William Holden: biography and filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

William Holden is a movie star. The films in which he starred are considered classics of world cinema, and young actors learn from them. This man was famous all over the world not only because of his work in films, but also because of his love affair with Audrey Hepburn, a world-class superstar.

Childhood and youth

William Holden is a pseudonym.

In fact, the boy who was born on 17.04. 1918, parents named William Franklin Beadle, Jr. (he received this name in honor of his father, William Franklin Beadle, Sr.). It was a we althy family in which the mother taught and the father was a chemist. William is the eldest child, in addition to him, two more sons were brought up in the family. At the age of 3, the future movie star and his family change their place of residence: they move to California.

The boy received his education at a high school in South Pasadena. After graduation, he continued his studies at a college in the same city. I studied in college for 2 years.

First filming

During William's youth, the company was very popularParamount Pictures. Its workers, bypassing colleges and schools, were looking for new talents. One of the employees drew attention to a handsome, self-confident young man - it was William Holden. From that moment on, the actor’s biography began to acquire new details, because this fateful meeting led to the fact that a year later an unknown guy began to actively act in films.

The first filming that brought popularity was in the film "Golden Boy". In 1939, Holden immediately became famous. It was noteworthy that he studied the basics of acting right on the set, learning from his senior colleagues. An experienced and famous actress Barbara Stanwyck played a big role in the development of the young talent.

The emergence of a pseudonym

"Holden" - this is the pseudonym the actor took over time. Rumor has it that with the advent of a new name, his career immediately went up, he received public recognition, began to act more actively, as if changing his fate, called for good luck.

Researchers of the actor's biography put forward different versions on the appearance of a pseudonym. The most popular of them says that one of the employees of the company, who took an active part in the promotion of the young actor, had a wife named Gloria Holden. It was in her honor that the young actor named himself Holden.

The Bonds of Hymen

In 1941, actress Ardis Ankerson (pseudonym of Brenda Marshall) and William Holden solemnly married. The personal life of the actor was rich and far from ordinary. Take, for example, the factthat the couple led independent lives. The whole country knew about their intrigues, passions and love affairs. To protect himself from the possible appearance of illegitimate offspring, the actor made himself a vasectomy (male sterilization). However, this marriage lasted 30 years. William Holden became a good stepfather to his wife's daughter from Virginie's first marriage, and 2 sons were born in the marriage: Peter Westfield and Scott Porter (before sterilization).

Love of his life

The fate of two celebrities of the world of cinema, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn, was connected by the film "Sabrina". It was in 1954 that a life-long romance began to spin on the set. The film starred the famous trinity: William Holden, Audrey Hepburn and the legend of that time, the conqueror of women's hearts Humphrey Bogart.

Although according to the plot of the film, Audrey chooses Bogart, in life everything happened the other way around - she preferred Holden.

The situation on the set was tense to the limit, because the famous Bogart was the third wheel, and William Holden and Audrey Hepburn were happy, they did not notice anyone around, they only saw each other. Assistant directors and assistants recall that this couple looked only at each other, and the flame of love between them was visible to everyone.

Holden often fell into depression, drank, but Audrey accepted him for who he was. She turned a blind eye even to the fact that her beloved man is married and has three children. The actress dreamed of becoming a mother, but after sterilization, Holden remained childless. Hebitterly repented of what he had done, but it was not possible to change anything, and Audrey decided to break off relations.

They never stopped loving each other. Audrey will marry several more times, give birth to sons, but at night she will often cry, remembering her hopeless love. And Holden will try to extinguish unrequited passion with frequent changes of sexual partners and alcohol.

In 1960, the actor began dating the French film actress Capukain, they starred together in the film "The Lion". The romantic relationship ended after two years. The reason is Holden's addiction to alcohol.

Starting from 1972 for 9 years, until his death, Stephanie Powers was next to the actor. This actress supported Holden's love for wild animals. After his death, she was the creator of the Wildlife Fund, named after the actor.

Oscar-winning roles

After the film "Golden Boy" William served in the army, then his film career began to develop rapidly.

Billy Wilder, the director who directed Holden in the films Sunset Boulevard and Concentration Camp, had a huge influence on the work of the actor. It was the second film that brought the performer an Oscar for the role of a cynical, evil sergeant.

The next Oscar-winning film in the master's film career was the blockbuster "The Bridge on the River Kwai" by David Lean. One of the last films, after filming, in which the actor was nominated for an Oscar, was the film "Network" by Sidney Lumet.

What do you rememberWilliam Holden? Films with his participation have become classics of world cinema, his name can be seen in the credits of many iconic American films. He played brooding romantics in love and tired men whose meaning of life was nostalgia for the past. The images created by him are deeply psychological, they penetrate the very soul, make you think about the meaning of life. Film critics noted his special male magnetism with a touch of sadness and self-doubt.

William Holden: filmography and awards

The film career began in 1939. The last film was made in 1981. It was the movie "Son of a Bitch". During this period of time, the actor starred in more than 70 films. In addition to Oscar-winning films, the most famous films include: "The Dark Past", "Born Yesterday", "Picnic", "Blue Moon", "Escape from Fort Bravo", the sequel to the film "The Omen".

Wilm Holden's name was in the top ten most famous and beloved actors in America 6 times (these were 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1960). According to the verdict of the American Film Institute, his name is ranked 25th among the "100 Greatest Movie Stars".

In addition to the Academy Award in 1954, he was nominated for the same award in 1957 for Best Actor in the film "Concentration Camp", as the best foreign actor for his role in the film "Picnic", and in 1951 of the year for Best Actor in Sunset Boulevard.

In 1954 he won the Venice Film Festival. For the film "A number for directors" he received a special prizejury. In 1978 he was nominated by the British Academy for Best Actor in the film Network.

Last years of life

A successful film career made Holden not only famous, but also rich. With huge capital, he moved to Switzerland. In this country, the actor was among the first to campaign for the preservation and inviolability of wildlife. He traveled a lot. For a long time he lived in Kenya, this contributed to his active struggle for the preservation of the nature of Africa.

In addition to caring for nature, the master starred in films. He was never able to stop drinking too much alcohol. Even talked about death. He often repeated to his friends that all the preparations for the last hour had long been completed for him. William didn't want any lavish funerals and monuments in the Hollywood Cemetery.

Well, that's it…

William Holden (photo in the article) died unexpectedly for everyone. He planned to shoot in the film "Season of Champions", work on which was being postponed. The actor knew that until 1982 the work on the film was “frozen”, so he moved to Santa Monica.

On November 2, 1981, director Billy Friedkin called the actor. In a telephone conversation, it turned out that Holden was going to Africa to work on another picture. Judging by the speech of the actor, he was pretty drunk. After this conversation, Friedkin tried to reach Holden for a whole week, but to no avail.

Already on November 16, the body of the actor was found in a bloody puddle during the autopsy of his apartment. Because of this, the exact date of William's deathNobody knows Holden. Experts suggest that this happened on November 12, 1981. The position of the body and things in the room indicated the cause of death. Apparently, death occurred due to the fact that the actor could not stand on his feet, and, falling, hit his temple on the table. Napkins found at the scene indicated that he was trying to stop the bleeding, but alcohol intoxication prevented him from not only doing so, but also from calling someone for help. There was an open script near the bottle of vodka on the table…

The actor was not buried. According to his will, the body was burned, the ashes were scattered over the ocean.