William Holden: biography and filmography

William Holden is a star of the cinema. The films in which he was shot are considered classics of world cinema, young actors are learning from them. This man was known to the whole world not only because of his work in films, but also thanks to a 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 April 17. 1918, his parents were named William Franklin Biddle Jr. (he received this name in honor of his father - William Franklin Biddle elder). It was a well-to-do family in which the mother taught and the father was a chemist. William - the oldest child, besides him in the family were brought up two more sons. At the age of 3 years the future movie star with his family changes his place of residence: he moves to California.

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

First Shooting

In the time of William's youth, Paramount Pictures was very popular. Her employees, bypassing colleges and schools, were looking for new talents. One of the employees drew attention to a handsome, confident young man - it was William Holden. The biography of the actor just from that moment began to acquire new details, because this fateful meeting led to the fact that a year later an unknown guy began actively to act in films.

The first shootings that brought popularity, were in the picture "Golden Boy". In 1939, Holden immediately became famous. It was noteworthy that he learned the basics of actor's skill right on the set, taking the experience from his older colleagues. An important role in the formation of young talent played an experienced and well-known actress Barbara Stanwyck.

Appearance of a nickname

"Holden" - it was this pseudonym that the actor took over himself in time. It is rumored that with the advent of a new surname, his career immediately went up, he received public recognition, began to withdraw more actively, as if he changed his destiny, called good luck.

Researchers biographies of the actor put forward different versions on the appearance of the pseudonym. The most popular of them says that one of the employees of the company, who took an active part in promoting the young actor, his wife was Gloria Holden. Here in her honor the young actor called himself Holden.

The Hymen's Ties

In 1941, by marriage, the actress Ardis Ankerson (the pseudonym of Brenda Marshall) and William Holden solemnly combined. The personal life of the actor was intense and far from ordinary. Take, for example, the fact that the spouses had an independent life from each other. The whole country knew about their intrigues, passions and romance novels. To protect themselves from the possible appearance of extramarital offspring, the actor made himself a vasectomy (male sterilization). Nevertheless, this marriage lasted 30 years. William Holden became a good stepfather for the daughter of his wife from the first marriage of Virgine, and also two sons were born in marriage: Peter Westfield and Scott Porter (before sterilization).

Love of his life

The fate of two celebrities in the world of cinema William Holden and Audrey Hepburn connected the film "Sabrina". It was in 1954 on the set of the novel was twisted into a lifetime. In the film, the famous trio was shot: William Holden, Audrey Hepburn and the legend of the time, the conqueror of women's hearts, Humphrey Bogart. Although 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 heated to the limit, because the famous Bogart was the third superfluous, and William Holden and Audrey Hepburn were happy, they did not notice anyone around, they saw only each other. Assistant directors and assistants remember that this couple looked only at each other, and the flaming flame of love between them was noticeable for everyone.

Holden often became depressed, drank, but Audrey accepted him as he was. She even turned a blind eye 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. He bitterly repented of what he had done, but nothing could be changed already, and Audrey decided to sever relations.

They could not stop 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 by frequent changes of sexual partners and alcohol.

In 1960, the actor began to meet with the French film actress Capuchin, they were together in the film "The Lion". Romantic relations ceased after two years. The reason is Holden's painful addiction to alcohol.

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

Oscar-winning roles

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

A huge influence on the work of the actor was Billy Wilder, the director who shot Holden in the films "Sunset Boulevard" and "Concentration camp." It was the second film that brought the "Oscar" to the performer for the role of a cynical, evil sergeant.

The next Oscar-winning film in the film career of the master was a blockbuster "Bridge over the River Kwai" by David Lyn. One of the last films, after filming in which the actor was nominated for an Oscar, was the movie "TV Network" by Sidney Lumet.

What did William Holden remember? Films with his participation became classics of the world cinema, his name can be seen in the credits of many iconic American films. He played pensive lovers of romance and tired men, whose meaning of life was nostalgia for the past. The images created by him are deeply psychological, they penetrate into the very soul, they make you think about the meaning of life. The critics noted his special male magnetism with a note of sadness and self-doubt.

William Holden: Filmography and Awards

The film career began in 1939. The last film was shot in 1981. It was the movie "Son of a bitch". Over 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", sequel to the film "Omen".

The name of William Holden 6 times fell into the top ten most famous and favorite actors of America (these were 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1960). According to the verdict of the American Institute of Cinematography, his name occupies the 25th position among the "100 greatest movie stars".

In addition to the Oscar in 1954, he was nominated for the best male role in the Concentration Camp for the same prize in 1957 as the best foreign actor for his role in the film Picnic, and in 1951 for Best Actor In the movie "Sunset Boulevard".

In 1954 he became the winner of the Venetian Film Festival. For the film "Room for Directors" he received a special jury prize. In 1978, he was nominated by the British Academy for Best Actor in the film "TV Network".

last years of life

Successful film career made Holden not only famous, but also rich. Having huge capitals, he moved to Switzerland. In this country, the actor was among the first to engage in agitation of 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 was shot in movies. He could not get involved with excessive drinking. Even talked about death. To his friends, he often repeated that all preparations for the last hour he had long finished. William did not want any lavish funeral and monuments in the Hollywood cemetery.

That's it…

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

On November 2, 1981, the director of the film, Billy Fridkin, telephoned 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 Frýdkin spent a week trying to reach Holden, but without success.

Already on November 16, the body of the actor was found in a bloody puddle at the opening of his apartment. Because of this exact date of the death of William Holden, no one knows. Specialists suggest that this happened on November 12, 1981. The cause of death was indicated by the position of the body and things in the room. Apparently, the death was 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 alcoholic intoxication prevented him not only to do this, but also to call someone to help. Near the bottle of vodka on the table lay an open scenario ...

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