George Douglas was an American actor. He was born as the younger brother of the actor Melvyn Douglas. Their mother was Lena Priscilla and their father Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a concert pianist and composer. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Riga, Russian Empire. His mother, a native of Tennessee, was Protestant and a Mayflower descendant. His maternal grandfather, George Shackelford, was a general and American Civil War veteran. He was the granduncle of Illeana Douglas, also an actress.