Englund, the son of actress Mabel Albertson and nephew of actor Jack Albertson, was born as George Howe Ripley in Washington, D.C. His father was Harold Austin Ripley. After his parents' divorce, his mother remarried, to Ken Englund, whose surname young George adopted. Englund was married to actress Cloris Leachman from 1953–1979. They had five children: Adam, Bryan (died 1986), George, Jr., Morgan and Dinah. His mother was Jewish. On April 10, 1980 he married actress Bonnie Graves. They had two children: Graves and Max (died 1993). The couple divorced in 1992. For the last ten years of his life, his companion was Frances Bowes, art collector, patron and vice-chairlady at Dia Center for the Arts.
