William Holden

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

A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beadle. [sic] 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!"[3]

Holden's first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer.[4] The film was made for Columbia, which negotiated a sharing agreement with Paramount for Holden's services.

Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, 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. And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish".[5][6]

Next he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes (1939).[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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).

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

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).[10] RKO borrowed him for Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum and Loretta Young, then he went over to 20th Century Fox for Apartment for Peggy (1948).

At Columbia he did a film noir, The Dark Past (1948) and a Western with Ford, The Man from Colorado (1949). At Paramount, he did another Western, Streets of Laredo (1949). Columbia teamed him with Lucille Ball for Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949), then he did a sequel to Dear Ruth, Dear Wife (1949). He did a comedy at Columbia Father Is a Bachelor (1950).

With Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)

His career took off again in 1950 when Billy Wilder tapped him to play a role in Sunset Boulevard, in which he played a down-at-heel screenwriter taken in by a faded silent-screen star, played by Gloria Swanson. Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination with the part.[11]

Getting the part was a lucky break for Holden, as the role was initially cast with Montgomery Clift, who backed out of his contract.[12] Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. He was perfection on- and off-screen."[13] And Wilder commented "Bill was a complex guy, a totally honorable friend. He was a genuine star. Every woman was in love with him."[13] Paramount reunited him with Nancy Olson, one of his Sunset Boulevard costars, in Union Station (1950).

Holden had another good break when cast as Judy Holliday's love interest in the big-screen adaptation of Born Yesterday (1950). He made two more films with Olson: Force of Arms (1951) at Warners 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).

Holden was reunited with Wilder in Stalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. This ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom.[4] He made a sex comedy with David Niven for Otto Preminger, The Moon Is Blue (1953), which was a huge hit, in part due to controversy over its content. At Paramount, he was in a comedy with Ginger Rogers that was not particularly popular, Forever Female (1953). A Western at MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) did much better, and the all-star Executive Suite (1954) was a notable success.[14]

With Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (1954)

Holden made a third film with Wilder, Sabrina (1954), billed beneath Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.[15] Holden and Hepburn became romantically involved during the filming, unbeknown 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."[13]^:174 The interactions between Bogart, Hepburn, and Holden made shooting less than pleasant, as Bogart had wanted his wife, Lauren Bacall, to play Sabrina. Bogart was not especially friendly toward Hepburn, who had little Hollywood experience, while Holden's reaction was the opposite, wrote biographer Michelangelo Capua.[16] Holden recalls their romance:

Before I even met her, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day later, I felt as if we were old friends, and I was rather fiercely protective of her, though not in a possessive way.[17]

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."[18] 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.)[19]

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.[20][21]

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.[22] The golden run at the box office continued with Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a best-selling novel, with Jennifer Jones, and Picnic (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of the William Inge play with Kim Novak.[23][24] 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.

Holden had his most widely recognized role as an ill-fated prisoner in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness,[25] a huge commercial success.

He made another war film for a British director, The Key (1958) with Trevor Howard and Sophia Loren for director Carol Reed.[26] 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.[27] Columbia would not meet Holden's asking price of $750,000 and 10% of the gross for The Guns of Navarone (1961); the amount of money Holden asked exceeding the combined salaries of the stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn.[28]

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), this third film with Seaton; or The Lion (1962), with Trevor Howard and Capucine. The latter was shot in Africa and sparked a fascination with the continent that was to last until the end of Holden's life.

Holden's films continued to struggle at the box office, however, Paris When It Sizzles (1964) with Hepburn that 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 names in Feldman's Casino Royale (1967).

Holden in The Revengers (1972)

In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah's graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch,[4] winning much acclaim. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young's family film L'Arbre de Noël, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi and French actor Bourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. This film was originally released in the United States as The Christmas Tree and on home video as When Wolves Cry.[29] 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 best-selling Joseph Wambaugh novel of the same name.[30][4]

In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop.[31] Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno,[32] 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),[33] 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).

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). Holden had a supporting role in Ashanti (1979) and was third-billed in another disaster movie with Paul Newman for Irwin Allen, When Time Ran Out... (1980), which was a flop.[34]

In 1980, Holden appeared in The Earthling with popular child actor Ricky Schroder,[35] 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. After making S.O.B. (1981) for Blake Edwards, Holden refused to star in Jason Miller's film That Championship Season.[36]

Holden was married to actress Ardis Ankerson (stage name Brenda Marshall) from 1941 until their divorce 30 years later, in 1971.[4] They had two sons, Peter Westfield "West" Holden (1943–2014)[43] and Scott Porter Holden. He adopted his wife's daughter, Virginia, from her first marriage with actor Richard Gaines. While filming Sabrina (1954), costar Audrey Hepburn and he had a brief, passionate affair. 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 owing to Holden's alcoholism.[44] Capucine and Holden remained friends until his death in 1981.

In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers, and sparked her interest in animal welfare.[45] After his death, Powers set up the William Holden Wildlife Foundation at Holden's Mount Kenya Game Ranch.[46]

According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's autopsy report, Holden bled to death in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, after lacerating his forehead from slipping on a rug while intoxicated and hitting a bedside table. Forensic evidence recovered at the scene suggested that he was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. The causes of death were given as "exsanguination" and "blunt laceration of scalp."[47] Rumors existed that he was suffering from lung cancer, which Holden himself had denied at a 1980 press conference. His death certificate makes no mention of cancer.[38][47] He dictated in his will that the Neptune Society cremate him and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. In accordance with his wishes, no funeral or memorial services were conducted.[48]

President Ronald Reagan released a statement, 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." [4] For his contribution to the film industry, Holden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1651 Vine Street.[49] He also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[50] His death was noted by singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, whose 1987 song "Tom's Diner" (about a sequence of events one morning in 1981) included a mention of reading a newspaper article about "an actor who had died while he was drinking". Vega subsequently confirmed that this was a reference to Holden.[51]