William Holden Movies and Career Information

William Holden (April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954, and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974. One of the top stars of the 1950s, he was named one of the "Top 10 stars of the year" six times (1954–1958, 1961) and appeared on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars list as #25. Holden, eldest of three sons (brothers were Robert and Richard), was born as William Franklin Beedle, Jr. in O'Fallon, Illinois, the son of Congregationalist parents Mary Blanche (née Ball), a schoolteacher, and William Franklin Beedle, Sr., an industrial chemist. Growing up Holden was raised in the Methodist church and while some sources cite him as a Congregationalist Holden identified himself as a Methodist throughout his life. The family, which moved to South Pasadena, California when he was three, was of English descent; Holden's paternal great-grandmother, Rebecca Westfield, was born in England in 1817, while some of his mother's ancestors emigrated in the 17th century to Millenback, Lancaster County, Virginia in the U.S. from England. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena