Editing William Holden (section)

==Career==
===Paramount===
Holden appeared uncredited in ''[[Prison Farm (film)|Prison Farm]]'' (1939) and ''[[Million Dollar Legs (1939 film)|Million Dollar Legs]]'' (1939) at Paramount.

A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" was given by George Ross of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' in 1939: "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 Pictures|Columbia]] lot is an assistant director and scout named [[Harold A. Winston|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!"<ref>Ross, George. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19390412&id=PE0bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MkwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2114,5630453 "Broadway: ''Golden Boy''"], ''The Pittsburgh Press'', April 12, 1939, p. 23.</ref>

===''Golden Boy''===
[[File:William Holden and George Raft in Invisible Stripes trailer.jpg|right|thumb|With [[George Raft]] (right) in ''[[Invisible Stripes]]'' (1939)]]

Holden's first starring role was in ''[[Golden Boy (1939 film)|Golden Boy]]'' (1939), costarring [[Barbara Stanwyck]], in which he played a violinist-turned-[[Boxing|boxer]].<ref name=obit /> 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 lifelong friends. When she received her [[Academy Honorary Award|Honorary Oscar]] at the [[54th Academy Awards|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".<ref>video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBhPI95FDZw&t=2m20s "Barbara Stanwyck's Honorary Award: 1982 Oscars"], Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences via Youtube.com; accessed November 12, 2016.</ref><ref>Robert Osborne, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuE4nHiXTf0 "TCM – Golden Boy"] via Youtube.com; accessed November 12, 2016.</ref>

Next he starred with [[George Raft]] and [[Humphrey Bogart]] in the [[Warner Bros.]] gangster epic ''[[Invisible Stripes]]'' (1939), billed below Raft and above Bogart.<ref>{{cite news| title=The Screen ... <!-- part of this title is omitted because it does not relate to Holden -->Strand Shows 'Invisible Stripes'| first=Frank S.| last=Nigent| date=January 13, 1940| url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C00EEDE113EE23ABC4B52DFB766838B659EDE| newspaper=The New York Times| page=16| access-date=April 9, 2018|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

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 film)|Our Town]]'' (1940), done for [[Sol Lesser]] at United Artists.<ref>Capua 2010, pp. 16–17.</ref>

Columbia put Holden in a Western with [[Jean Arthur]], ''[[Arizona (1940 film)|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 film)|Texas]]'' (1941) with [[Glenn Ford]], and a musical comedy at Paramount, ''[[The Fleet's In (film)|The Fleet's In]]'' (1942) with [[Eddie Bracken]], [[Dorothy Lamour]], and [[Betty Hutton]].<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/variety149-1943-01#page/n57/mode/1up "101 Pix Gross in Millions" ''Variety'', January 6, 1943 p 58]</ref>

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 and then a first lieutenant in the [[United States Army Air Force]] during [[World War II]], where he acted in [[training film]]s for the [[First Motion Picture Unit]], including ''Reconnaissance Pilot'' (1943).

===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 (film)|Dear Ruth]]'' (1947) and he was one of many cameos in ''[[Variety Girl (film)|Variety Girl]]'' (1947).<ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016</ref> 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 (film)|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''===
[[File:Gloria Swanson and William Holden.jpg|thumb|With [[Gloria Swanson]] in ''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1950)]]
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 (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]''. Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role.<ref>Capua 2010, pp. 54–55.</ref>

Getting the role was a lucky break for Holden, as [[Montgomery Clift]] was initially cast but backed out of his contract.<ref name=Monush>Monush, Barry. ''The Encyclopedia of Hollywood Film Actors'', Applause (2003) pp. 335–336</ref> Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. He was perfection on and off screen."<ref name=Chandler/> And Wilder commented "Bill was a complex guy, a totally honorable friend. He was a genuine star. Every woman was in love with him."<ref name=Chandler>Chandler, Charlotte. ''Nobody's Perfect: Billy Wilder: a Personal Biography'', Simon & Schuster (2002) p. 147</ref> Paramount reunited him with [[Nancy Olson]], one of his ''Sunset Boulevard'' costars, in ''[[Union Station (film)|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 film)|Born Yesterday]]'' (1950). He made two more films with Olson: ''[[Force of Arms (film)|Force of Arms]]'' (1951) at Warner Bros. and ''[[Submarine Command (film)|Submarine Command]]'' (1951) at Paramount. Holden did a sports film at Columbia, ''[[Boots Malone]]'' (1952), then returned to Paramount for ''[[The Turning Point (1952 film)|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."<ref>[http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/026-1/ William Holden Academy Awards Acceptance Speech], Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref>

His success in ''Stalag 17'' ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom.<ref name=obit /> He made a sex comedy with [[David Niven]] for [[Otto Preminger]], ''[[The Moon Is Blue (film)|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 (film)|Executive Suite]]'' (1954) was a notable success.<ref>{{cite web |title=Forever Female (1954) – Overview |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/75413/forever-female |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref>

===''Sabrina''===
[[File:Holden-Hepburn-Sabrina.jpg|thumb|With [[Audrey Hepburn]] in ''Sabrina'' (1954)]]
Holden made a third film with Wilder, ''[[Sabrina (1954 film)|Sabrina]]'' (1954), billed beneath [[Audrey Hepburn]] and [[Humphrey Bogart]].<ref>{{cite web|title=30 Days, 30 Classics – Day 17: Sabrina (1954) starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart|url=https://writerlovesmovies.com/2012/10/19/30-days-30-classics-day-17-sabrina-1954-starring-audrey-hepburn-william-holden-and-humphrey-bogart/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921165331/http://writerlovesmovies.com/2012/10/19/30-days-30-classics-day-17-sabrina-1954-starring-audrey-hepburn-william-holden-and-humphrey-bogart/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 21, 2015|website=Writer Loves Movies|access-date= January 3, 2017|date= October 19, 2012}}</ref> 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."<ref name=Chandler/>{{rp|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.<ref>Capua 2010, p. 78</ref> Holden recalls their romance:{{blockquote|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.<ref>Capua 2010 p. 79</ref>}} 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."<ref>Capua 2010 p. 77</ref> 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]].)<ref>Capua 2010 p. 82</ref>

He took third billing for ''[[The Country Girl (1954 film)|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 (film)|The Bridges at Toko-Ri]]'' (1954), a [[Korean War]] drama with Kelly.<ref>{{cite news| title=Screen: Crosby Acts in 'Country Girl'; Film Based on Odets Drama Makes Bow| url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE2D9123DE23BBC4E52DFB467838F649EDE| newspaper=The New York Times| first=Bosley| last=Crowther| author-link=Bosley Crowther| date=December 16, 1954| page=51| access-date=April 9, 2018|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=The Screen in Review; 'Bridges at Toko-ri' Is Fine Film of War| url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A07EED7123AE53BBC4951DFB766838E649EDE| date=January 21, 1955| first=Bosley| last=Crowther| page=20| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=April 9, 2018|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' as himself.<ref>{{cite journal| title="I Love Lucy" Friday: When Lucy comes face-to-face with William Holden at the Brown Derby| url=http://greginhollywood.com/i-love-lucy-friday-when-lucy-comes-face-to-face-with-william-holden-at-the-brown-derby-67679| first=Greg| last=Hernandez| date=May 4, 2012| journal=Greg in Hollywood.com| access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> The golden run at the box office continued with ''[[Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (film)|Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing]]'' (1955), from a bestselling novel, with [[Jennifer Jones]], and ''[[Picnic (1955 film)|Picnic]]'' (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of the [[William Inge]] play with [[Kim Novak]].<ref>{{cite journal| title=The Summer of Picninc| last=Shaffer| first=Bill| url=https://www.kshs.org/publicat/heritage/2005spring_shaffer.pdf| journal=Kansas Heritage| date=Spring 2005| pages=6–12| access-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Woo| first1=Elaine| title=Han Suyin dies at 95; wrote 'Many-Splendored Thing'| url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2012-nov-11-la-me-han-suyin-20121111-story.html| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date= January 3, 2017| date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> ''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''===
[[File:William Holden and Chandran Rutnam while shooting The Bridge on the River Kwai.jpeg|left|thumb|Holden and [[Chandran Rutnam]] during shooting]]
Holden had his most widely recognized role as "Commander" Shears in [[David Lean]]'s ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' (1957) with [[Alec Guinness]],<ref>{{cite web| title=13 Fascinating Facts About 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'| url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/82646/13-fascinating-facts-about-bridge-river-kwai| website=Mental Floss| access-date= January 3, 2017| date=July 7, 2016}}</ref> 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 $50,000 of this per year (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|50000|1957}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}).<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|page=2|date=May 21, 1958|title=Columbia Earns as It Holds Coin Due Bill Holden on 10% of 'Kwai'|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety210-1958-05#page/n147/mode/1up|access-date=January 23, 2021|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref>
[[File:William Holden and Donna Reed hold their gold-plated Oscars, 1954.jpg|right|thumb|With [[Donna Reed]] at the 1954 [[Academy Awards]] show]]
He made another war film for a British director, ''[[The Key (1958 film)|The Key]]'' (1958) with [[Trevor Howard]] and [[Sophia Loren]] for director [[Carol Reed]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Detail view of Movies Page| url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=52624| website=www.afi.com| access-date= January 3, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Longley York| first1=Neil| title=Fiction as Fact: "The Horse Soldiers" and Popular Memory| date=May 2001| publisher=The Kent State University Press| isbn=978-0873386883| page=82| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3GCfNndaXcC&pg=PA82| access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> Columbia would not meet Holden's asking price of $750,000 and 10% of the gross for ''[[The Guns of Navarone (film)|The Guns of Navarone]]'' (1961); the amount he wanted exceeded the combined salaries of stars [[Gregory Peck]], [[David Niven]], and [[Anthony Quinn]].<ref>p. 120 Capua, Michelangelo ''William Holden: A Biography'' McFarland (2016)</ref>

Holden had another hit with ''[[The World of Suzie Wong (film)|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 film)|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 (film)|The Devil's Brigade]]'' (1968). He was also one of many stars in Feldman's ''[[Casino Royale (1967 film)|Casino Royale]]'' (1967).

===''The Wild Bunch''===
[[File:William Holden - 1970s.jpg|thumb|left|Holden in ''[[The Revengers (film)|The Revengers]]'' (1972)]]
In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s graphically violent Western ''[[The Wild Bunch]]'',<ref name=obit /> winning much acclaim. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director [[Terence Young (director)|Terence Young]]'s family film ''[[The Christmas Tree (1969 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.''<ref>Capua 2010, pp. 135–36, 141.</ref> Holden made a Western with [[Ryan O'Neal]] and [[Blake Edwards]], ''[[Wild Rovers]]'' (1971). It was not particularly successful. Neither was ''[[The Revengers (film)|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 (film)|The Blue Knight]]'', based upon the bestselling [[Joseph Wambaugh]] novel of the same name.<ref>{{cite web| title=Nominations Search| url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=William+Holden&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year=1949-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nominations_year_1=2017-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_award_category=All| website=Television Academy| access-date=January 3, 2017| archive-date=January 4, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104090903/http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=William+Holden&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year=1949-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_nominations_year_1=2017-01-01+00%3A00%3A00&field_award_category=All| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=obit />

In 1973, Holden starred with [[Kay Lenz]] in a movie directed by [[Clint Eastwood]] called ''[[Breezy]]'', which was considered a box-office flop.<ref>{{cite web|title='Breezy' (1973): Clint Eastwood's little-known romance|url=http://www.thesamecinemaeverynight.net/breezy-1973-clint-eastwoods-little-known-romance/|website=The Same Cinema Every Night|access-date=January 3, 2017|date=May 24, 2012}}</ref> Also in 1974, Holden starred with [[Paul Newman]] and [[Steve McQueen]] in the critically acclaimed disaster film ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=The Towering Inferno Movie Review (1974) |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-towering-inferno-1974 |website=www.rogerebert.com |access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> 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 film)|Network]]'' (1976),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=Network Movie Review & Film Summary (1976) |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-network-1976|website=www.rogerebert.com |access-date= January 3, 2017}}</ref> 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 film)|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 film)|Ashanti]]'' (1979) and was third-billed in another disaster film, ''[[When Time Ran Out...]]'' (1980), which was a flop.<ref>{{cite web|title=William Holden Gave His All Even "When Time Ran Out..."| url=http://hillplace.blogspot.ca/2013/04/william-holden-when-time-ran-out.html| website=hillplace.blogspot.ca| access-date=January 3, 2017| date=April 18, 2013}}</ref> Holden starred in ''[[The Earthling]]'',<ref>{{cite news| title=Screen: A Final Journey In 'Earthling'| url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F05E5DF1E38F93BA35751C0A967948260| newspaper=The New York Times| last=Canby| first=Vincent| author-link=Vincent Canby| date=February 8, 1981| access-date=January 3, 2017}}</ref> as a loner dying of cancer at the Australian [[outback]] and accompanying an orphan boy ([[Ricky Schroder]]). After his final film [[Blake Edwards|Blake Edwards']] ''[[S.O.B. (film)|S.O.B.]]'', with [[Julie Andrews]], Holden declined to star in [[Jason Miller (playwright)|Jason Miller]]'s film ''[[That Championship Season (1982 film)|That Championship Season]]''.<ref>Capua 2010, pp. 162–63.</ref>