Michael Douglas says a glamorous Oscars assignment became a terrifying ordeal when federal and local authorities warned him of a credible threat inside the ceremony. The actor reveals the episode in his memoir, “One Helluva Ride,” due out Tuesday, as reported [1] by Page Six.
The book, obtained by Page Six Hollywood, says Douglas arrived at the 1992 Academy Awards as a presenter. When he opened his limousine door at the Shrine Auditorium, however, he did not find a valet waiting.
Instead, an FBI agent and an LAPD sergeant approached him with a stark warning. The authorities told Douglas, “We have information that someone will try to stab you with an HIV-infected needle tonight,” according to the book.
Douglas places the chilling encounter during the height of the AIDS crisis. “This was during the height of the AIDS crisis, and getting stabbed with an infected needle would essentially be a death sentence,” he writes.
Many famous attendees, including Douglas, wore red ribbons on their lapels that night to draw attention to the global fight against AIDS. Against that backdrop, the alleged threat took on an especially frightening dimension.
The FBI responded by placing undercover agents throughout the awards crowd to protect Douglas and deter the reported plot. Agents even guarded the actor when he stepped outside for a smoke break.
Despite the warning, Douglas still took the stage to present Jodie Foster with the Best Actress honor for “The Silence of the Lambs.”
His appearance came one year after he won the Best Actor Oscar for playing Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street.”
Douglas recalls checking the auditorium as he walked into view. “As I walked out, I took a quick glance into the crowd to make sure that no one was rushing to the stage. All I could see were blinding lights,” he writes.
A longtime friend of Douglas corroborated the account and said an agent had advised the actor not to make his scheduled appearance. Authorities reportedly believed the person behind the threat was inside the venue but did not know where.
“He was advised by the agent not to go out there [on stage]. They knew the person was in [the venue], but they didn’t know where. [They] could have been in the staff, the crew or the crowd… Michael was scared s–tless. It was a really ballsy move for him to go out there.”
The ceremony ended without Douglas being attacked. Nothing came of the threat, however, and no one was apprehended in connection with the alleged plot.
The Oscars scare is not the only credible attempt on his life that Douglas describes in the memoir. Another frightening episode unfolded while he was filming his 1970s television series, “The Streets of San Francisco.”
Douglas writes that he landed on the “kill list” of the Death Angels. The group of extremist killers was behind the racially motivated Zebra Murders, which claimed at least 15 lives during the early 1970s.
That threat prompted another extraordinary security operation around the actor. Douglas says he wore a bulletproof vest beneath his wardrobe while undercover officers flanked him on the set.
The actor, 81, shares the episodes in a 500-page account that also explores his relationship with his famous father, Kirk Douglas. The book includes stories about his romantic relationships and events surrounding films including “Fatal Attraction” and “Basic Instinct.”
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Other anecdotes described in the memoir include Douglas snorting cocaine with O.J. Simpson and discussing a secret relationship with his “Romancing the Stone” costar Kathleen Turner.
Page Six previously reported that Douglas reveals the relationship after four decades of secrecy.