Kirk Douglas, who turns 98 on Dec. 9, may have had the opportunity to read his own obituary.
For at least several hours on Sunday, and possibly a lot longer, the magazine’s website featured a story about the legendary actor’s apparent death.
While it is common for media outlets to pre-write obituaries so they can be quickly posted when the celebrity actually dies, the article was obviously not meant to be published.
Under the headline “DO NOT PUB Kirk Douglas Dies,” the article reads:
“Kirk Douglas, one of the few genuine box-office names to emerge just as TV was overtaking American culture in the years right after World War II, died TK TK TK. He was 97 (DOB 12/9/1916) and had been in good health despite having suffered a debilitating 1996 stroke that rendered his speech difficult.”
“TK” is journalistic shorthand for “to come.”
People magazine reportedly accidentally publishes Kirk Douglas obit that dates back to Sept.: http://t.co/Us3TdVsU4d pic.twitter.com/fmTeDRKBNa
— AOL.com (@AOL) December 1, 2014
The article shared details of Douglas‘ life and accomplishments, accompanied by two photos and a clip from his 1956 Vincent Van Gogh biopic Lust for Life.
' #PeopleMagazine ' published Kirk Douglas' obit by mistake
http://t.co/C5j37ii8zk pic.twitter.com/zXWYQSM6uX
— 10 News (@WTSP10News) December 1, 2014
According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is unclear when the story was published. The timestamp on the article reads 3 p.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 29, but it’s unclear if the article remained online for two months.