William Holden (1918

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Biography

William Franklin Holden 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 (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for The Blue Knight (1973).

Timeline

The story of William Holden, told in moments.

1918 Birth

Born William Franklin Beedle Jr. in O'Fallon, Illinois. His father was an industrial chemist. Family moved to South Pasadena when he was three. Got into acting through radio plays at Pasadena Junior College.

Did your father's chemistry career influence your analytical mind? What was South Pasadena like for a future movie star? Was radio acting at college the accidental beginning?

1950 Life

Starred in Sunset Boulevard as the struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis. Billy Wilder cast him after several bigger names turned it down. Holden was 31. The role made him a star.

How did getting the role bigger names turned down feel? Was Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard a role that found you? Did Billy Wilder change everything?

1953 Event

Won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Stalag 17, playing a cynical American POW accused of being a German informer. Named one of the top 10 box office stars for six consecutive years after that.

What was winning the Oscar at 35 like? Did six consecutive years as a top box office star feel sustainable? Was Stalag 17 the role that proved your range?

1969 Life

Starred in The Wild Bunch, Sam Peckinpah's ultraviolent Western about aging outlaws. It was controversial. Audiences walked out. Critics now consider it one of the greatest Westerns ever made.

What drew you to The Wild Bunch's violence? Were audiences right to walk out? Is it the greatest Western ever made?

1981 Death

Found dead in his Santa Monica apartment at 63. He'd hit his head on a bedside table, likely while intoxicated, and bled to death. His body wasn't discovered for four days. He'd struggled with alcoholism for decades.

Did alcoholism feel like a slow surrender? Was there a moment you could have turned it around? What do you want people to remember beyond how it ended?

Artifacts (14)

Words to Die By

Delve into the darker side of human nature with these sixteen stories by William Holden. As darkness enters the mind through revenge, jealousy, paranoia, or the uncanny operations of a supernatural...

2012

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Silver and Gold

Due to an unexpected snowstorm, Joe finds himself stranded in New York City on Christmas Eve. After a lonely day, he returns to his hotel room to find a box of truffles and a note from Alan, a sexy...

2015

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Second Chances

A chance encounter on the streets of San Francisco changes the lives of Matt, a successful businessman from Boston, and T.J., a young homeless man forced to live on the street. Though from two very...

2016

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Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the Empire

Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the Empire by William Holden Hutton

2017

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The Libertine

Adam, an assassin for the Dutch Army, has specific instructions to infiltrate the pirate ship The Libertine at any cost and ensure the pirates will be defenseless when the army attacks. Using his body...

2017

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The Last Goodbye

Together forever, no matter what life throws at us. It's a phrase used from the moment two people realize it's true love, and it was no different for Steve and Hank. That instant spark when they first...

2018

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Death Benefits

Victor Kane isn't an ordinary funeral director. He's a vampire, and not an ordinary one, either. He doesn't drink fresh blood, but rather the lifeless blood from corpses that come into his family-run...

2018

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Freelance

When Jeremy, a high-profile photographer, agrees to take on Alan, the most popular male underwear model in the business, things are bound to develop. After their first freelance gig in Morocco, they...

2018

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Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the Empire

In his evocative work "Constantinople," William Holden Hutton delves into the multifaceted history and cultural tapestry of one of the world's most significant cities. Employing a lyrical style that...

2021

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Constantinople: "The Story of the Old Capital of the Empire"

"Where ocean bathes earth's footstool these sea-bowers Bedeck its solid wavelets: wise was he Who blended shore with deep, with seaweed flowers, And Naiads' rivulets with Nereids' sea."Strictly...

2024

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Ecological Liberation Theology: Faith-Based Approaches to Poverty and Climate Change in the Philippines

Climate change-related effects and aftermaths of natural disasters, such as Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, have wreaked havoc on local peoples’ lives and livelihoods, especially in impoverished...

2017

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John Wesley in Company with High Churchmen

1872

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Constantinople: The Story of the Old Capital of the Empire

1909

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Constantinople: The story of the old capital of the Empire. Illustr. by Sydney Cooper

1921

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