Tragic Death

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Talented actor William Holden died under strange circumstances on November 12, 1981 at the age of 63. He was found dead in this home in Santa Monica, California having apparently fallen and hitting his head. Holden came into this world as William Franklin Beedle on April 17, 1918 in O’Fallon, Illinois but spent his childhood in southern California. His movie debut came in 1938 in “Prison Farm”. The following year he starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck in “Golden Boy”. During WW II he served in the U.S. Air Force and did his acting in training films. His popularity rose when he co-starred with Gloria Swanson in the classic movie “Sunset Boulevard” which was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. Later on this movie made it on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 best movies of the 20th century. Holden won his first Best Actor award for his portrayal in “Stalag 17” in 1953. Through the 1950 he starred in such well-known movies as “Born Yesterday” with Judy Holliday, “Sabrina” with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart and “The Country Girl” with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly among many others. In later years Holden appeared in a Western “The Wild Bunch” and in “The Towering Inferno” with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. He won his third Best Actor award for his role in the movie “Network” in 1976. In his personal life he was friends with Ronald Reagan and was his best man at his wedding to Nancy Davis in 1952. In 1972 he started a relationship with actress Stephanie Powers, lasting for nine years. When he died she set up the William Holden Wildlife Foundation since they were both very much into animal welfare. His final movie was “S.O.B.” in 1981 which was a satire about Hollywood and the movie business. Holden’s death was tragic and sad. When he was discovered he had supposedly been intoxicated and when he fell he lacerated his forehead and bled to death. His body was cremated and his ashes scattered over the Pacific Ocean. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and one the St. Louis Walk of Fame. He is mentioned in a 1987 song by Suzanne Vega “Tom’s Diner”. In the song someone read a newspaper article about “an actor who died while he was drinking”. Anyone a fan of William Holden and his movies? I am sure you’ll agree the song is nothing to write home about but here it is: