William Holden

'William Holden' (qv) was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr. in O'Fallon, Illinois, to Mary Blanche (Ball), a schoolteacher, and William Franklin Beedle, Sr., an industrial chemist. He came from a wealthy family (the Beedles) that moved to Pasadena, California, when he was three. In 1937, while studying chemistry at Pasadena Junior College, he was signed to a film contract by Paramount. His first starring role was as a young man torn between the violin and boxing in _Golden Boy (1939)_ (qv). From then on he was typecast as the boy-next-door.After returning from World War II military service, he got two very important roles: Joe Gillis, the gigolo, in _Sunset Blvd. (1950)_ (qv), and the tutor in _Born Yesterday (1950)_ (qv). These were followed by his Oscar-winning role as the cynical sergeant in _Stalag 17 (1953)_ (qv). He stayed popular through the 1950s, appearing in such films as _Picnic (1955)_ (qv). He spent much of his later time as co-owner of the Mount Kenya Safari Club, dividing his time between Africa and Switzerland.::Ed Stephan <[email protected]>