Melvyn Douglas
American actor (1901–1981)
Who was Melvyn Douglas?
Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor, whose stage and screen careers spanned from the late 1920s until the early 1980s. Douglas later played mature and fatherly characters, as in his Oscar-winning performances in Hud (1963) and Being There (1979) and his Oscar–nominated performance in I Never Sang for My Father (1970). Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla (née Shackelford) and Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a concert pianist and composer. His father was a Jewish emigrant from Riga, Latvia (at that time part of the Russian Empire).
Historical significance
He was one of 24 performers to win the Triple Crown of Acting – winning two Academy Awards (both in the Best Supporting Actor category), a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. Douglas 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. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for Gore Vidal's play The Best Man (1960). He was one of 24 performers to win the Triple Crown of Acting – winning two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award.