Photo: film studio / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
William Holden remains, for me, one of Hollywood's most quietly magnetic leading men. He could be matinee-handsome, but what draws me in is the shadow underneath, the cynicism and weariness he brought to Stalag 17 and beyond. His military background seems to seep into that grounded, unsentimental presence on screen. Even after his box-office prime he kept stretching, winning an Emmy in television. He died too young at 63, yet the work still crackles. To anyone who dismisses old films, I would point straight at Holden, an actor whose realism still feels startlingly modern today.
Overview
William Franklin Holden (né Beedle; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) 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).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- William Holden
- Name (Japanese)
- ウィリアム・ホールデン
- Reading
- うぃりあむ・ほーるでん
- Born
- April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Horse
- Origin
- O'Fallon, Illinois, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 179 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / television actor / film actor / military personnel / military officer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- South Pasadena High School
- University
- Pasadena City College
Awards & achievements
- 1954 Academy Award for Best Actor
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- 1974 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Television actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.