A young Holden (left) withLee J. Cobb in his first starring role in a film,Golden Boy (1939)
Holden was born William Franklin Beedle Jr. on April 17, 1918, inO'Fallon, Illinois, son of Mary Blanche Beedle (née Ball; 1898–1990), a schoolteacher, and her husband, William Franklin Beedle Sr. (1891–1967), an industrialchemist.[1]
A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" was given by George Ross ofBillboard in 1939: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead inGolden Boy, used to be Bill Beedle. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. On theColumbia lot is an assistant director and scout namedHarold 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 theGolden Boy newcomer and who renamed him—in honor of his former spouse!"[3]
Holden's first starring role was inGolden Boy (1939), costarringBarbara 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 madeGolden 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 lifelong friends. When she received herHonorary Oscar at the1982 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]
Holden's career took off again in 1950 whenBilly Wilder tapped him to play a down-at-heel screenwriter taken in by a faded silent film actress (Gloria Swanson) inSunset Boulevard. Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role.[11]
Getting the role was a lucky break for Holden, asMontgomery Clift was initially cast but 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 withNancy Olson, one of hisSunset Boulevard costars, inUnion Station (1950).
Holden had another good break when he was cast asJudy Holliday's love interest in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway hitBorn Yesterday (1950). He made two more films with Olson:Force of Arms (1951) at Warner Bros. andSubmarine Command (1951) at Paramount. Holden did a sports film at Columbia,Boots Malone (1952), then returned to Paramount forThe Turning Point (1952).
Holden was reunited with Wilder inStalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. His acceptance speech at the26th Academy Awards was one of the shortest in Oscar history: "Thank you ... thank you."[14]
His success inStalag 17 ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom.[4] He made a sex comedy withDavid Niven forOtto 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 withGinger Rogers that was not particularly popular,Forever Female (1953). A Western at MGM,Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) did much better, and the all-starExecutive Suite (1954) was a notable success.[15]
Holden made a third film with Wilder,Sabrina (1954), billed beneathAudrey Hepburn andHumphrey Bogart.[16] 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."[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.[17] 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.[18]
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."[19] 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 metMel Ferrer, whom she later married and with whom she had a sonSean Hepburn Ferrer.)[20]
In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover ofLife. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star onI Love Lucy as himself.[23] The golden run at the box office continued withLove Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a bestselling novel, withJennifer Jones, andPicnic (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of theWilliam Inge play withKim Novak.[24][25]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 didToward the Unknown (1957), the one film Holden produced himself.
Holden had his most widely recognized role as "Commander" Shears inDavid Lean'sThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) withAlec Guinness,[26] 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 ($559,775 in 2024 dollars[27]).[28]
In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in directorSam Peckinpah's graphically violent WesternThe Wild Bunch,[4] winning much acclaim. Also in 1969, Holden starred in directorTerence Young's family filmL'Arbre de Noël, co-starring Italian actressVirna Lisi and French actorBourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. This film was originally released in the United States asThe Christmas Tree and on home video asWhen Wolves Cry.[32] Holden made a Western withRyan O'Neal andBlake Edwards,Wild Rovers (1971). It was not particularly successful. Neither wasThe Revengers (1972), another Western.
In 1973, Holden starred withKay Lenz in a movie directed byClint Eastwood calledBreezy, which was considered a box-office flop.[34] Also in 1974, Holden starred withPaul Newman andSteve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster filmThe Towering Inferno,[35] 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 inSidney Lumet's classicNetwork (1976),[36] an examination of the media written byPaddy 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 in21 Hours at Munich (1976).
Matron of honorBrenda Marshall (left) and best man William Holden were the only guests at the 1952 wedding of Ronald and Nancy Reagan
Holden was best man at the wedding of his friendRonald Reagan to actressNancy Davis in 1952. Although a registered Republican, he never involved himself in politics.[40][41]
Holden maintained a home in Switzerland and also spent much of his time working forwildlife conservation as a managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa. His Mount Kenya Safari Club inNanyuki (founded 1959) was popular with the internationaljet set.[42] 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 theWilliam Holden Wildlife Foundation.[43]
Holden was married to actressBrenda Marshall from 1941 until their divorce in 1971.[4] They had two sons.[44][45] Holden also adopted Marshall's daughter from Marshall's previous marriage to actorRichard Gaines.
Holden met French actressCapucine in the early 1960s. The two starred in the filmsThe Lion (1962) andThe 7th Dawn (1964). They reportedly began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden's alcoholism.[46] Capucine and Holden remained friends until his death in 1981.
In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actressStefanie Powers and sparked her interest in animal welfare.[47] After his death, Powers set up theWilliam Holden Wildlife Foundation at Holden's Mount Kenya Game Ranch.[48]
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 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.[49] Rumors circulated that he was suffering from lung cancer, which Holden had denied at a 1980 press conference. His death certificate makes no mention of cancer.[42][49] He dictated in his will that his body be cremated by theNeptune Society and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean. In accordance with his wishes, no funeral, or memorial service, was held.[50]
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."[4]
The songTom's Diner by artistSuzanne 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.[53]
Gaines, Virginia Holden; Prcic, Mike (2007).Growing Up with William Holden: A Memoir. Mehmed Prcic.ISBN978-0-9741304-5-3..
Heymann, C. David (July 14, 2009).Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story. New York: Simon & Schuster.ISBN978-1-4001-6422-6..
Phillips, Gene D. (2010).Some Like It Wilder: The Life and Controversial Films of Billy Wilder. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky.ISBN978-0-8131-2570-1..
