David Holt

David Jack Holt (August 14, 1927 – November 15, 2003) was an American actor initially groomed at the age of seven to be the "male Shirley Temple". After several supporting roles as a juvenile actor in films during the 1930s–1940s, he experienced family stress and left acting by the time he was 25. He subsequently had success as a songwriter before his death in 2003 at age 76.

Early life Holt was born August 14, 1927 in Jacksonville, Florida. His sister Betty, born four years later, also became an actor.

At a young age, Holt's dancing skills so impressed actor and wit Will Rogers that Rogers purportedly told Holt's mother if they were ever in Hollywood, they should contact him and he would get young David into the movies. Relying on this, Holt's father promptly quit his job with Ford Motors. The Holt family drove to California, intent on holding Rogers to his promise. However, despite their efforts, Rogers refused to see them.

With no income, Holt's father worked as a casual laborer. Holt's mother took her son to auditions, sometimes sharing transport with Shirley Temple and her mother. Initially, Holt found it difficult to get acting jobs. However, he did get a job as a "body double" for Cheeta's chimpanzee predecessor in the 1933 Tarzan the Fearless, and had a small role in the 1933 Our Gang (Little Rascals) comedy Forgotten Babies.

Acting career In 1934, the seven-year-old Holt got his acting break in You Belong to Me, a melodrama in which his character's parents die. He was now a child star, and Paramount Pictures put him under a long-term contract and promoted him as a male Shirley Temple. Holt made 20 films over the next six years, but did not come close to the superstar status experienced by his friend Shirley.

In the 1944 film Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout, Holt played Irwin Barrett, an unscrupulous Senior Patrol Leader. His character sabotages a competing troop in a wilderness orienteering competition, almost costing Henry and another Scout their lives. As the dramatic rescue scene unfolds, a repentant Irwin confesses his misdeeds and helps save Henry and the other boy.

After outgrowing teenage roles, Holt starred in a 1949 B-movie melodrama about drug addiction, She Shoulda Said 'No'!. The following year, he had a prominent role as the kidnapped son of a prison warden in "Never Say Die", a 1950 episode of the Lone Ranger hit television series.

Later work in music By the early 1950s, acting parts had dried up and Holt turned to songwriting; he was also a successful jazz pianist. He composed music for numerous jazz albums, including several featuring Pete Jolly,

Holt died at age 76 on November 15, 2003 of congestive heart failure in San Juan Capistrano, California, leaving his autobiography The Holts of Hollywood unfinished.