November 12, 1981 : William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard and Network, dies Introduction On this day in 1981, the actor William Holden, who starred in such movies as Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17 and Network, dies at the age of 63 in his Santa Monica, California home. The Academy Award-winning actor reportedly died after falling and hitting his head; his body was found several days later. Holden was born William Franklin Beedle on April 17, 1918, in O’Fallon, Illinois, and raised in Southern California. He made his feature film debut in 1938’s Prison Farm and the following year starred in Golden Boy with Barbara Stanwyck. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Air Force and acted in training films. In 1950, Holden co-starred with Gloria Swanson in director Billy Wilder’s now-classic film noir Sunset Boulevard, which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and later added to the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 best movies of the 20th century.

Holden received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance as Joe Gillis, a broke screenwriter who gets ensnared in the world of the aging silent-screen star Norma Desmond (Swanson). Sunset Boulevard contains the now-famous line, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” Holden collected his first Academy Award in the Best Actor category for 1953’s Stalag 17, also helmed by Wilder. Holden played a bitter American soldier at a World War II German POW camp who is suspected of being a spy.

During the 1950s, Holden also appeared in such hit films as Born Yesterday (1950), with Judy Holliday; Sabrina (1954) with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart; Executive Suite (1954), with Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March and June Allyson; The Country Girl (1954), with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly; The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), with Kelly, March and Mickey Rooney; Picnic (1955), with Kim Novak; Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), with Jennifer Jones, and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), with Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins. Later in his career, Holden appeared in such movies as The Wild Bunch (1969), a Western directed by Sam Peckinpah, and The Towering Inferno (1974), with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen.

Holden received his third Best Actor Oscar nomination for director Sidney Lumet’s Network (1976), a satire about network television that includes the now-iconic line “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” Off camera, Holden was friends with Ronald Reagan and served as best man at his 1952 wedding to Nancy Davis. Holden’s final film was director Blake Edwards’ S.O.B. (1981), a satire about Hollywood and the movie business. Article Details: November 12, 1981 : William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard and Network, dies Author November 12, 1981 : William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard and Network, dies URL William Holden (Actor) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News William Holden Male Born Apr 17, 1918 William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974.

One of the most popular and well known movie stars of all time, Holden was one of the biggest box office draws of the 1950s, he was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (1954â1958, 1961) and appeared on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Yearsâ¦100 Stars list as number 25.… Read More related links Bold Exits; Designer Knockoffs; An Era Ends South Coast Today Google News - Sep 03, 2011 'A screenwriter (<mark>William Holden</mark>) becomes the kept man of a deranged silent film star (Gloria Swanson) in director Billy Wilder&#39;s 1950 Hollywood satire âSunset Boulevardâ (8 pm Saturday, TCM). Death of a superhero on âHawaii Five-0â (8 pm, CBS, r,' What's On Today NYTimes - Sep 03, 2011 '8 P.M.

(HBO) MEGAMIND (2010) Will Ferrell lends his voice to this movie\'s blue-tinted, egg-headed title character, above, a hypersensitive brainiac who faces an existential crisis after one of his grandiose, evil schemes to vanquish his nemesis, the Elvis-coiffed Metro Man (Brad Pitt), actually works. Jonah Hill is Hal, the nerdy redheaded' 'explosive' Kennedy Tapes To Reveal All Hindustan Times Google News - Sep 02, 2011 'According to ABC sources, the tapes will even reveal about Jacqueline&#39;s own affairs, one with Hollywood star <mark>William Holden</mark> and another with Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli. Jackie was convinced that her husband&#39;s successor was plotting to murder her' Around Town: Steven Spielberg And A Rare 'trip To The Moon' Los Angeles Times Google News - Sep 01, 2011 'Screening Tuesday afternoon at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the romance set in Kansas stars <mark>William Holden</mark> and Kim Novak.

Skirball kicks off its free Tuesday matinee series of Alfred Hitchcock classics this month with' Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of William Holden. CHILDHOOD 1918 Birth Born on April 17, 1918. TEENAGE 1937 19 Years Old Rather, he was spotted by a talent scout from Paramount Pictures in 1937 while playing the part of an 80-year-old man, Marie Curie's father-in-law, in a play at the Playbox, a separate and private theatre owned by Pasadena Playhouse director Gilmor Brown. … Read More His first film role was in Prison Farm the following year.<br /><br /> A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard magazine: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in âGolden Boyâ, used to be Bill Beadle. 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 âGolden Boyâ newcomer and who renamed him â in honor of his former spouse! " <br /><br /> Holden's first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer. He was still an unknown actor at the time, while Stanwyck was already a film star. She liked Holden and went out of her way to help him succeed, devoting her personal time to coaching and encouraging him, which made them into lifelong friends. When she received her Honorary Oscar at the 1982 Academy Award ceremony, Holden had died in an accident just a few months prior. At the end of her acceptance speech, she paid him a personal tribute: "I loved him very much, and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. Read Less TWENTIES 1941 23 Years Old Holden was married to actress Ardis Ankerson (stage name Brenda Marshall) from 1941 until their divorce in 1971.

… Read More They had two sons, Peter "West" Westfield (born November 17, 1943 â died June 2014) and Scott Porter (born May 2, 1946 â died January 21, 2005, San Diego, California). He adopted his wife's daughter, Virginia, from her first marriage. Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. The two starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964). They began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden's alcoholism. Read Less 1944 26 Years Old … Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed films, including such masterpieces as Sunset Boulevard, Sabrina, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Bunch, Picnic, and Network.

He was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (1954â1958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema. <br /><br />Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr. in O'Fallon, Illinois, the son of Mary Blanche (nÃ©e Ball; 1898â1990), a schoolteacher, and William Franklin Beedle, Sr. (1891â1967), an industrial chemist. He had two younger brothers, Robert and Richard. Holden's paternal great-grandmother, Rebecca Westfield, was born in England in 1817, while some of his mother's ancestors settled in Virginia's Lancaster County after emigrating from England in the 17th century. Read Less His younger brother, Robert W. "Bobbie" Beedle, became a U.S.

Navy fighter pilot and was killed in action in World War II, over New Ireland, a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific, on January 5, 1944. … Read More 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. Contrary to legend and theatre publicity, he did not study at the Pasadena Playhouse, nor was he discovered in a play there. Read Less THIRTIES 1950 32 Years Old … And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish". <br /><br />Next he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes later the same year, followed by the role of George Gibbs in the film adaptation of Our Town. After Columbia Pictures picked up half of his contract, he alternated between starring in several minor pictures for Paramount and Columbia before serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, where he acted in training films for the First Motion Picture Unit.

Read Less His career took off in 1950 when Billy Wilder tapped him to star in Sunset Boulevard, where he played a down-at-the-heels screenwriter who gets taken in by a faded silent-screen star, played by Gloria Swanson. … Read More Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination with the part. Getting the part, however, was a lucky break for Holden, as the role was initially cast with Montgomery Clift, who 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." And Wilder himself commented, "Bill was a complex guy, a totally honorable friend. He was a genuine star.

Every woman was in love with him."<br /><br /> Following this breakthrough film, his career quickly grew in stature as Holden played a series of roles that combined good looks with cynical detachment, including a prisoner-of-war entrepreneur in Stalag 17 (1953), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a pressured young engineer/family man in Executive Suite (1954), an acerbic stage director in The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, a conflicted jet pilot in the Korean War film The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), a wandering college football star in Picnic (1955), a dashing war correspondent in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), his most widely recognized role as an ill-fated prisoner in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness, a World War II tug boat captain in The Key (1958), and an American Civil War military surgeon in John Ford's The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne.

Read Less 1952 34 Years Old Holden was best man at the wedding of his friend Ronald Reagan to Nancy Davis in 1952; however, he never involved himself in politics. 1954 36 Years Old In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life magazine. 1955 37 Years Old On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. 1957 39 Years Old His career peaked in 1957 with the enormous success of The Bridge on the River Kwai, but Holden spent the next several years starring in a number of films that rarely succeeded commercially or critically. … Read More By the mid-1960s, the quality of his roles and films had noticeably diminished. A heavy drinker most of his life, Holden descended into alcoholism in the 1960s and 1970s. Read Less FORTIES 1966 48 Years Old While in Italy in 1966, Holden killed another driver in a drunk driving incident.

… Read More He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter.<br /><br /> 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) became a mecca for the international jet set. On a trip to Africa, he fell in love with the wildlife and became increasingly concerned with the animal species that were beginning to decrease in population. With the help of his partners, he created the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. The Mount Kenya Game Ranch works to assist in Kenya with the wildlife education of its youth. Read Less FIFTIES Show Less In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah's graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch, winning much acclaim. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young's family film L'Arbre de NoÃ«l, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi and French actor Bourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille.

… Read More This film was originally released in the United States as The Christmas Tree and on home video as When Wolves Cry. 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 best-selling Joseph Wambaugh novel of the same name. Read Less 1972 54 Years Old In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers, which sparked her interest in animal welfare. … Read More After his death, Powers set up the William Holden Wildlife Foundation at Holden's Mount Kenya Game Ranch. Read Less 1973 55 Years Old In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box office flop. 1974 56 Years Old 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.

… Read More Two years later he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet's classic Network (1976), a examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type he had become iconic for in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD 1980 62 Years Old In 1980, Holden appeared in The Earthling with popular child actor Ricky Schroder, playing a loner dying of cancer who goes to the Australian outback to end his days, meets a young boy whose parents have been killed in an accident, and teaches him how to survive. … Read More During his last years, Holden also appeared in his second Irwin Allen film, When Time Ran Out, a critical and commercial failure and heavily disliked by Holden himself; his final film, Blake Edwards's S.O.B., was more successful and a Golden Globe-nominated picture. Read Less William Holden - Hollywood Star Walk - Los Angeles Times Hollywood Star Walk Born William Franklin Beedle Jr.

on April 17, 1918 in O'Fallon, IL Died Nov. 12, 1981 of blood loss from head trauma in Santa Monica, CA William Holden possessed a handsome face and an easy, masculine manner that made him the quintessential American in many movies. He acted in several radio plays in college and in 1939 a talent scout got him a small part in the movie "Million Dollar Legs." The camera liked his face and his next role, in "Golden Boy" (1939), made him a star. He made more than 50 movies, including "The Wild Bunch," "Bridge On the River Kwai" and "Picnic." Holden won an Academy Award for his 1953 role as an American airman in a German prisoner of war camp in "Stalag 17." He also received Oscar nominations for his parts in "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) and "Network" (1976). Additionally, the actor was the best man at the 1952 wedding of Ronald and Nancy Reagan and remained friends with them over the years.

[Coroner's officials eventually determined that Holden bled to death after a drunken fall in his Santa Monica home.] — Keith Love in the Los Angeles Times Nov. 17, 1981 Related Three thoughts about William Holden “ i met bill holden at the airport in evansville, in. he had come to evansville for the funeral of his friend & partner, ray ryan. they had partnership in the mt. kenya safari club in africa. he was of course very somber but very nice & polite. i told him my husband & i had just returned from hong kong where he had made "suzy wong" & "love is a many splendid thing". i added, my husband was not at all romantic like he (bill holden) was to jennifer jones. he grinned, then we discussed a lot of the things we did & saw over there. i know i enjoyed talking to him & i think he enjoyed me taking his mind away from his friend for a half hour or so. ” — joan moore, December 30, 2012 at 5:58 p.m. “ He was incredible in the movie "Picnic". ” — Linda S.

Osborn, April 21, 2015 at 4:24 p.m. “ I had such a,crush on Bill Holden and I was crushed when he died.but I still love his movies he was a good actor ” — Marcia hentzler, November 12, 2015 at 5:54 p.m. Share a thought about William Holden Did you ever meet William Holden? Share your memory. Which other stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have connections to William Holden? Are other places in the world important to William Holden? Does William Holden deserve this star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

If you enter anything in this field your comment will be treated as spam Name William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard and Network, dies - Nov 12, 1981 - HISTORY.com William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard and Network, dies Share this: William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard and Network, dies Author William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard and Network, dies URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1981, the actor William Holden, who starred in such movies as Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17 and Network, dies at the age of 63 in his Santa Monica, California home. The Academy Award-winning actor reportedly died after falling and hitting his head; his body was found several days later. Holden was born William Franklin Beedle on April 17, 1918, in O’Fallon, Illinois, and raised in Southern California. He made his feature film debut in 1938’s Prison Farm and the following year starred in Golden Boy with Barbara Stanwyck. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Air Force and acted in training films.

In 1950, Holden co-starred with Gloria Swanson in director Billy Wilder’s now-classic film noir Sunset Boulevard, which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and later added to the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 best movies of the 20th century. Holden received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance as Joe Gillis, a broke screenwriter who gets ensnared in the world of the aging silent-screen star Norma Desmond (Swanson). Sunset Boulevard contains the now-famous line, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.” Holden collected his first Academy Award in the Best Actor category for 1953’s Stalag 17, also helmed by Wilder. Holden played a bitter American soldier at a World War II German POW camp who is suspected of being a spy.

During the 1950s, Holden also appeared in such hit films as Born Yesterday (1950), with Judy Holliday; Sabrina (1954) with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart; Executive Suite (1954), with Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March and June Allyson; The Country Girl (1954), with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly; The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), with Kelly, March and Mickey Rooney; Picnic (1955), with Kim Novak; Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), with Jennifer Jones, and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), with Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins. Later in his career, Holden appeared in such movies as The Wild Bunch (1969), a Western directed by Sam Peckinpah, and The Towering Inferno (1974), with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen.

Holden received his third Best Actor Oscar nomination for director Sidney Lumet’s Network (1976), a satire about network television that includes the now-iconic line “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” Off camera, Holden was friends with Ronald Reagan and served as best man at his 1952 wedding to Nancy Davis. Holden’s final film was director Blake Edwards’ S.O.B. (1981), a satire about Hollywood and the movie business. Related Videos WILLIAM HOLDEN DEAD AT 63 - WON OSCAR FOR 'STALAG 17' - NYTimes.com WILLIAM HOLDEN DEAD AT 63 WILLIAM HOLDEN DEAD AT 63; WON OSCAR FOR 'STALAG 17' By LINDA CHARLTON Published: November 17, 1981 William Holden, the film star who won an Oscar in 1953 for his role in ''Stalag 17'' and who represented the manly, straightforward, romantic figure during a career of more than 40 years, was found dead yesterday in his apartment in Santa Monica, Calif. Mr.

Holden, who was 63 years old, was found by an apartment manager. The police said he had apparently died of natural causes and had been dead for possibly two or three days. His permanent home was in Palm Springs but he maintained an apartment in Santa Monica. His performance as Gloria Swanson's ill-fated lover in ''Sunset Boulevard'' in 1950 was perhaps his best known; it won him a second Oscar nomination. His role in ''Network '' in 1976 won him a third. His most recent movie was ''S.O.B.,'' a farce, in which Vincent Canby, reviewing the film in The New York Times, said he was ''especially fine.'' The movie was released last July. Mr. Holden was for many years a sort of grownup boy-next-door type, but his acting developed a fine cynical edge in such films as ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''Sunset Boulevard'' as well as ''Stalag 17.'' 'I'm Not a Classic Actor' ''I'm a pretty fair interpreter of a certain kind of contemporary character,'' he said in an interview in The Times in 1976.

''I'm not a classic actor, dealing in tragedy. Most actors have a specific corridor, and within the limits of that corridor they travel the course of their career. ''For me, acting is not an all-consuming thing, except for the moment when I am actually doing it. There is a point beyond acting, a point where living becomes important. When you're making a movie, you get up in the morning and you put on a cloak; you create emotions within yourself, send gastric juices rushing up against the lining of your stomach. It has to be manufactured.'' Indeed, there was a seven-year period in the late 1950's and early 60's when Mr. Holden made no movies in Hollywood; he moved abroad to Switzerland, Hong Kong and Kenya. He became a conservationist and a founder of the Mount Kenya Safari Club. He invested in hotels in Africa, where he said he was happiest. However, he did return to Hollywood in 1965 to make ''Alvarez Kelly.'' The actor, whose original name was William Franklin Beedle Jr., was born April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Ill.

His father was a chemist and his mother a teacher. The family moved to California when he was very young, and he attended public schools in Monrovia and Pasadena. At junior college he took a course in radio drama, and made his first stage appearance at the Playhouse Theater. A talent scout, impressed by his performance in the role of Madame Curie's grandfather, persuaded Paramount to give him a small part in ''Million Dollar Legs'' in 1939. It was then that he took the name William Holden, which he made his legal name in 1943. Title Role in 'Golden Boy' It was also in 1939 that he had his first major role - and the title role - in ''Golden Boy,'' opposite Barbara Stanwyck. Mr. Holden's performance established him immediately as star. From then on, he made more than 50 movies; most but not all were successful, and he tried to set certain standards both for himself and for the movies in which he agreed to appear. He was handsome but not in a classic matinee-idol style; he was the decent average man, only a bit better than average.

He became one of the most popular male movie stars ever, respected by the critics and by directors. The director Billy Wilder said that he was ''the best movie actor of his generation.'' Eight months after his marriage to the actress Brenda Marshall in 1941, Mr. Holden enlisted in the Army Air Forces; he served more than three years. After his discharge, there was a 17-month hiatus when he had no parts, but he then appeared in 13 movies in three years. His roles were varied, moving him out of what he called, with dislike, his ''Smiling Jim'' slot. They included a psycopathic gangster in ''The Dark Past'' in 1948 and, in 1950, the young writer who becomes the emotional property of an aging actress in ''Sunset Boulevard.'' The Times wrote then that he was ''doing the finest acting of his career.'' Mr.

Holden also had the gift of a light touch, which was displayed in such films as ''Born Yesterday'' and ''The Moon Is Blue.'' The role in ''Stalag 17'' for which he won the Oscar was that of a cynical, hard-bitten prisoner of war who inevitably becomes a hero. Symbol of Normality For many years Mr. Holden was also an offscreen symbol of normality in Hollywood - the nice guy with a long marriage to one woman, the solid citizen with two children who enjoyed working around his home. He was regarded as cooperative with the press and with the studios where he worked, although he was on occasion suspended for refusing scripts he believed to be below his standards. A sort of wholesome charm was his trademark, but in later years his roles - such as that of Pike Bishop, an outlaw, in the violent film ''The Wild Bunch'' - acquired a new, hard-bitten dimension. Mr. Holden also became a much more private person, refusing in interviews to talk about his politics, his family, or why he lived abroad when he did.

He said in 1971 that he had always resented the ''ground rules of 30 years ago, when you did anything to get your name in the paper with Hedda Hopper or Louella Parsons.'' Mr. Holden was separated in 1963 from his wife, with whom he had two sons, Peter and Scott; they were later divorced. In recent years, Mr. Holden's frequent companion was the actress Stefanie Powers. His most notable movies included ''Our Town'' (1940); ''Apartment for Peggy'' (1948); ''Union Station'' (1950); ''Executive Suite'' (1954); ''Sabrina'' (1954); ''The Country Girl'' (1954); ''The Bridges at Toko-Ri'' (1955); ''Love is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (1955); ''Picnic'' (1956); ''The Key'' (1958) and ''The World of Suzie Wong (1960).

He also starred in the television mini-series ''The Blue Knight,'' about police officers, and in a television movie, ''21 Hours at Munich.'' ----- WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -President Reagan expressed shock today over the death of Mr. Holden, who was the best man at his wedding to Nancy Davis. Deputy press secretary Larry Speakes quoted the President as saying: ''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.'' Illustrations: photo of William Holden from the movie Stalag 17 photo of William Holden from the movie The Earthling William Holden | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie twitter Biography by Hal Erickson The son of a chemical analyst, American actor William Holden plunged into high school and junior college sports activities as a means of "proving himself" to his demanding father. Nonetheless, Holden 's forte would be in what he'd always consider a "sissy" profession: acting.

Spotted by a talent scout during a stage production at Pasadena Junior College, Holden was signed by both Paramount and Columbia, who would share his contract for the next two decades. After one bit role, Holden was thrust into the demanding leading part of boxer Joe Bonaparte in Golden Boy (1939). He was so green and nervous that Columbia considered replacing him, but co-star Barbara Stanwyck took it upon herself to coach the young actor and build up his confidence -- a selfless act for which Holden would be grateful until the day he died. After serving as a lieutenant in the Army's special services unit, Holden returned to films, mostly in light, inconsequential roles. Director Billy Wilder changed all that by casting him as Joe Gillis, an embittered failed screenwriter and "kept man" of Gloria Swanson in the Hollywood-bashing classic Sunset Boulevard (1950). Wilder also directed Holden in the role of the cynical, conniving, but ultimately heroic American POW Sefton in Stalag 17 (1953), for which the actor won an Oscar.

Holden became a man of the world, as it were, when he moved to Switzerland to avoid heavy taxation on his earnings; while traversing the globe, he developed an interest in African wildlife preservation, spending much of his off-camera time campaigning and raising funds for the humane treatment of animals. Free to be selective in his film roles in the '60s and '70s, Holden evinced an erratic sensibility: For every Counterfeit Traitor (1962) and Network (1976), there would be a walk-through part in The Towering Inferno (1974) or Ashanti (1978). His final film role was in S.O.B. (1981), which, like Sunset Boulevard , was a searing and satirical indictment of Hollywood. But times had changed, and one of the comic highlights of S.O.B. was of a drunken film executive urinating on the floor of an undertaker's parlor. Holden 's death in 1981 was the result of blood loss from a fall he suffered while alone. Movie Highlights Mentored in acting during the filming of Golden Boy (his first film) by co-star Barbara Stanwyck.

Served in the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant during World War II. Turning point in his career came in 1950, when he was cast in two major roles: Born Yesterday and Sunset Boulevard. These films helped him transition from likable leading man roles to more substantial, cynical parts. Was best man to Ronald Reagan at his 1952 wedding to Nancy Davis. A big supporter of wildlife conservation, he co-founded the Mount Kenya Safari Club in 1959. Died tragically after an accidental fall in his apartment. William Holden Died Drunk and Alone - Classic Movie Reviews - Snarky Home Bios William Holden Died Drunk and Alone William Holden Died Drunk and Alone William Holden – Stalag 17 William Holden Died Drunk and Alone William Holden began working in Hollywood as a piece of beefcake. But when he got the roll of Joe Gillis opposite Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd (1950) the world found out he not only looked good, he could act. William Holden (1918 – 1981) won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1953 for his role in Stalag 17 .

Holden starred in some of Hollywood’s most popular and critically acclaimed films, including Sunset Blvd (1950), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), Sabrina (1954), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Wild Bunch (1969), Picnic (1955), The Towering Inferno (1974), and Network (1976). Living in Pasadena, Holden was spotted by a talent scout from Paramount Pictures in 1937 while playing the part of an 80-year-old man. Holden’s birth name was William Franklin Beedle, Jr. His last name was changed to Holden by an agent that was still in love with his ex-wife. The ex-wife was Gloria Holden who starred in Dracula’s Daughter (1936). Career Holden had two uncredited roles before his first starring role in Golden Boy (1939), 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 later the same year.

After Columbia Pictures picked up half of his contract, he alternated between starring in several minor pictures for Paramount and Columbia before serving as a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he acted in training films for the First Motion Picture Unit. Beginning in 1950, his career took off when Billy Wilder tapped him to star as the down-at-the-heels screenwriter Joe Gillis, who is taken in by faded silent-screen star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in Sunset Blvd. (1950), for which Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. Following this breakthrough film, his career quickly grew in stature as he played a series of roles that combined good looks with cynical detachment. These roles include a prisoner-of-war entrepreneur in Stalag 17 (1953), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. To me this is one of his greatest roles and one of the greatest movies of all times.

A pressured young engineer/family man in Executive Suite (1954), a conflicted jet pilot in the Korean War film The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), a carefree playboy in Sabrina (1954), his most widely recognized role as an ill-fated prisoner in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness, a World War II tug boat captain in The Key (1958), and an American Civil War military surgeon in John Ford’s The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne . His career peaked in 1957 with the enormous success of The Bridge on the River Kwai. By the mid-1960s, the quality of his roles and films had noticeably diminished. Later career In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah’s graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch, winning much acclaim. Five years later, he 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.

He was also praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet’s classic Network (1976), a prescient examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type he had become iconic for in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. In 1980, Holden appeared in The Earthling with popular child actor Ricky Schroder, playing a loner dying of cancer who goes to the Australian outback to end his days, meets a young boy whose parents have been killed in an accident, and teaches him how to survive. During his last years, Holden also appeared in his second Irwin Allen film, When Time Ran Out, a critical and commercial failure and heavily disliked by Holden himself; his final film, Blake Edwards’s S.O.B. (1981), was more successful and a Golden Globe-nominated picture. In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers, which 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 the Los Angeles County Coroner’s autopsy report, Holden was alone and intoxicated in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, when he slipped on a rug, severely lacerated his forehead on a teak bedside table, and bled to death. Evidence suggests he was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. It is probable that he may not have realized the severity of the injury and did not summon aid, or was unable to call for help. His body was found four days later. Holden had dictated in his will that the Neptune Society cremate him and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. No funeral or memorial service was held, per his wishes. For his contribution to the film industry, William Holden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1651 Vine Street.

Selected Filmography William Holden - Biography - IMDb William Holden Biography Showing all 90 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (3) | Trivia (60) | Personal Quotes (13) | Salary (7) Overview (5) 5' 11" (1.8 m) Mini Bio (1) William Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr. in O'Fallon, Illinois, to Mary Blanche (Ball), a schoolteacher, and William Franklin Beedle, Sr., an industrial chemist. He came from a wealthy family (the Beedles) that moved to Pasadena, California, when he was three. In 1937, while studying chemistry at Pasadena Junior College, he was signed to a film contract by Paramount. His first starring role was as a young man torn between the violin and boxing in Golden Boy (1939). From then on he was typecast as the boy-next-door.

After returning from World War II military service, he got two very important roles: Joe Gillis, the gigolo, in Sunset Boulevard (1950), and the tutor in Born Yesterday (1950). These were followed by his Oscar-winning role as the cynical sergeant in Stalag 17 (1953). He stayed popular through the 1950s, appearing in such films as Picnic (1955). He spent much of his later time as co-owner of the Mount Kenya Safari Club, dividing his time between Africa and Switzerland. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> Spouse (1) ( 12 July 1941 - 1971) (divorced) (2 children) Trade Mark (3) Often infused his parts, even the more serious ones, with sardonic humor Dimpled chin Trivia (60) Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#57). [1995] Was the best man at Ronald Reagan 's and Nancy Reagan ' wedding in 1952.

He suffered a laceration to his forehead and bled to death, after he slipped on a throw rug and hit his head on a table. Claims that he was intoxicated at the time are disputed. Adopted his stepdaughter, Virginia Holden (Virginia Gaines), from Ardis Ankerson's ( Brenda Marshall 's) first marriage. He and Marshall had two sons together, Peter Westfield "West" Holden, born November 17, 1943, and Scott Holden (Scott Porter Holden, born May 2, 1946. Not to be confused with the character actor William Holden . Brian Donlevy was his best man when Holden married Brenda Marshall in 1941. A Congregationalist Church service was planned in Las Vegas. Since William and Brian were still filming The Remarkable Andrew (1942), there were delays and it was 3am before they arrived for the ceremony. By that time the minister had long gone to bed. It was 4pm Sunday before another preacher could be found to perform the wedding.

After they were married, they had a champagne breakfast and hopped a plane back to Los Angeles so he and Brian could wrap up shooting, and Brenda was off to Canada to film some location footage that she was still working on. It would be three more months before they would have a real honeymoon (one mishap after another postponed it ... including the TWO of them having to undergo emergency appendectomies)! He was very instrumental in animal preservation in Africa. In the 1970s he purchased a large acreage of land with his own money and began an animal sanctuary. His love of the wild animal was shared with his then companion Stefanie Powers (from Hart to Hart (1979)). He would appear on talk shows to promote the saving of animals and to spread the word of anti-poaching and illegal animal trade. A hygiene fanatic, he reportedly showered up to four times daily. Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Family: Mother: Mary Beedle (nee Ball). Father: William Franklin Beedle, born 1892. Brother: Robert Westfield Beedle, born 1921; died January 1, 1944. Brother: Richard P.

Beedle , born 1925. Immortalized in [Canadian band], Blue Rodeo's song "Floating" with the lyric: "I need love and it's you, And I feel like William Holden floating in a pool" - Greg Keelor , the writer of the song, said this: "That sort of quiet desperation at the end of a relationship when nothing's really making sense and I sort of had the image of William Holden at the beginning of Sunset Boulevard (1950) in my head, and I'd always sort of related to that character floating in that pool. I was always hoping for the opportunity to play the gigolo for some wealthy woman. This is a song about identifying with that sort of compromised existence." Although it is thought by some that J.D. Salinger got the name for his hero Holden Caulfield in "The Catcher in the Rye" when he saw a marquee for Dear Ruth (1947), starring William Holden and Joan Caulfield , Salinger's first Holden Caulfield story, "I'm Crazy," appeared in Collier's on December 22, 1945, a year and a half before this movie came out.

Won Best Actor for his role in Stalag 17 (1953). When accepting his statue at the Acadamy Awards, simply stated, "Thank you" and walked off. Holden said that, at some point, he lost his passion for acting and that it eventually just became a job so that he could support himself. He was voted the 63rd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Considered himself to be a moderate Republican, although he was never involved in any political campaigns and never endorsed a candidate. In 1947 he joined the Committee for the First Amendment to oppose blacklisting in Hollywood, and was later very upset by the blacklisting of his close friends Dalton Trumbo and Larry Parks .

Was named #25 Actor on the 50 Greatest Screen Legends by the AFI Is portrayed by Gabriel Macht in The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000) In the song "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega , the lyrics "I open up the paper / there's a story of an actor / who died while he was drinking / he was no one I had heard of" refer to Holden, whose death was indeed reported in the New York Post on November 18, 1981, when the song was written. Vega has subsequently expressed embarrassment at these lyrics. Made two films with Audrey Hepburn : Sabrina (1954) and Paris When It Sizzles (1964). His younger brother, Robert Beedle, was actually a Navy fighter pilot who was killed in action in World War II, and after The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) was released, he was remembered by his squadron-mates as having been very much like Holden's character of Lt. Harry Brubaker in that movie. Was an avid art collector. His private collection at his exclusive hilltop home in Palm Springs featured antique Asian art.

Upon his death, the priceless collection was donated to the Palm Springs Museum of Art, where it is proudly displayed today. He was of mostly English, with more distant Irish and French, ancestry. Was involved in a serious road accident in Italy in July 1966. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 391-397. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. Turned down Henry Fonda 's role in Mister Roberts (1955). He enjoyed firework displays. Turned down The Guns of Navarone (1961) because producer Carl Foreman wouldn't meet his fee of $750,000 + 20% of the gross. Holden was cast as Pike Bishop in The Wild Bunch (1969) after the role had been turned down by Lee Marvin , Burt Lancaster , James Stewart , Charlton Heston , Gregory Peck , Sterling Hayden , Richard Boone and Robert Mitchum .

Marvin actually accepted the role but pulled out after he was offered a larger pay deal to star in Paint Your Wagon (1969). He was so grateful to Barbara Stanwyck for her insistence on casting him in Golden Boy (1939), his first big role, that he reportedly sent her flowers every year on the anniversary of the first day of the filming. Starred alongside Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday (1950). Both actresses were nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for their performances in these films. Holliday won. Starred alongside Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954) and Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (1954). Both actresses were nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for their performances in these films. Kelly won. He had a daughter, Arlene, in 1937 with actress Eva May Hoffman. Arlene was raised by her mother and her stepfather, composer Emil Newman . Moved to Switzerland for tax reasons in 1959, and did not return to live in Hollywood until 1967.

He appeared among the top ten box office stars six times, as ranked by Quigley Publications' annual poll of movie exhibitors, The Top Ten Money-Making Stars, the definitive list of movie stars' pull at the box office. He actually topped the list in 1956, two years after entering it at #7 in 1954, the year he won the Best Actor Oscar with his performance in Stalag 17 (1953). In 1955, he was ranked #4, then hit #1 for the first and only time in 1956, and then dropped to #7 in 1957 before rebounding slightly to #6 in 1958. After five straight years in the Top 10, he dropped off the list in 1959 and 1960, but reappeared in the Top Ten in 1961, ranked in eighth place. His 1961 appearance among the Top Ten Box Office stars was his last.

Was the Top Box Office Star of 1956, as ranked by Quigley Publications' annual poll of movie exhibitors, The Top Ten Money-Making Stars, the definitive list of movie stars' pull at the box office. Father of Scott Holden , Arlene Holden and Peter Holden. For The Horse Soldiers (1959) both Holden and John Wayne received $775,000, plus twenty per cent of the overall profits, an unheard-of sum for that time. The final contract, heralded as marking the beginning of mega-deals for Hollywood stars, involved six companies and numbered twice the pages of the movie's script. The film, however, was a critical and commercial failure, with no profits to be shared in the end. Turned down Marlon Brando 's role in Sayonara (1957) in order to make The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Died one day before his eldest son Peter's 38th birthday. A Japanophile, someone preoccupied with Japanese culture, he befriended actor Toshirô Mifune on a visit to Japan in 1954.

After seeing the film Mifune was working on at that time, Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), Holden offered to distribute the film in America. The producers agreed to let Holden record a narration to explain the film when it was released in America. This addition led American critics to wrongly think that Holden had recut the film for American distribution. Held a press conference in late 1980 to deny newspaper reports that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Although married to Brenda Marshall for over 30 years, they were actually separated for most of their marriage. At the time of his death, he was the companion of Stefanie Powers . In the last years of his life he increasingly suffered from emphysema. Was originally cast for the lead in The Rainmaker (1956), role eventually played by Burt Lancaster . Was considered for the role of "Maurice Novak" in Career (1959). Felt he didn't deserve the Academy Award for Best Actor for Stalag 17 (1953), and that the award should have gone to Burt Lancaster for From Here to Eternity (1953).

His wife also felt that the honor was just a belated apology for snubbing his nomination for Sunset Boulevard (1950). Toward the Unknown (1956) was the only movie made by his production company, "Toluca Productions". Holden acted with wife Brenda Marshall professionally for the only time in a "Theater Guild on the Air" production of "The Lost Weekend.". Holden was vice-president of the Screen Actors Guild and Parks Commissioner for Los Angeles. Holden did not legally change his name from Beedle until he joined the USAF in 1942. He was a favorite actor of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy but disappointed her immensely when she discovered he was a Republican. Was a Boy Scout. For a time in 1943, Holden shared an apartment in Ft. Worth, Texas with baseball superstar Hank Greenberg while both of them were serving stateside in WWII.

Billy Wilder on Holden's death: "If someone had said to me, 'Holden's dead,' I would have assumed that he had been gored by a water buffalo in Kenya, that he had died in a plane crash approaching Hong Kong, that a crazed, jealous woman had shot him, and he drowned in a swimming pool. But to be killed by a bottle of vodka and a night table - what a lousy fade-out of a great guy!". "Hollwood Reporter" reported that Holden had signed to play the coach in That Championship Season (1982), but his death precluded that, and he was replaced by Robert Mitchum . Holden had also agreed to co-star with old friend Glenn Ford in "Dime Novel Sunset", which was never made. Holden bequeathed $250,000 to girlfriend Stefanie Powers , $50,000 to former co-star Capucine , and $50,000 to socialite friend Patricia Stauffer. The bulk of his estate was divided between ex-wife Brenda Marshall , their two actor sons, his step-daughter, his sister, and his mother.

Owned the "Mount Kenya Safari Club" with his business partners oil billionaire Ray Ryan and Swiss financier Carl Hirschmann. The most elite private members' club in the world. Membership was by invitation only and members included Bing Crosby , David Lean , Charles Chaplin , Steve McQueen , Conrad Hilton , Winston Churchill and His Highness the Maharajah of Jaipur . Stefanie Powers and John Hurt still keep houses adjoining the club. Personal Quotes (13) For me, acting is not an all-consuming thing, except for the moment when I am actually doing it. Take any picture you can. One out of four will be good, one out of ten will be very good, and one out of 15 will get you an Academy Award. Movie acting may not have a certain kind of glory as true art, but it is damn hard work. I don't really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life - to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up. I'm a whore, all actors are whores. We sell our bodies to the highest bidder.

[on Barbara Stanwyck ] Thirty-nine years ago this month, we were working in a film together called Golden Boy (1939). It wasn't going so well and I was going to be replaced. But due to this lovely human being and her encouragement and above all her generosity, I'm here tonight. [on working with Clint Eastwood on Breezy (1973)] He's even-tempered -- a personality trait not much in evidence among directors. The crew is totally behind him and that really helps things go smoothly. [on Humphrey Bogart ] I hated that bastard. I found the jungle a beautiful and fascinating place to be, I like to come here because I want to stay away from the jungle as much as I can. I made Toward the Unknown (1956) as an actor by day and, by night, a caster, a cuter, and a producer. I'll never do anything like that again. [on Toni Helfer and Ralph Helfer ] Years after our initial meeting in Africa, I visited Ralph and Toni at Africa U.S.A. in Sangus, California, and there I was even more amazed at the rapport the two of them had with their wildlife.

Toni is an absolutely fearless human being who is totally loved by every animal she has ever touched. She is undaunted by any endeavor or undertaking. A remarkable painter, naturalist, zoologist, conservationist, and now author. Toni Helfer has the courage and the curiosity we all should have. For the sake of the world I wish Ralph and Toni a long, rich, and productive life. The other day I drove into the garage of my Palm Springs house with some groceries. Suddenly one of those tour buses pulled up and a voice said, "This is William Holden's house, and I think I just saw him pull in." I flattened myself against the garage wall - the garage was separate from the house - and tried to hide. But the bags got heavy so I finally thought to hell with it, and walked out. And the voice said, "There he is, folks, I told you he'd come out sooner or later." Let's face it, it's pretty difficult to kiss someone who is a stranger. I don't think anyone in movies enjoys playing a love scene. Kissing someone is an intimate act, and when you have to do it in front of other people it's not easy. Salary (7)

Question: Which actor, star of the 1950 film, "Sunset Boulevard", died after a fall at his home in Santa Monica in 1981?
Answer: WILLIAM HOLDEN