- In 1980 the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival wanted him to be President of the Jury. The telegram sent to their Hollywood office was to read, "Request Douglas Sirk for jury". However, a typo and an extra comma resulted in it reading, "Request Douglas, Kirk for jury". Kirk Douglas became the President of the 1980 jury.
- Director John Waters has cited him as one of his greatest influences.
- Far from Heaven (2002) was intended as a tribute to Sirk's films, which are also said to have been the original influence for TV soap operas.
- In Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), inside of the movie-homage diner "Jack Rabbit Slim's" one of the characters orders a "Douglas Sirk Steak" from the menu.
- Directed 5 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Jane Wyman, Dorothy Malone, Robert Stack, Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore. Malone won an Oscar for Written on the Wind (1956).
- Although Sirk made no more Hollywood films after his greatest success, "Imitation Of Life", in 1959, he did not retire from film-making immediately, as is sometimes reported. After "Imitation" was released, he was named as director of a projected film about Suzanne Valadon, the mother of the artist Maurice Utrillo, to star Lana Turner; it was never made. He was also mentioned (in 1962) in connection with a proposed remake of "Madame X", also to star Turner. However, the project was postponed and when Turner finally made the film in 1966, her director was David Lowell Rich.
- Detlef Sierck's first wife was the actress Lydia Brincken. Their son Klaus Detlef Sierck became a popular child actor who took part in 13 movies. He died in action at the age of only 18 in 1944 on the Russian front.
- Because Detlef Sierck's second wife Hilde Jary was Jewish, the couple had to leave Germany. They went to the USA via France and the Netherlands and Detlef Sierck was able to continue his film career as a movie director. He then used the name Douglas Sirk.
- He has directed two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: All That Heaven Allows (1955) and Imitation of Life (1959).
- Detlef Sierck retired from the film business because of health problems and he moved to Switzerland. It followed single directions for plays at the theater in Germany. At the end of the 70s he worked as a director again for three short films.
- Was of Danish heritage but grew up in Germany.
- Was voted the 38th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
- He was able to realise his first movie as a director in 1934 and he shot the short film "Zwei Genies" (1934).
- He got in touch with the performing arts in 1920 for the first time when he got an assistant for dramaturgy at the Deutsches Theater in Hamburg. It followed an engagement an the Bremer Schauspielhaus as a director and as a manager at the "Altes Theater" in Leipzig.
- The director Detlef Sierck finished his education in jurisprudence and he began his professional career as an editor for the "Neue Hamburger Zeitung".
- Father of Klaus Detlef Sierck (1925-1944).
- He soon became a demanded director of feature movies and he made the Swedish singer and actress Zarah Leander to a star.
- To his well-known movies of the 30s belong "Zu neuen Ufern" (1937) and "La Habanera" (1937).
- Douglas Sirk said in an interview with Jon Halliday in 1971 that he did some work on preparing "Never Say Goodbye", that he brought over Cornell Borchers from Germany and that he re-shot scenes with George Sanders on the latter's and the studio's request.
- He experienced the height of his film career in the 50s and he was responsible for numerous popular movies.
- While he is credited as being the 2nd unit director of Against All Flags he actually directed most of the film.
- He wrote the lyrics for Sarah :Leander's songs in the film La Habanera.
- He was forced to give a happy ending to All I Desire by Ross Hunter.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 779-782. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
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