Michael Douglas isn't holding back.
In his explosive new memoir "One Helluva Ride" (out now), the Oscar-winning "Wall Street" icon whisks us behind the curtain of his wild five-decade career, sharing revealing
new anecdotes about "Fatal Attraction," "Basic Instinct," "The War of the Roses" and more.
The actor opens up about his 2010 throat cancer battle and strained early relationship with father Kirk Douglas. Douglas, 82, also details how he and his "Romancing the Stone" costar, Kathleen Turner, "fell hard" for each other while he was still married to producer Diandra Luker.
Here are some of the other biggest revelations from "One Helluva Ride":
Michael Douglas once got high with O. J. Simpson after an 'SNL' party
Early in the book, Douglas recalls his Oscar-winning work as a producer on "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which led to him producing and starring in 1979's "The China Syndrome." During that time, the actor struggled in his first marriage to Luker and what he called a "dual life," which included excessive amounts of drugs and partying.
"While I was in LA, I wasn't exactly a saint," Douglas writes. "If things aligned, I'd run into the singer Harry Nilsson, we'd do some blow, then go out for the night. I'd sleep for four hours, be back in the office early in the morning, work all day, and do it all over again. It was a different time."
Douglas said that he never drank or did drugs while working. (He learned that the hard way when he nearly vomited on the set of "Running," after having a few drinks before filming.) But in general, he says that drugs were "easily accessible" both on and off Hollywood sets, and that one of the large talent agencies would slip you cocaine when you valeted your car.
In the late 1970s, Douglas recalls one New York night hanging out with Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner when they decided to go backstage at "Saturday Night Live."
“At the after-party, we ran into O. J. Simpson," Douglas writes. "Jann looked at me, and next thing I knew, he invited O.J. back to his apartment. At Jann's, O.J. whipped out a rolled dollar bill and offered us coke. Jann and I were looking at each other – Are we really doing this with O. J. Simpson?
"I look back on cocaine as a ridiculous, useless drug," he continues. "But at the time, it was a way to extend partying and to let off steam."
Douglas claims this potential costar 'dug into my arm' with her teeth
In another chapter, Douglas recalls courting Debra Winger for the 1984 action-adventure "Romancing the Stone," for the role of a lonely romance novelist named Joan Wilder who falls for his rash treasure hunter Jack T. Colton. Douglas was convinced she was right for the part after a margarita-fueled dinner meeting, although that quickly changed.
"Stories had filtered back that Debra was delivering an incredible performance in 'Terms of Endearment,' but also that she was difficult during shooting and had huge, blow-out fights with Shirley MacLaine," Douglas alleges in the book. "Joan Wilder was going to be a physically demanding part during a tough production on a tight schedule. We knew it would be a lot to ask of any actress, and we were going to need somebody incredibly cooperative. Even if we could convince Debra to join us, would she be able to handle the role? Would we be able to handle her?"
They left dinner "and were walking down the street when, the way somebody might punch you in the arm as you part company, Debra leaned over and bit me," Douglas claims. "I mean, she really bit me. Jesus, I had a whole set of teeth marks dug into my arm. We still had no answer from her, but that bite sealed the deal for me. No, thank you!"
The film's director, Robert Zemeckis, later asked him whether he had locked down Winger for the project.
"I had to make sure she was off the table, for good," Douglas recalls. "As I started telling them what happened, I slid into a performance, tears and all, and said, 'She bit me. Hard. Look at the teeth marks in my arm. I can't. She's a gifted actress, but I am hearing a lot of bad stories from the set of "Terms of Endearment." I don't care if she wants to do it. She's too crazy.'"
USA TODAY has reached out to Winger's representative for comment.
The role eventually went to Turner, with whom he claims to have had a passionate love affair during production of "Romancing the Stone."
"Good heavens what a fuss about something 40 years ago!" Turner, 72, told People magazine in response to Douglas' autobiography. "I love Michael and I look forward to enjoying the book."
Douglas recalls watching 'Wall Street' with 'unhappy' Princess Diana
Douglas admits he was "pissed off" when he didn't receive an Oscar nod for 1987's "Fatal Attraction," although he won both an Academy Award and Golden Globe that same season for "Wall Street," in which he played crooked stockbroker Gordon Gekko. (In one delightful section, he recalls hanging out with George Harrison, Bob Dylan and "the biggest dog I'd ever seen" after winning the Globe.)
He also looks back on watching "Wall Street" with Princess Diana during a gala in London, where the two were seated together.
"As the movie progressed, I became a little concerned about the language my character, Gordon Gekko, uses throughout the film," Douglas writes. "I remember at one point leaning over and whispering an apology to her. She locked eyes with me and smiled and laughed. She was fine with it, and she could not have been kinder.
"It was a hard time for Princess Diana," he adds of the late British royal. "Her marriage to Prince Charles was falling apart, and very publicly. On a smaller scale, so was mine with Diandra and I could relate. After the film, there was a private dinner, and I was fortunate enough to spend time alone with Princess Diana, away from all the cameras. … When we were talking, everything around us faded and it became clear to me that the tabloid narratives about her were wrong or at least wildly incomplete. The truth was simple: she was in an unhappy marriage and wanted a different life."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michael Douglas claims in new book that this A-list actress once bit him
