William Holden

 William Holden, born William Franklin Beedle, Jr. (April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981)

Holden was one of the biggest box office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1953 for his role in Stalag 17, and is known for Sabrina, The Country Girl, Golden Boy, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Wild Bunch, and other films. Holden also played a number of sunnier roles in light comedy, such as the handsome architect pursuing virginal Maggie McNamara in the controversial Production Code-breaking The Moon Is Blue (1953) with David Niven, as Judy Holliday's tutor in Born Yesterday (1950), as a playwright captivated by Ginger Rogers' character in Forever Female (1953). He co-starred as Humphrey Bogart's younger brother, a carefree playboy, in Sabrina (1954), played by Audrey Hepburn. In the late 1960's, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah's graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch, winning much acclaim. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young's family film L'Arbre de Noël, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. This film was originally released in the United States as The Christmas Tree and on home video as When Wolves Cry. For television roles in 1974, Holden won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his portrayal of a cynical, tough veteran LAPD street cop in the television film The Blue Knight, based upon the best-selling Joseph Wambaugh novel of the same name. Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno, which became a box office smash and one of the highest grossing films of Holden's career. Two years later he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet's classic Network (1976).

According to the official report, Holden was alone and intoxicated in his apartment on November 12, 1981, when he slipped on a rug, severely injured his forehead on bedside table, and bled to death. It is probable that he may not have realized the severity of the injury and did not summon aid, or was unable to call for help. His body was found four days later.