BIO

Melvyn Douglas was born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg in Macon, Georgia, in 1901.   His father was a concert pianist and music professor.   His younger brother was the actor George Douglas (1903-1983).

Douglas developed his acting skills with stock companies in Sioux City, Iowa and elsewhere in the Midwest.   He made his Broadway debut in 1928 at the age of 27.   He went on to a long Broadway career, appearing in 24 productions over 4 decades.   Douglas received a Tony Award for Best Actor in Gore Vidal’s The Best Man in 1960.

He also starred in:

• Time Out for Ginger (1952-1953),
• the revival of The Waltz of the Toreadors (1958),
• Juno (1959) and
• Spofford (1967-1968).

Douglas made his film debut, reprising his role in the popular Broadway play Tonight or Never (1931) opposite Gloria Swanson. He remained a leading man throughout the 1930s.

During World War II, Douglas served in the Army.   He returned to film roles as a character actor and later guest starred on television during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

He won two Academy Awards for Actor in a Supporting Role for his performances in Hud (1963) and Being There (1979).   He was also nominated for an Actor Oscar for his performance in I Never Sang for My Father (1970).   After more than 70 feature films, his last picture was released in 1981.

Douglas was also awarded an Emmy for his 1967 television role in the CBS Playhouse production of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.

Douglas was married briefly to Rosalind Hightower in 1920 and they had a son.   His granddaughter from that marriage is the actress Illeana Douglas.

In 1931, Douglas married actress-turned-politician Helen Gahagan, his co-star in the Broadway play Tonight of Never.   She later served as a three-term Congresswoman (1944-1950) and was Richard Nixon's opponent for the United States Senate in 1950.   It was Gahagan who coined the moniker "Tricky Dick" for Nixon. Douglas and Gahagan raised two children.

Douglas died from pneumonia and cardiac complications, in 1981, in New York City.   He was 80 years old.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

Complete filmography at:

TV SERIES

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