Melvyn Douglas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melvyn Douglas
MGM publicity photo of Douglas, c. 1939
Born	Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg (1901-04-05)April 5, 1901 Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Died	August 4, 1981(1981-08-04) (aged 80) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1927–1981
Spouse(s)	Rosalind Hightower ​ ​ (m. 1925; div. 1930)​ Helen Gahagan ​ ​ (m. 1931; died 1980)​
Children	3
Relatives	Illeana Douglas (granddaughter)
Military career
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Major

Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was a famous American actor. He became well-known in the 1930s for playing charming main characters. A great example is his role in the romantic comedy Ninotchka (1939) with Greta Garbo.

Later in his career, Douglas played older, father-like characters. He won two Academy Awards for his roles in Hud (1963) and Being There (1979). He was also nominated for an Academy Award for I Never Sang for My Father (1970). Melvyn Douglas was one of only 24 actors to win the Triple Crown of Acting. This means he won an Oscar (for movies), an Emmy (for TV), and a Tony (for Broadway plays). Towards the end of his life, he appeared in movies about ghosts, like The Changeling (1980) and Ghost Story (1981). Ghost Story was his last movie role.

Who Was Melvyn Douglas?

Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia. His mother was Lena Priscilla Shackelford. His father, Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, was a talented concert pianist and composer. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. His mother was from Tennessee and was Protestant.

In his book, See You at the Movies (1987), Douglas wrote that he did not know about his Jewish background until he was a teenager. His parents chose not to tell him. When he was 14, his aunts told him "the truth." He said he admired them very much.

Douglas's father taught music at many colleges. However, Melvyn Douglas himself never finished high school. He later took his grandmother's last name, Douglas.

What Was Melvyn Douglas's Acting Career Like?

Douglas started acting when he was a teenager. He performed in Shakespearean plays and with local acting groups. He served in the United States Army during World War I. He even started an outdoor theater in Chicago.

He had a long career in theater, movies, and television. He played lead roles from his first Broadway play in 1930 until just before he died. In 1932, he starred with Boris Karloff and Charles Laughton in the horror movie The Old Dark House. He was also the hero in the 1932 horror film The Vampire Bat.

Douglas often played charming main characters. He starred with Joan Crawford in movies like A Woman's Face (1941). He also appeared with Greta Garbo in three films: As You Desire Me (1932), Ninotchka (1939), and Two-Faced Woman (1941). One of his most touching roles was as a father who learns to care for his son in Captains Courageous (1937).

Melvyn Douglas During World War II

During World War II, Douglas first worked for the Arts Council in the Office of Civilian Defense. Then, he joined the United States Army again. He became a Major in the Special Services Entertainment Production Unit. His granddaughter, Illeana Douglas, said that he met Peter Sellers in Burma during the war. Sellers later co-starred with Douglas in the movie Being There.

After the war, Douglas returned to acting. He took on more mature roles in films like The Sea of Grass and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. In 1959, he made his first musical appearance in Juno.

Melvyn Douglas on Television

From 1952 to 1953, Douglas starred in the detective TV show Steve Randall. In the summer of 1953, he hosted the game show Blind Date for a short time. In 1959, he hosted a Western TV series called Frontier Justice.

As he got older, Douglas often played older men or fathers. He won his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Hud (1963). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for I Never Sang for My Father (1970). He also appeared in The Candidate (1972). He won his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the comedy-drama Being There (1979). Douglas later said he did not go to the Academy Awards that year because he did not want to compete against child actor Justin Henry.

Besides his Academy Awards, Douglas won a Tony Award for his role in the Broadway play The Best Man (1960). He also won an Emmy Award for his TV role in Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (1967).

Douglas's last completed movie was Ghost Story (1981). He passed away before finishing all his scenes for the film The Hot Touch (1982).

Melvyn Douglas has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One is for his movies and the other for his television work.

Melvyn Douglas's Family Life

Douglas was briefly married to artist Rosalind Hightower. They had one child, Gregory Hesselberg, in 1926. Gregory, who was also an artist, is the father of actress Illeana Douglas.

In 1931, Douglas married actress Helen Gahagan. They traveled to Europe that year. They were very upset by the anti-Jewish feelings they saw in France and Germany. Because of this, they became strong opponents of fascism.

Helen Gahagan later became a Congresswoman. In 1950, she ran for a United States Senate seat from California against Richard Nixon. Nixon accused her of being too soft on Communism. Helen Gahagan was the one who first called Nixon "Tricky Dick."

In 1938, the couple hired architect Roland Coate to design their home in Los Angeles. It was a large, one-story house.

Douglas and Gahagan had two children: Peter Gahagan Douglas (born 1933) and Mary Helen Douglas (born 1938). They stayed married until Helen Gahagan Douglas died from cancer in 1980. Melvyn Douglas passed away a year later in 1981, at age 80. He died from pneumonia and heart problems in New York City.

Broadway Roles

• A Free Soul (1928) as Ace Wilfong
• Back Here (1928) as Sergeant "Terry" O'Brien
• Now-a-Days (1929) as Boyd Butler
• Recapture (1930) as Henry C. Martin
• Tonight or Never (1931) as the Unknown Gentleman
• No More Ladies (1934) as Sheridan Warren
• Mother Lode (1934) as Carey Ried (also staged)
• De Luxe (1935) as Pat Dantry
• Tapestry In Gray (1935) as Erik Nordgren
• Two Blind Mice (1949) as Tommy Thurston
• The Bird Cage (1950) as Wally Williams
• The Little Blue Light (1951) as Frank
• Glad Tidings (1951) as Steve Whitney
• Time Out for Ginger (1952) as Howard Carol
• Inherit the Wind (1955) as Henry Drummond (replacement)
• The Waltz of the Toreadors (1958) as General St. Pé
• Juno (1959) as "Captain" Jack Boyle
• The Gang's All Here (1959) as Griffith P. Hastings
• The Best Man (1960) as William Russell
• Spofford (1967) as Spofford

Douglas also directed Moor Born (1934), Mother Lode (1934), and Within the Gates (1934-1935). He produced Call Me Mister (1946-1948).

Filmography

Partial Television Credits

Radio Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Melvyn Douglas para niños