Few Hollywood actors have conveyed spiritual and physical pain with the charismatic authority of William Holden. Born William Franklin Beedle, Jr. in O'Fallon, IL, this scion of a wealthy family in the chemical business first registered in films as a clean-cut affably handsome lead in the 1940s and he matured into more rough and tumble roles. Along the way his earnest qualities yielded to cynicism, perhaps most notably for writer-director Billy Wilder in SUNSET BLVD. (1950) and in his Oscar®-winning performance in STALAG 17 (1953). Over the years, the rigors of life and drink re-sculpted his features into an expressive leather that gave testimony to the ravages of the moral ambivalence that had characterized many of his best roles. This quality may have been most eloquently expressed by his central performance as the desperado cowboy Pike in Sam Peckinpah's violent autumnal Western classic, THE WILD BUNCH (1969). Holden became a star with his first substantial feature role as the boxer-violinist in GOLDEN BOY (1939), a part which cast him opposite screen siren Barbara Stanwyck, who would later become his mentor and life-long booster * . Holden was soon getting cast in fairly innocuous roles: the boy-next-door, the quintessential all-American in such films as ARIZONA as the amiable lover of a determined corruption buster Jean Arthur; the idealistic small town hero in OUR TOWN; and a hell-raising Joe College in THOSE WERE THE DAYS (all 1940). He was pitted against Glenn Ford, rivaling for the affections of Claire Trevor, in TEXAS (1941), tried to heat up an ice cool Dorothy Lamour in the musical THE FLEET'S IN (1942), and was a poor boy who gets married in MEET THE STEWARTS (1942). Holden joined the Air Force, fought in WW II and returned to the screen with a more complex personality. He starred in several films which, though unremarkable, were box-office favorites (DEAR RUTH, 1947 and RACHEL AND THE STRANGER, 1948) before being cast against type to play a psycho killer in the low-budget noir THE DARK PAST (also 1948). 1950 proved to be Holden's watershed year: He starred in two career landmarks, BORN YESTERDAYAS Judy Holliday's culture tutor cum lover, and Billy Wilder's SUNSET BLVD., as Norma Desmond's hack screenwriter boyfriend. With the latter portrayal, Holden's screen persona began to move into the darker areas that were further explored in later roles like that of the pessimistic POW suspected of being a Nazi informer, in Wilder's STALAG 17 (1953), a role which garnered Holden an Oscar. Wilder seemed to have a unique understanding of the sleaze potential hiding behind the actor's All-American persona. Holden went on to become a leading box-office star between 1954-58 and reigned as the top-grosser in 1956. Notable roles of this period included playing an ambitious company man in EXECUTIVE SUITE, a ne'er-do-well playboy in Wilder's SABRINA (both 1954), and the drifter who breaks Kim Novak's heart in PICNIC (1955). Holden remained active for nearly three more decades, showing up in a pivotal role in THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957). While many of his 60s credits were routine and worse (e.g. PARIS -- WHEN IT SIZZLES, 1964), the decade also boasted some undeniable triumphs including his portrayal of a double agent in the fine thriller THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR (1962) and a career highlight in Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH. The 70s found Holden in a number of mediocre action and adventure vehicles (TOWERING INFERNO, 1974, ASHANTI, 1979, THE EARTHLING, 1980) as well as a few winners including the highly acclaimed NETWORK (1976), as a conscientious TV executive, and Wilder's sadly underrated FEDORA (1978), as a producer trying to encourage a Garbo-esque star to come out of self-imposed retirement. Fairly late in his career, Holden made his TV debut, winning an Emmy for his work in the detective miniseries about the LA police department THE BLUE KNIGHTS (1973). His final film performance came in Blake Edwards' caustically comic look at Hollywood, S.O.B. (1981). Holden died from an accidental fall in his apartment in 1981. * When Holden, a young actor making his debut opposite Stanwyck in Rouben Mamoulian's 1939 GOLDEN BOY, was about to be fired by the studio, Stanwyck fought for him. Holden publicly credited her with launching his career and often wished that she would be given an Oscar. And when Stanwyck finally did receive her Academy Award, only months after Holden's death, she offered a simple, heartfelt gesture to Holden. She wrapped up her acceptance speech with: "A few years ago, I stood on this stage with William Holden as a presenter. I loved him very much and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar." Raising the statuette as her eyes filled with tears, Stanwyck concluded, "And so tonight, my golden boy, you've got your wish." It was one of the classiest, most affecting moments in Academy Awards-show history.  Nominated for Actor 1950: SUNSET BLVD.  Actor 1953: STALAG 17  Nominated for Actor 1976: NETWORK 3 nominations 1 Award