William Holden

William Franklin Holden (né Beedle; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Stalag 17 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for The Blue Knight (1973).

Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), Picnic (1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Network (1976). He was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (1954–1958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema.

Early life A young Holden (left) with Lee J. Cobb in his first starring role in a film, Golden Boy (1939) Holden was born William Franklin Beedle Jr. on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, son of Mary Blanche Beedle (née Ball; 1898–1990), a schoolteacher, and her husband, William Franklin Beedle Sr. (1891–1967), an industrial chemist. He had two younger brothers: Robert Westfield Beedle (1921–1944) who was killed in action in World War II, and Richard P. Beedle (1924–1964).

His family moved to South Pasadena when he was three. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays.

Career Paramount Holden appeared uncredited in Prison Farm (1939) and Million Dollar Legs (1939) at Paramount.

A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" was given by George Ross of Billboard in 1939: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beedle. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. Winston was one of those who discovered the Golden Boy newcomer and who renamed him—in honor of his former spouse!"

Golden Boy

Holden's first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer.

Next he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes (1939), billed below Raft and above Bogart.

Back at Paramount, he starred with Bonita Granville in Those Were the Days! (1940) followed by the role of George Gibbs in the film adaptation of Our Town (1940), done for Sol Lesser at United Artists.

Columbia put Holden in a Western with Jean Arthur, Arizona (1940), then at Paramount he was in a hugely popular war film, I Wanted Wings (1941) with Ray Milland and Veronica Lake.

He did another Western at Columbia, Texas (1941) with Glenn Ford, and a musical comedy at Paramount, The Fleet's In (1942) with Eddie Bracken, Dorothy Lamour, and Betty Hutton.

He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. Paramount reunited Bracken and him in Young and Willing (1943).

World War II Holden served as a second lieutenant and then a first lieutenant in the United States Army Air Force during World War II. He acted in training films, including Reconnaissance Pilot (1943), for the First Motion Picture Unit.

Post war Holden's first film back from the services was Blaze of Noon (1947), an aviator picture at Paramount directed by John Farrow. He followed it with a romantic comedy, Dear Ruth (1947) and he was one of many cameos in Variety Girl (1947). RKO borrowed him for Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum and Loretta Young. Holden starred in the 20th Century Fox film Apartment for Peggy (1948). At Columbia, he starred in film noirs, The Dark Past (1948), The Man from Colorado (1949) and Father Is a Bachelor (1950). At Paramount, he did another Western, Streets of Laredo (1949). Columbia teamed him with Lucille Ball for Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949), and the sequel to Dear Ruth, Dear Wife (1949).

Sunset Boulevard

Holden's career took off again in 1950 when Billy Wilder tapped him to play a down-at-heel screenwriter taken in by a faded silent film actress (Gloria Swanson) in Sunset Boulevard. Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role.

Getting the role was a lucky break for Holden, as Montgomery Clift was initially cast but backed out of his contract. Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. He was perfection on and off screen." Paramount reunited him with Nancy Olson, one of his Sunset Boulevard costars, in Union Station (1950).

Holden had another good break when he was cast as Judy Holliday's love interest in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway hit Born Yesterday (1950). He made two more films with Olson: Force of Arms (1951) at Warner Bros. and Submarine Command (1951) at Paramount. Holden did a sports film at Columbia, Boots Malone (1952), then returned to Paramount for The Turning Point (1952).

Stalag 17 and peak of stardom Holden was reunited with Wilder in Stalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. His acceptance speech at the 26th Academy Awards was one of the shortest in Oscar history: "Thank you ... thank you."

His success in Stalag 17 ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom.

Sabrina

Holden made a third film with Wilder, Sabrina (1954), billed beneath Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Holden and Hepburn became romantically involved during the filming, unbeknownst to Wilder: "People on the set told me later that Bill and Audrey were having an affair, and everybody knew. Well, not everybody! I didn't know." Holden recalls their romance: Their relationship did not last much beyond the completion of the film. Holden, who was at this point dependent on alcohol, said, "I really was in love with Audrey, but she wouldn't marry me." Rumors at the time had it that Hepburn wanted a family, but when Holden told her that he had had a vasectomy and having children was impossible, she moved on. (A few months later, Hepburn met Mel Ferrer, whom she later married and with whom she had a son Sean Hepburn Ferrer.)

He took third billing for The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, directed by George Seaton from a play by Clifford Odets. It was a big hit, as was The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), a Korean War drama with Kelly.

In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. The golden run at the box office continued with Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a bestselling novel, with Jennifer Jones, and Picnic (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of the William Inge play with Kim Novak. Picnic was his last film under the contract with Columbia.

A second film with Seaton did not do as well, The Proud and Profane (1956), where Holden played the role with a moustache. Neither did Toward the Unknown (1957), the one film Holden produced himself.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Holden had his most widely recognized role as "Commander" Shears in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness, a huge commercial success. His deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving 10% of the gross, which earned him over $2.5 million. He stipulated that he only receive a maximum of $50,000 of this per year ($ in dollars ).

He made another war film for a British director, The Key (1958) with Trevor Howard and Sophia Loren for director Carol Reed. He played an American Civil War military surgeon in John Ford's The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, which was a box-office disappointment. Columbia would not meet Holden's asking price of $750,000 and 10% of the gross for The Guns of Navarone (1961); the amount he wanted exceeded the combined salaries of stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn.

Holden had another hit with The World of Suzie Wong (1960) with Nancy Kwan, which was shot in Hong Kong. Less popular was Satan Never Sleeps (1961), the last film of Clifton Webb and Leo McCarey; The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), his third film with Seaton; or The Lion (1962), with Trevor Howard and Capucine. The latter was shot in Africa and sparked Holden's fascination with the continent that was to last for the rest of his life.

Holden's films continued to struggle at the box office: Paris When It Sizzles (1964) with Hepburn was shot in 1962 but given a much delayed release; The 7th Dawn (1964) with Capucine and Susannah York, a romantic adventure set during the Malayan Emergency produced by Charles K. Feldman; Alvarez Kelly (1966), a Western; and The Devil's Brigade (1968). He was also one of many stars in Feldman's Casino Royale (1967).

The Wild Bunch

In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah's graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch, Holden made a Western with Ryan O'Neal and Blake Edwards, Wild Rovers (1971). It was not particularly successful. Neither was The Revengers (1972), another Western.

For television roles in 1974, Holden won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his portrayal of a cynical, tough veteran LAPD street cop in the television film The Blue Knight, based upon the bestselling Joseph Wambaugh novel of the same name. Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno, which became a box-office smash and one of the highest-grossing films of Holden's career.

Two years later, he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet's classic Network (1976), an examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type for which he had become iconic in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. Around this time he also appeared in 21 Hours at Munich (1976).

Final roles Holden made a fourth and final film for Wilder with Fedora (1978). He followed it with Damien – Omen II (1978) and had a cameo in Escape to Athena (1978), which co-starred his real-life love interest Stefanie Powers. Holden had a supporting role in Ashanti (1979) and was third-billed in another disaster film, When Time Ran Out... (1980), which was a flop. Holden starred in The Earthling, as a loner dying of cancer in the Australian outback and accompanying an orphan boy (Ricky Schroder). After his final film Blake Edwards' S.O.B., with Julie Andrews, Holden declined to star in Jason Miller's film That Championship Season.

Personal life

Holden was best man at the wedding of his friend Ronald Reagan to actress Nancy Davis in 1952. Although a registered Republican, he never involved himself in politics.

Holden maintained a home in Switzerland and also spent much of his time working for wildlife conservation as a managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa. His Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki (founded 1959) was popular with the international jet set.

Marriage and relationships

Holden was married to actress Brenda Marshall from 1941 until their divorce in 1971. Holden also adopted Marshall's daughter from Marshall's previous marriage to actor Richard Gaines.

Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. The two starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964). They reportedly began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden's alcoholism. Capucine and Holden remained friendly until his death in 1981.

In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers and sparked her interest in animal welfare. After his death, Powers set up the William Holden Wildlife Foundation at Holden's Mount Kenya Game Ranch.

Death According to Thomas Noguchi's autopsy report, Holden bled to death in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, after lacerating his forehead by slipping on a rug while intoxicated and hitting a bedside table. Forensic evidence recovered at the scene suggested that the actor was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. His body was found four days later. He dictated in his will that his body be cremated by the Neptune Society and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean. In accordance with his wishes, no funeral, or memorial service, was held.

President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. We were close friends for many years. What do you say about a longtime friend – a sense of personal loss, a fine man. Our friendship never waned."

For his contribution to the film industry, Holden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1651 Vine Street. He also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

The song "Tom's Diner" by artist Suzanne Vega includes a line about "an actor who had died while he was drinking", and based on clues in the song, it was determined to be Holden, later confirmed by Vega herself.

Filmography Film + Film appearances by William Holden Year Title Role Notes 1938 Prison Farm Prisoner Film debutUncredited 1939 Million Dollar Legs Graduate who says 'Thank You' Uncredited Golden Boy Joe Bonaparte Invisible Stripes Tim Taylor 1940 Those Were the Days! P.J. "Petey" Simmons Our Town George Gibbs Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture Arizona Peter Muncie 1941 I Wanted Wings Al Ludlow Texas Dan Thomas 1942 The Fleet's In Casey Kirby The Remarkable Andrew Andrew Long Meet the Stewarts Michael Stewart 1943 Young and Willing Norman Reese 1947 Blaze of Noon Colin McDonald Dear Ruth Lt. William Seacroft Variety Girl himself 1948 Rachel and the Stranger Big Davey Apartment for Peggy Jason Taylor The Dark Past Al Walker The Man from Colorado Del Stewart 1949 Streets of Laredo Jim Dawkins Miss Grant Takes Richmond Dick Richmond Dear Wife Bill Seacroft 1950 Father Is a Bachelor Johnny Rutledge Sunset Boulevard Joe Gillis Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor Union Station Lt. William Calhoun Born Yesterday Paul Verrall Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture 1951 Force of Arms Sgt. Joe "Pete" Peterson Submarine Command LCDR Ken White 1952 Boots Malone Boots Malone The Turning Point Jerry McKibbon 1953 Stalag 17 Sgt. J. J. Sefton Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated – New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The Moon Is Blue Donald Gresham Forever Female Stanley Krown Escape from Fort Bravo Capt. Roper 1954 Executive Suite McDonald Walling Venice film Festival Special Award for Ensemble Acting Sabrina David Larrabee The Bridges at Toko-Ri LT Harry Brubaker, USNR The Country Girl Bernie Dodd Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture 1955 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing Mark Elliott Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture Picnic Hal Carter Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor 1956 The Proud and Profane Lt. Col. Colin Black Toward the Unknown Maj. Lincoln Bond 1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai Cmdr. Shears Academy Award for Best Picture 1958 The Key Capt. David Ross 1959 The Horse Soldiers Major Henry Kendall 1960 The World of Suzie Wong Robert Lomax Nominated – Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance 1962 Satan Never Sleeps Father O'Banion The Counterfeit Traitor Eric Erickson The Lion Robert Hayward 1964 Paris When It Sizzles Richard Benson/Rick Shot in 1962, given delayed release The 7th Dawn Major Ferris 1966 Alvarez Kelly Alvarez Kelly 1967 Casino Royale Ransome Cameo role 1968 The Devil's Brigade Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick 1969 The Wild Bunch Pike Bishop The Christmas Tree Laurent Ségur 1971 Wild Rovers Ross Bodine 1972 The Revengers John Benedict 1973 Breezy Frank Harmon 1974 Open Season Hal Wolkowski Cameo role The Towering Inferno Jim Duncan Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture 1976 Network Max Schumacher Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated – National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor 1978 Fedora Barry "Dutch" Detweiler Damien – Omen II Richard Thorn 1979 Escape to Athena Prisoner smoking a cigar in prison camp Uncredited Ashanti Jim Sandell 1980 When Time Ran Out Shelby Gilmore The Earthling Patrick Foley1981 S.O.B. Tim Culley Final film role1986 Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown Charlie Brown Archive audio recordings

Television + Television appearances by William Holden Year Title Role Notes 1955 Lux Video Theatre Intermission Guest Episode: "Love Letters" 1955 I Love Lucy Himself Episode: "L.A. at Last!" 1956 The Jack Benny Program Himself Episode: "William Holden/Frances Bergen Show" 1973 The Blue Knight Bumper Morgan Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series 1976 21 Hours at Munich Chief of Police Manfred Schreiber Television film

Radio

Awards and nominations + Awards and nominations earned by William Holden Year Award Category Nominated work Results 1950 Academy Awards Best Actor Sunset Boulevard 1953 Stalag 17 1976 Network 1956 British Academy Film Awards Best Foreign Actor Picnic 1977 Best Actor in a Leading Role Network 1951 Golden Apple Awards Most Cooperative Actor 1955 1953 Laurel Awards Top Male Dramatic Performance Stalag 17 1954 Top Male Comedy Performance Sabrina 1957 Top Male Star 1958 1959 1960 Top Male Dramatic Performance The World of Suzie Wong 1961 Top Male Star 1962 1963 1940 National Board of Review Awards Best Acting Our Town 1942 The Remarkable Andrew 1976 National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Actor Network 1952 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor Stalag 17 2010 Online Film & Television Association Awards Film Hall of Fame: Actors 1955 Photoplay Awards Most Popular Male Star 1956 1950 Picturegoer Awards Best Actor Sunset Boulevard 1974 Primetime Emmy Awards Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series The Blue Knight 1954 Venice Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Executive Suite

Box-office ranking For a number of years, exhibitors voted Holden among the most popular stars in the country: 1954 – 7th (US) 1955 – 4th (US) 1956 – 1st (US) 1957 – 7th (US) 1958 – 6th (US), 6th (UK) 1959 – 12th (US) 1960 – 14th (US) 1961 – 8th (US) 1962 – 15th (US)