Michael Douglas: Coming Home to His Bermudian Roots

By Donald Rodrigue

Bermuda can obviously get in your blood. Just ask actor Michael Douglas, who spent his teenage summers on the island and now calls it home. He and actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones purchased a house in Warwick in 2001 to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle of New York and escape the hoards of paparazzi that hound them.

In fact, one of the things that the Douglas family likes so much about the island is the Bermudians' great respect for privacy. Here, they can go out to dinner without fear that it will become a media circus before the dessert cart rolls around.

Although he has significant roots on the island - his mother, the former Diana Dill once married to actor Kirk Douglas, was born here - he only visited sporadically over the years while making a name for himself in Hollywood. That began to change after he became a shareholder and board member of the 47-room Ariel Sands, a resort on Bermuda's famed South Shore whose property has been in the Dill family since the 1840s. He says it was his wife, however, who finally urged him to buy a home here after he brought her for a visit and introduced her to his extended family.

In fact, it's precisely their large network of relatives and friends that make them feel so at home on Bermuda. Douglas says that he and Catherine were pleased to find out that the island was such a safe and secure place for raising children. For this reason, they try to spend as much time here as their busy work schedules permit. The time difference between Bermuda and California gives them time in the morning to drop off their youngest son Dylan at pre-school and have a leisurely morning before taking care of business in the afternoon when the Hollywood day is just getting underway. The island's central location makes it easy for them to jet back and forth to New York, and for Catherine's family members to fly in from London.

Golf is one of Michael's favourite island pastimes, and he's a member of both Mid Ocean Golf Club and Riddell's Bay Golf and Country Club. He has nothing but praise for Bermuda's golf courses, claiming that no other island comes close to offering so much golf in such a small area. In addition to Mid Ocean and Riddell's Bay, he's played the courses at St. George's, Ocean View, Port Royal and Tucker's Point.

One of the things that Douglas loves about Bermuda is that there's a strong middle class here, without the great income disparities frequently seen on the Caribbean islands. He fears, however, that some of Bermuda's lower-income residents might suffer from the influx of big business, and so he and Catherine support several island charities and have even held fundraising events at Ariel Sands. He also plays in the Ross "Blackie" Talbot Charity Invitational Golf Tournament held annually on the island.

The family is proud of Bermuda's cultural offerings and supports such entities as the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society, the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and the Masterworks Foundation.

Douglas says that he and his wife make a concerted effort to promote Bermuda in all of their interviews. He supports Ariel Sands' decision to build 13 new luxury villas to remain competitive in the island's tight and very seasonal tourism market. The new units will significantly add to the resort's lodging choices. Each four-bedroom villa will boast its own spa facilities, private garden and infinity plunge pool. Although he likes the anonymity that Bermuda affords his family, Douglas says he'd like to see an increased marketing effort made to attract more tourism to the island.

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