearing from Douglas firsthand, plus are bound to feel the same when reading or listening to his personally narrated accounts of a truly fabulous life in Hollywood.

For additional information on Michael Douglas, visit Facebook.com/MichaelDouglasOfficial.

For a list of upcoming How To Academy events, visit HowToAcademy.com.

Upcoming shows at the Harris Theater include Music Of The Baroque: Vivaldi & Beyond (Oct. 19); Georgian National Ballet: “Sukhishvili” (Oct. 20); ForceBook: GMMTV Fanday 38 (Oct. 21): Beyond The Aria: Lawrence Brownlee, Christian Van Horn and Alexis Peart (Oct. 22); 3Arts Awards Celebration (Oct. 26); Piano Trios: Beethoven, Smetana and Dvořák (Oct. 27). For additional details, visit HarrisTheaterChicago.com.

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