Douglas' playground effort

Kirk Douglas greets school children before the dedication of the 400th school playground funded by the Anne & Kirk Douglas Playground Award Programme. Photo / Reuters

Kirk Douglas and his wife have dedicated their 400th school playground -completing a decade-long effort to give Los Angeles children a place to play.

The 91-year-old actor took a ride down a slide during the unveiling yesterday at a Los Angeles elementary school.

Douglas and his wife, Anne, created a foundation that has provided more than US$8 million ($10.32 million) to build or refurbish play areas in the Los Angeles school district. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on hand for the dedication.

The Governor and Douglas worked together in a 1979 movie called The Villain and have remained friends for three decades.