Although he did not enter films until the age of forty-one and his onscreen career lasted only eleven years until his death from a heart attack at age 52, the bulky, middle-aged actor became an unlikely, down-to-earth lead in both comedies and even romantic dramas throughout the 1950s. Frequently typecast as slightly dim-witted authority figures or gruff gorillas, Douglas often revealed an appealing vulnerability under the rough exterior; he gave a sensitive performance as the naive fisherman husband of Barbara Stanwyck in "Clash by Night" (1952), parried enjoyably with Ginger Rogers in "Forever Female" (1953), and reteamed with "Born Yesterday" co-star Judy Holliday as another deflated, cantankerous businessman in the comedy vehicle "The Solid Gold Cadillac" (1956). The last two of Douglas's five wives were the actresses Virginia Field and Jan Sterling.