Kirk Douglas is not dead despite People magazine's published obituary

Yes, the news of Kirk Douglas’ death is greatly exaggerated.

In the way that media organizations do, People magazine had prepared an advance obituary for actor Kirk Douglas. But somehow, the story was mistakenly posted online — way ahead of itself.

The dateline read Sept. 29, but it’s unclear exactly when it posted, though it was noticed on Sunday. The story ran with the headline “DO NOT PUB Kirk Douglas Dies.” We’re guessing the obit was written because Douglas will be turning 98 on Dec. 9.

People has deleted the post, but you can see an image of it all over Twitter.

Douglas has written a lot for The Huffington Post. Last year, when he turned 97, Douglas wrote: “I won’t pretend that getting older is easy. But I find that it’s given me a perspective that I lacked when I was younger.” Douglas’ noted films include “Spartacus” and has spent decades in humanitarian work. Actor Michael Douglas is his son.

The incident also oddly coincides with Douglas releasing a new book Tuesday, called “Life Could Be Verse” in which he offers reflections on his life through poetry, prose and photographs, according to a description on Amazon.com.

No comments on obit-gate so far from either People or Douglas, but it did allow folks to have a little fun.

SEE PHOTOSKirk Douglas through the years

And to serve as a reminder that it’s not an unprecedented error, remember the one from 2013 about George Soros, who is now 84?