Melvyn Douglas

2025-10-14T16:55:39Z

82.77.77.34: Undid revision 1316756755 by 2607:FB92:982:6C43:78AD:BB61:3F09:7E95 (talk)

{{Short description|American actor (1901–1981)}}
{{redirect|Melvin Douglas|the American wrestler|Melvin Douglas (wrestler)}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Melvyn Douglas 1940 Alt.jpg
| imagesize =
| name = Melvyn Douglas
| caption = Publicity photo {{circa}} 1940
| birth_name = Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|4|5}}
| birth_place = [[Macon, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|8|4|1901|4|5}}
| death_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1926–1981
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Rosalind Hightower|1925|1930|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan]]|1931|1980|end=died}}
}}
| children = 3
| relatives = [[Illeana Douglas]] (granddaughter)
|module={{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| branch = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|23px]] [[Major (United States)|Major]]
| battles = [[World War I]] [[World War II]]
}}
}}

'''Melvyn Douglas''' (born '''Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg''', April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor, whose stage and screen careers spanned from the 1930s until the early 1980s. He was one of 24 performers to win the [[Triple Crown of Acting]] - winning two [[Academy Awards]] (both in the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] category), a [[Primetime Emmy Awards|Primetime Emmy Award]], and a [[Tony Award]].

He came to prominence in 1929 as a suave [[leading man]], perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''[[Ninotchka]]'' (1939) with [[Greta Garbo]], and appeared in many films during the [[Golden Age of Hollywood]]. Douglas later played mature and fatherly characters, as in his Oscar-winning performances in ''[[Hud (1963 film)|Hud]]'' (1963) and ''[[Being There]]'' (1979) and his Oscar–nominated performance in ''[[I Never Sang for My Father]]'' (1970). He won a Tony Award for [[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play|Best Actor in a Play]] for [[Gore Vidal]]'s play [[The Best Man (play)|''The Best Man'']] (1960).

==Early life==
Douglas was born in [[Macon, Georgia]], the son of Lena Priscilla ([[married and maiden names|née]] Shackelford) and [[Edouard Gregory Hesselberg]], a [[Pianist#Classical|concert pianist]] and [[composer]]. His father was a Jewish [[emigration|emigrant]] from [[Riga]], Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire. His mother, a native of [[Tennessee]], was Protestant and a [[The Mayflower Society|''Mayflower'' descendant]].<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4DD1E31F93BA25752C0A961948260 | work=The New York Times | title=He Almost Made Garbo Laugh | first1=Hugh | last1=Nissenson | date=January 18, 1987 | access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/mdouglas.htm|title=1|work=ancestry.com|access-date=16 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212184836/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/mdouglas.htm|archive-date=12 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Douglas, in his [[autobiography]], ''See You at the Movies'' (1987), wrote that he was unaware of his Jewish background until later in his youth: "I did not learn about the non-Christian part of my heritage until my early teens." His parents preferred to hide his Jewish heritage. His aunts, on his father's side, told him "the truth" when he was 14. He wrote that he "admired them unstintingly"; they in turn, treated him like a son.<ref name=NYTimes/>

Though his father, a prominent concert pianist, taught music at a succession of colleges in the U.S. and Canada, Douglas never graduated from high school. He took the surname of his maternal grandmother and became known as Melvyn Douglas.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}

==Career==
[[Image:Douglas-Ninotchka.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|Douglas and [[Greta Garbo]] in ''[[Ninotchka]]'' (1939)}}]]

Douglas developed his acting skills in [[Shakespeare]]an repertory while in his teens and with [[Repertory theatre|stock companies]] in [[Sioux City, Iowa]], [[Evansville, Indiana]], [[Madison, Wisconsin]] and [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]. He served in the [[United States Army]] in [[World War I]]. He established an outdoor theatre in Chicago. He had a long theatre, film and television career as a lead player, stretching from his 1930 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] role in ''Tonight or Never'' (opposite his future wife, [[Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan]]) until just before his death. Douglas shared [[Billing (filmmaking)|top billing]] with [[Boris Karloff]] and [[Charles Laughton]] in [[James Whale]]'s sardonic [[Horror film|horror classic]] ''[[The Old Dark House (1932 film)|The Old Dark House]]'' in 1932.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}

Douglas appeared as the hero in the 1932 horror film ''[[The Vampire Bat]]'' and the sophisticated leading man in ''[[She Married Her Boss]]'' (1935). He appeared with [[Joan Crawford]] in several films, most notably ''[[A Woman's Face]]'' (1941), and starred opposite [[Greta Garbo]] in three films: ''[[As You Desire Me (film)|As You Desire Me]]'' (1932), ''[[Ninotchka]]'' (1939) and Garbo's final film ''[[Two-Faced Woman]]'' (1941). One of his most sympathetic roles was as the belatedly attentive father in ''[[Captains Courageous (1937 film)|Captains Courageous]]'' (1937).

During [[World War II]], Douglas served first as a director of the Arts Council in the [[Office of Civilian Defense]], and he then again served in the [[United States Army]] rising to the rank of major in the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]] Entertainment Production Unit.<ref>p.58 Zimmers, Tighe E.''Lyrical Satirical Harold Rome: A Biography of the Broadway Composer-Lyricist'' McFarland; Illustrated edition November 1, 2013</ref> According to his granddaughter [[Illeana Douglas]], Melvyn Douglas first met [[Peter Sellers]], his future ''[[Being There]]'' co-star while in [[Burma]], when Sellers was serving in the [[Royal Air Force]] during the war.<ref name=francisco>{{cite news|last=Vigil|first=Delfin|title=Illeana Douglas inspired by Melvyn's 'Being There'|date=15 February 2009|newspaper=[[San Francisco Gate]]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Illeana-Douglas-inspired-by-Melvyn-s-Being-There-3250931.php#photo-2399605|access-date=6 September 2015}}</ref> After the war, Douglas returned to films and more mature roles in ''[[The Sea of Grass (film)|The Sea of Grass]]'' (1947) and ''[[Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House]]'' (1948).

From 1952 to 1961, Douglas made no film appearances, concentrating instead on stage and television work. During November 1952 to January 1953, Douglas starred in the [[DuMont Television Network|DuMont]] detective show ''[[Steve Randall (TV series)|Steve Randall]]'' (''Hollywood Off Beat'') which then moved to [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]]. In the summer of 1953, he briefly hosted the DuMont [[game show]] ''[[Blind Date (1950s game show)|Blind Date]]''. In the summer of 1959, Douglas hosted eleven original episodes of a CBS [[western (genre)|Western]] [[anthology series|anthology]] [[television series]] called ''[[Frontier Justice (TV series)|Frontier Justice]]'', a production of [[Dick Powell]]'s [[Four Star Television]].

Douglas returned to films in the 1960s. As he aged, he took on older-man and fatherly roles in movies such as ''[[Hud (1963 film)|Hud]]'' (1963), for which he won his first [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]], ''[[The Americanization of Emily]]'' (1964), the [[American Civil War]] comedy ''[[Advance to the Rear]]'' (1964), an episode of ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' (1966), ''[[I Never Sang for My Father]]'' (1970), for which he was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] and ''[[The Candidate (1972 film)|The Candidate]]'' (1972). He won his second [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for the [[comedy]]-[[drama]] ''[[Being There]]'' (1979). However, Douglas confirmed in one of his final interviews that he refused to attend the [[52nd Academy Awards]] ceremony because he could not bear having to compete against child actor [[Justin Henry]] for ''[[Kramer vs. Kramer]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Burstein|first=Patricia|title=Oscar Nominee Melvyn Douglas Recalls 49 Years in Hollywood—and Reagan as a Democrat|date=14 April 1980|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20076242,00.html|access-date=12 May 2015}}</ref>

In addition to his Academy Awards, Douglas won a [[Tony Award]] for his Broadway lead role in the 1960 ''[[The Best Man (play)|The Best Man]]'' by [[Gore Vidal]] and an Emmy for his 1967 role in ''[[Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night]]''.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}

Douglas' final complete screen appearance was in the 1981 horror film ''[[Ghost Story (1981 film)|Ghost Story]]''. He died before completing all of his scenes for the film ''[[The Hot Touch]]'' (1982); the film had to be edited to compensate for Douglas' incomplete role.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}}

Douglas has two stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]; one for movies located at 6423 Hollywood Boulevard and another for television at 6601 Hollywood Boulevard.<ref>{{cite web |title=Melvyn Douglas |url=https://walkoffame.com/melvyn-douglas/ |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |date=25 October 2019 |access-date=July 7, 2024}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Douglas, as Hesselberg,<ref name="nytimes/obit/melvyn-douglas"/> was married briefly to artist Rosalind Hightower, and they had one child, (Melvyn) Gregory Hesselberg,<ref name="gt/GH">{{cite news |title=Remembering the life of Gregory Hesselberg |url=https://obituaries.gloucestertimes.com/obituary/gregory-hesselberg-1004821461 |access-date=2 November 2024 |work=[[Gloucester Times]] Obituaries |language=en}}</ref> in 1926.<ref name="nytimes/obit/melvyn-douglas">{{cite news |title=MELVYN DOUGLAS DEAD; ACTOR, 80, WON 2 OSCARS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/05/obituaries/melvyn-douglas-dead-actor-80-won-2-oscars.html |access-date=2 November 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 August 1981 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405230202/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/05/obituaries/melvyn-douglas-dead-actor-80-won-2-oscars.html |archive-date=5 April 2021}}</ref> Hesselberg, an artist, is the father of actress [[Illeana Douglas]].<ref name="gt/GH"/>

In 1931, Douglas married actress-turned-politician [[Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan]]. They traveled to Europe that same year, and "were horrified by French and German anti-Semitism". As a result, they became outspoken [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascists]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nissenson |first1=Hugh |title=HE ALMOST MADE GARBO LAUGH |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/18/books/he-almost-made-garbo-laugh.html |access-date=9 April 2025 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 January 1987 |location=New York}}</ref> Douglas was also an active [[New Deal Democrat]], serving on the [[California Democratic Party#Party Delegates|State Central Committee of the California Democratic Party]] in the 1930s and 40s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thurman |first1=V. E. |title=Who's Who in the New Deal |date=1940 |publisher=New Deal Historical Society |location=Los Angeles |page=100 |edition=California |url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinnewdeal00thur/page/100/mode/1up |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref>

Gahagan Douglas (she began using her husband's name when she entered politics), as a three-term [[United States House of Representatives|congresswoman]], was [[Richard Nixon|Richard M. Nixon]]'s unsuccessful opponent for the [[United States Senate]] seat from [[California]] in [[United States Senate election in California, 1950|1950]].<ref name=NYTimes/> Nixon accused Gahagan Douglas of being soft on Communism because of her opposition to the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]]. Nixon went so far as to infamously call her "pink right down to her underwear". It was Gahagan Douglas who popularized Nixon's epithet nickname "Tricky Dick".<ref>{{cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Gregory |date=1998-01-01 |title= Tricky Dick and the Pink Lady: Richard Nixon vs. Helen Gahagan Douglas--Sexual Politics and the Red Scare, 1950 |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/m/mitchell-tricky.html |work=The New York Times |location=On the web |access-date=2019-09-04 }}</ref>

Douglas was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group, during the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gop Platform Committee Urged to Give Support to Israel |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/gop-platform-committee-urged-to-give-support-to-israel |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Douglases hired architect [[Roland Coate]] to design a home for them in 1938 on a {{convert|3|acre|ha|adj=on}} lot they owned in [[Outpost Estates, Los Angeles]]. The result was a one-story, {{convert|6748|sqft|sqm|adj=on}} home.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Appleton|first=Marc|title=Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940: Roland E. Coate|publisher=Tailwater Press|year=2018|isbn=9780999666418|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=194–197}}</ref>

The Douglases had two children: Peter Gahagan Douglas (1933) and Mary Helen Douglas (1938).

=== Death ===
The couple remained married until Helen Gahagan Douglas's death in 1980 from cancer. Melvyn Douglas died a year later, in 1981, aged 80, from [[pneumonia]] and cardiac complications in [[New York City]] at Sloan Kettering Hospital.<ref> Richard Rosen, "Melvyn Douglas Dies at 80," ''New York Daily News'', August 4, 1981, p. T-4. </ref>

==Broadway roles==
Sources: [[Internet Broadway Database]]<ref>{{IBDB name|14636}}</ref> and ''[[Playbill]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Roles List: Melvyn Douglas |url= http://www.playbill.com/personrolespage/person-role-page?person=00000150-ac7c-d16d-a550-ec7e65fb0004 |website=Playbill.com |access-date=14 January 2016}}</ref>

* ''[[A_Free_Soul#Production|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 (play)|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 (play)|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 (play)|The Best Man]]'' (1960) as William Russell
* ''Spofford'' (1967) as Spofford

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

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%;"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1931
| ''[[Tonight or Never (1931 film)|Tonight or Never]]''
| Jim Fletcher
|
|-
| ''[[Prestige (film)|Prestige]]''
| Captain Andre Verlaine
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1932
|''[[The Wiser Sex]]''
| David Rolfe
|
|-
| ''[[The Broken Wing (1932 film)|The Broken Wing]]''
| Philip 'Phil' Marvin
|
|-
| ''[[As You Desire Me (film)|As You Desire Me]]''
| Count Bruno Varelli
|
|-
| ''[[The Old Dark House (1932 film)|The Old Dark House]]''
| Mr. Penderel
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1933
| ''[[The Vampire Bat]]''
| Karl Brettschneider
|
|-
| ''[[Counsellor at Law]]''
| Roy Darwin
|
|-
| 1933
|''[[Nagana (film)|Nagana]]''
| Dr. Walter Tradnor
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1934
| ''[[Dangerous Corner (1934 film)|Dangerous Corner]]''
| Charles Stanton
|
|-
| ''[[Woman in the Dark (1934 film)|Woman in the Dark]]''
| Tony Robson
|
|-
| rowspan="5"| 1935
| ''[[The People's Enemy]]''
| George R. "Traps" Stuart
|
|-
| ''[[She Married Her Boss]]''
| Richard Barclay
|
|-
| ''[[Mary Burns, Fugitive]]''
| Barton Powell
|
|-
| ''[[Annie Oakley (1935 film)|Annie Oakley]]''
| Jeff Hogarth
|
|-
| ''[[The Lone Wolf Returns (1935 film)|The Lone Wolf Returns]]''
| [[Lone Wolf (character)|Michael Lanyard]]
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1936
| ''[[And So They Were Married]]''
| Stephen Blake
|
|-
| ''[[The Gorgeous Hussy]]''
| John Randolph
|
|-
| ''[[Theodora Goes Wild]]''
| Michael Grant
|
|-
| rowspan="5"| 1937
| ''[[Women of Glamour]]''
| Richard "Dick" Stark
|
|-
| ''[[Captains Courageous (1937 film)|Captains Courageous]]''
| Frank Burton Cheyne
|
|-
| ''[[I Met Him in Paris]]''
| George Potter
|
|-
| ''[[Angel (1937 film)|Angel]]''
| Anthony "Tony" Halton
|
|-
| ''[[I'll Take Romance (film)|I'll Take Romance]]''
| James Guthrie
|
|-
| rowspan="7"| 1938
| ''[[Arsène Lupin Returns]]''
| [[Arsène Lupin]]
|
|-
| ''[[There's Always a Woman]]''
| William Reardon
|
|-
| ''[[The Toy Wife]]''
| George Sartoris
|
|-
| ''[[Fast Company (1938 film)|Fast Company]]''
| Joel Sloane
|
|-
| ''[[That Certain Age]]''
| Vincent Bullitt
|
|-
| ''[[The Shining Hour]]''
| Henry Linden
|
|-
| ''[[There's That Woman Again]]''
| William Reardon
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1939
| ''[[Tell No Tales (film)|Tell No Tales]]''
| Michael Cassidy
|
|-
| ''[[Good Girls Go to Paris]]''
| Ronald Brooke
|
|-
| ''[[Ninotchka]]''
| Count Léon d'Algout
|
|-
| ''[[The Amazing Mr. Williams]]''
| Police Lieutenant Kenny Williams
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1940
| ''[[Too Many Husbands (1940 film)|Too Many Husbands]]''
| Henry Lowndes
|
|-
| ''[[He Stayed for Breakfast]]''
| Paul Boliet
|
|-
| ''[[Third Finger, Left Hand (film)|Third Finger, Left Hand]]''
| Jeff Thompson
|
|-
| ''[[This Thing Called Love (1940 film)|This Thing Called Love]]''
| Tice Collins
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1941
| ''[[That Uncertain Feeling (film)|That Uncertain Feeling]]''
| Larry Baker
|
|-
| ''[[A Woman's Face]]''
| Dr. Gustaf Segert
|
|-
| ''[[Our Wife (1941 film)|Our Wife]]''
| Jerome "Jerry" Marvin
|
|-
| ''[[Two-Faced Woman]]''
| Larry Blake
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1942
| ''[[We Were Dancing (film)|We Were Dancing]]''
| Nicholas Eugen August Wolfgang "Nikki" Prax
|
|-
| ''[[They All Kissed the Bride]]''
| Michael "Mike" Holmes
|
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Three Hearts for Julia]]''
| Jeff Seabrook
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1947
| ''[[The Sea of Grass (film)|The Sea of Grass]]''
| Brice Chamberlain
|
|-
| ''[[The Guilt of Janet Ames]]''
| Smithfield "Smitty" Cobb
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1948
| ''[[Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House]]''
| Bill Cole
|
|-
| ''[[My Own True Love]]''
| Clive Heath
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1949
| ''[[A Woman's Secret]]''
| Luke Jordan
|
|-
| ''[[The Great Sinner]]''
| Armand de Glasse
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|1951
| ''[[My Forbidden Past]]''
| Paul Beaurevel
|
|-
| ''[[On the Loose (1951 film)|On the Loose]]''
| Frank Bradley
|
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Billy Budd (film)|Billy Budd]]''
| The Dansker
|
|-
| 1963
| ''[[Hud (1963 film)|Hud]]''
| Homer Bannon
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] [[Laurel Awards|Laurel Award for Top Male Supporting Performance]] [[National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor]] Nominated—[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
|-
| rowspan="2"|1964
| ''[[Advance to the Rear]]''
| Col. Claude Brackenbury
|
|-
| ''[[The Americanization of Emily]]''
| Adm. William Jessup
| Nominated—[[Laurel Awards|Laurel Award for Best Male Supporting Performance]]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1965
| ''[[Rapture (1965 film)|Rapture]]''
| Frederick Larbaud
|
|-
| ''Once Upon a Tractor''
| Martin
| Short
|-
| 1967
| ''[[Hotel (1967 film)|Hotel]]''
| Warren Trent
|
|-
| 1970
| ''[[I Never Sang for My Father]]''
| Tom Garrison
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor]] {{small|(2nd Place)}} Nominated—[[Academy Award for Best Actor]] Nominated—[[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]] Nominated—[[Laurel Award|Laurel Award for Best Male Dramatic Performance]]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1972
| ''[[One Is a Lonely Number]]''
| Joseph Provo
|
|-
| ''[[The Candidate (1972 film)|The Candidate]]''
| John J. McKay
|
|-
| 1976
| ''[[The Tenant (1976 film)|The Tenant]]''
| Monsieur Zy
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1977
| ''[[Twilight's Last Gleaming]]''
| Zachariah Guthrie
|
|-
| ''[[Intimate Strangers (1977 film)|Intimate Strangers]]''
| Donald's father
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1979
| ''[[The Seduction of Joe Tynan]]''
| Senator Birney
|
|-
| ''[[Being There]]''
| Benjamin Rand
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]] [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor]] [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor]] {{small|(2nd Place)}} [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor]]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1980
| ''[[The Changeling (1980 film)|The Changeling]]''
| Senator Joe Carmichael
| Nominated—[[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor]]
|-
| ''[[Tell Me a Riddle (film)|Tell Me a Riddle]]''
| David
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Ghost Story (1981 film)|Ghost Story]]''
| Dr. John Jaffrey
| Released posthumously
|-
| 1982
| ''[[The Hot Touch]]''
| Max Reich
| Final film role; released posthumously
|}

==Partial television credits==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%;"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1949
| ''[[The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse]]''
| Richard Gordon
| Episodes: "The Five Lives of Richard Gordon" and "The Strange Christmas Dinner"
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1950
| ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]''
| James Strickland
| Episode: "To Thine Own Self"
|-
| ''[[Pulitzer Prize Playhouse]]''
| Eugene Morgan Martin Luther Cooper
| Episode: "The Magnificent Ambersons" Episode: "Mrs. January and Mr. Ex"
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1952
| ''[[Celanese Theatre]]''
| Archduke Rudolph von Habsburg
| Episode: "Reunion in Vienna"
|-
| ''[[Steve Randall]]''
| Steve Randall
| 12 episodes
|-
| 1955
| ''[[The Ford Television Theatre]]''
| George Manners
| Episode: "Letters Marked Personal"
|-
| 1955–1956
| ''[[The Alcoa Hour]]''
| Charles Turner Jim Conway
| Episode: "Man on a Tiger" Episode: "Thunder in Washington"
|-
| 1957–1958
| ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]''
| Census Taker Dr. Victor Payson/Narrator
| Episode: "Second Chance" Episode: "The Hill Wife"
|-
| 1957–1959
| ''[[Playhouse 90]]''
| General Parker Ansel Gibbs Stalin Howard Hoagland
| Episode: "[[Judgment at Nuremberg (Playhouse 90)|Judgment at Nuremberg]]" Episode: "[[The Return of Ansel Gibbs (Playhouse 90)|The Return of Ansel Gibbs]]" Episode: "[[The Plot to Kill Stalin]]" Episode: "The Greer Case"
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Frontier Justice (TV series)|Frontier Justice]]''
| Host
| 11 episodes
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Sunday Showcase]]''
| [[Mark Twain]]
| Episode: "Our American Heritage: Shadow of a Soldier"
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1963
| ''[[Ben Casey]]''
| Burton Strang
| Episode: "Rage Against the Dying Light"
|-
| ''[[Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre]]''
| Pat Konke
| Episode: "A Killing at Sundial"
|-
| 1964
| ''A Very Close Family''
| Father
| TV movie
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Inherit the Wind (Hallmark Hall of Fame)|Inherit the Wind]]''
| Henry Drummond
| ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'' TV movie Nominated—[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama]]
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1966
| ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]''
| Mark Ryder
| Episode: "The 2130"
|-
| ''[[Lamp at Midnight]]''
| [[Galileo Galilei]]
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan="2"|1967
| ''[[CBS Playhouse]]''
| Peter Schermann
| Episode: "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama]]
|-
| ''[[The Crucible#Television|The Crucible]]''
| Governor Danforth
| TV movie
|-
| 1968
| ''[[Companions in Nightmare]]''
| Dr. Lawrence Strelson
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1970
|''The Choice''
|
| TV movie
|-
| ''[[Hunters Are for Killing]]''
| Keller Floran
| TV movie
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Death Takes a Holiday (1971 film)|Death Takes a Holiday]]''
| Judge Earl Chapman
| TV movie
|-
| 1972
| ''[[Circle of Fear]]''
| Grandpa
| Episode: "House of Evil"
|-
| 1973
| ''The Going Up of David Lev''
| Grandfather
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1974
| ''[[The Death Squad (film)|The Death Squad]]''
| Police Captain Earl Kreski
| TV movie
|-
| ''Murder or Mercy''
| Dr. Paul Harelson
| TV movie
|-
| 1975
| ''[[Benjamin Franklin (1974 miniseries)|Benjamin Franklin]]''
| [[Benjamin Franklin]]
| Miniseries
|-
| 1977
| ''[[ABC Weekend Special]]''
| Grandpa Doc
| Episode: "Portrait of Grandpa Doc"
|}

Source: Internet Movie Database<ref name=IBDb>{{IMDb name|0002048/}}</ref>

==Radio appearances==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Program
! Episode/source
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1942
| rowspan="2" | ''[[Philip Morris Playhouse]]''
| ''[[No Time for Comedy]]''<ref>{{cite news|title=Philip Morris Playhouse|newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2933550/harrisburg_telegraph/|agency=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=June 12, 1942|page=13|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = August 2, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Take a Letter, Darling]]''<ref>{{cite news|title=Johnny Presents|newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2933634/harrisburg_telegraph/|agency=Harrisburg Telegraph|date=June 19, 1942|page=21|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = August 2, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|author=Douglas, Melvyn|author2=Tom Arthur|title= See You at the Movies: The Autobiography of Melvyn Douglas|location=Lanham, MD|publisher=University Press of America|year=1986|isbn=0-8191-5390-7}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3273 "Melvyn Douglas (1901–1981)"] at the [[New Georgia Encyclopedia]] ; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517012240/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3273 |date=2013-05-17 }}
* [http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/2637/melvyn-douglas Melvyn Douglas] at ''Virtual-History.com'' : Photographs and literature

'''Papers'''
* [http://arcat.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=370/ Melvyn Douglas Papers] at the [[Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research]] ; {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20131210032536/http://arcat.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=370/ |date=2013-12-10 }}

'''Metadata'''
* {{IBDB name}}
* [https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/110898 Melvyn Douglas] - [[AFI Catalog]] - [[American Film Institute]]
* [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/52475%7C110898/Melvyn-Douglas Melvyn Douglas] at [[Turner Classic Movies]]
* {{IMDb name|2048}}

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Melvyn Douglas
|list =
{{AcademyAwardBestSupportingActor 1961-1980}}
{{EmmyAward MiniseriesLeadActor 1950-1975}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestSuppActorMotionPicture 1961-1980}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{TonyAward PlayLeadActor 1947-1975}}
}}
{{Triple Crown of Acting winners}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Melvyn}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New York City]]
[[Category:Jewish American male actors]]
[[Category:Jewish American military personnel]]
[[Category:Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Pseudonymous actors]]
[[Category:Spouses of California politicians]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Upper Canada College alumni]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Melvyn Douglas