Michael Douglas lied about spinal condition to evade Vietnam War draft twice
Michael DouglasCredit: Dia Dipasupil/GettyKey Points
Michael Douglas is looking back at how he got out of being drafted during the Vietnam War.
The actor explained that he was diagnosed with spondylitis while taking his draft physical.
When his lottery number was called again, he wore a large brace and lied about its severity in order to get out of serving.
Michael Douglas is reflecting on how an exaggerated spinal condition helped him to get out of serving in the Vietnam War.
In his new memoir One Helluva Ride, available now, the Oscar-winning actor revealed that he managed to avoid getting drafted on two separate occasions after being diagnosed with the spinal disease spondylitis — and that his father, Kirk Douglas, also helped him even though they were on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
“While I was protesting Vietnam, Dad was in the middle of a five-year run as goodwill ambassador, touring the world to promote American exceptionalism,” Michael wrote. “I was protesting a country he was celebrating. My father was ultimately a very patriotic guy, and I was at a college that was celebrating rebellion.”
Michael Douglas in 1977Credit: Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
The 82-year-old explained that while he and his dad were on “opposite sides of the street” politically, they still “respected each other’s opinions.” He also acknowledged that Kirk “recognized I was old enough to make my own decisions” at the time, too.
Everything changed, however, when Michael’s draft lottery number was eventually called.
“I did not want to fight in a war I was protesting, and I did everything I could to avoid being drafted,” the actor wrote. “I don’t think young people today understand what a huge role the draft played in the decisions we made at the time. It seemed like everybody was getting drafted and everyone else was trying to figure out what they could do to get out of it.”
That included “taking lots of drugs and acting crazy” during the draft physical exam or fleeing “to the Canadian border,” Michael wrote.
“When I went in for my physical, they found something called spondylitis, which in my case meant I was missing a portion of my vertebrae and there was a curvature of my spine,” he elaborated. “This was good news — the doctor gave me a letter about my condition that I could show draft officers. The bad news was the letter had adjectives like ‘mild’ and ‘slight.’”
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Which is where Kirk stepped in and helped his son out. “Dad, for all his patriotism, asked the doctor if he could send a new letter, one without the qualifiers,” Michael wrote. “The next time my lottery number was pulled, I wore a big white brace that belted from the front.”
Michael Douglas visits SiriusXM Studios on Sept. 30, 2026 in New York CityCredit: Gary Gershoff/Getty
The Basic Instinct star was asked by a sergeant about the large brace during his examination. “I showed him the paper and he said, ‘Take off that brace.’ I said, ‘I cannot, sir.’ ‘What do you mean?’ he demanded. I told him I would fall if I did,” Michael recalled. “They gave me a 1-Y designation, which meant I was only to be called if the nation was facing a dire emergency.”
Looking back on his experience dodging the draft, Michael simply wrote, “I’m not proud of this story. I am just being honest.”
Michael landed his first major role in the 1969 film Hail, Hero! at the height of the Vietnam War. The heavily panned drama, interestingly enough, was set during the conflict and followed a young hippie named Carl (Michael) as he reunites with his estranged family one last time before reporting for military duty.
One Helluva Ride is in bookstores now.
Source: Entertainment
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