SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) – Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas doesn’t believe in that ”greed is good” philosophy uttered by his character, Gordon Gekko, in the 1987 film ”Wall Street.”
Douglas gave $1 million to the University of California, Santa Barbara, for the school’s new Center for Film, Television and New Media. The lobby of the new center will be named in honor of Douglas.
The 59-year-old actor, who graduated from UCSB in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in dramatic art, said in a statement Monday that he’s proud to be associated with the center, which ”represents the very best in teaching, research and public service that a campus can offer.”
”I have watched UCSB become an international leader in education,” Douglas said, ”and as an alumnus and benefactor, I have the personal satisfaction of having played a part in that transformation.”
The new center is the first of its kind in the University of California system. It will include a production suite, instructional and research laboratories, a climate-controlled film and television archive and a 325-seat public theater.
Douglas is a member of the advisory board for the center, which will be funded by private donations of about $10 million.He won a best-actor Oscar for his role as Gekko in ”Wall Street.”