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William Holden 1918 - 1981

William Franklin Holden of Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California United States was born on April 17, 1918 in O'Fallon, St. Clair County, IL, and died at age 63 years old in 1981 at Home 1158 26th St, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, CA. William Holden was buried in 1981 at Cremated and ashes scattered in the Pacific..

William Franklin Holden

William Franklin Beedle Jr. - at birth

Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California United States

April 17, 1918

O'Fallon, St. Clair County, Illinois, United States

1981

Home 1158 26th St, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, 90403, United States

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William Franklin Holden's History: 1918 - 1981

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04/17

1918

Birthday

April 17, 1918

Birthdate

O'Fallon, St. Clair County, Illinois United States

Birthplace

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Early Life & Education

He was a college graduate. That is why he was an officer in WWII.
Military Service

World War II Holden served as a second and then a first lieutenant in the United States Army Air Force during World War II, where he acted in training films for the First Motion Picture Unit, including Reconnaissance Pilot (1943).
Professional Career

William Holden Born William Franklin Beedle Jr. April 17, 1918 O'Fallon, Illinois, U.S. Died November 12, 1981 (aged 63) Santa Monica, California, U.S. Alma mater Pasadena Junior College Occupation Actor Years active 1938–1981 Political party Republican Spouse Brenda Marshall (m. 1941; div. 1971) Partner(s) Stefanie Powers (1972–1981; his death) Children 4 Awards Academy Award for Best Actor (1953) Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor (1974) William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Stalag 17 (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the television miniseries The Blue Knight (1973). Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most critically acclaimed films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), Picnic (1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Wild Bunch (1969), and Network (1976). He was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (1954–1958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. Early Life and Education With Lee J. Cobb (right) in Holden's first starring role in a film, Golden Boy (1939). Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, the son of Mary Blanche Beedle (née Ball), a schoolteacher, and her husband William Franklin Beedle, an industrial chemist. He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle and Richard Porter Beedle. One of his father's grandmothers, Rebecca Westfield, was born in England, while some of his mother's ancestors settled in Virginia's Lancaster County after emigrating from England in the 17th century. His brother Robert ("Bobbie") became a U.S. Navy fighter pilot and was killed in action in World War II over New Ireland, a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific. His family moved to South Pasadena when he was three. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. Paramount Holden appeared uncredited in Prison Farm (1939) and Million Dollar Legs (1939) at Paramount. A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beadle. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress Gloria Holden but carried the torch after the marital rift. Winston was one of those who discovered the Golden Boy newcomer and who renamed him—in honor of his former spouse!" Golden Boy Holden's first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), where he played a violinist-turned-boxer. The film was made for Columbia, which negotiated a sharing agreement with Paramount for Holden's services. Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Barbara Stanwyck was already a film star. She liked Holden and went out of her way to help him succeed, devoting her personal time to coaching and encouraging him, which made them lifelong friends. When she received her Honorary Oscar at the 1982 Academy Awards ceremony, Holden had died in an accidental fall at home just a few months prior. At the end of her acceptance speech, she paid him a personal tribute: "I loved him very much, and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish." Next, he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes (1939), billed below Raft and above Bogart. Back at Paramount, he starred with Bonita Granville in Those Were the Days! (1940) followed by the role of George Gibbs in the film adaptation of Our Town (1940), done for Sol Lesser at United Artists. Columbia put Holden in a Western with Jean Arthur, Arizona (1940), then at Paramount he was in a hugely popular war film, I Wanted Wings (1941) with Ray Milland and Veronica Lake. He did another Western at Columbia, Texas (1941) with Glenn Ford and a musical comedy at Paramount, The Fleet's In (1942) with Eddie Bracken, Dorothy Lamour, and Betty Hutton. He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. Paramount reunited Bracken and him in Young and Willing (1943). World War II Holden served as a second and then a first lieutenant in the United States Army Air Force during World War II, where he acted in training films for the First Motion Picture Unit, including Reconnaissance Pilot (1943). Post-war Holden's first film back from the services was Blaze of Noon (1947), an aviator picture at Paramount directed by John Farrow. He followed it with a romantic comedy, Dear Ruth (1947) and he was one of many cameos in Variety Girl (1947). RKO borrowed him for Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum and Loretta Young. Holden starred in the 20th Century Fox film Apartment for Peggy (1948). At Columbia, he starred in film noirs, The Dark Past (1948), The Man from Colorado (1949), and Father Is a Bachelor (1950). At Paramount, he did another Western, Streets of Laredo (1949). Columbia teamed him with Lucille Ball for Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) and the sequel to Dear Ruth, Dear Wife (1949). Sunset Boulevard with Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950) Holden's career took off again in 1950 when Billy Wilder tapped him to play a down-at-heel screenwriter taken in by a faded silent film actress (Gloria Swanson) in Sunset Boulevard. Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role. Getting the role was a lucky break for Holden, as Montgomery Clift was initially cast but backed out of his contract. Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. He was perfection on- and off-screen." And Wilder commented "Bill was a complex guy, a totally honorable friend. He was a genuine star. Every woman was in love with him." Paramount reunited him with Nancy Olson, one of his Sunset Boulevard costars, in Union Station (1950). Holden had another good break when he was cast as Judy Holliday's love interest in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway hit Born Yesterday (1950). He made two more films with Olson: Force of Arms (1951) at Warner Bros. and Submarine Command (1951) at Paramount. Holden did a sports film at Columbia, Boots Malone (1952), then returned to Paramount for The Turning Point (1952). Stalag 17 and the peak of stardom Holden was reunited with Wilder in Stalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. His acceptance speech at the 26th Academy Awards was one of the shortest in Oscar history: "Thank you. Thank you." His success in Stalag 17 ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom. He made a sex comedy with David Niven for Otto Preminger, The Moon Is Blue (1953), which was a huge hit, in part due to controversy over its content. At Paramount, he was in a comedy with Ginger Rogers that was not particularly popular, Forever Female (1953). A Western at MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) did much better, and the all-star Executive Suite (1954) was a notable success. Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina (1954) Holden made a third film with Wilder, Sabrina (1954), billed beneath Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Holden and Hepburn became romantically involved during the filming, unbeknownst to Wilder: "People on the set told me later that Bill and Audrey were having an affair, and everybody knew. Well, not everybody! I didn't know." The interactions between Bogart, Hepburn, and Holden made shooting less than pleasant, as Bogart had wanted his wife, Lauren Bacall, to play Sabrina. Bogart was not especially friendly toward Hepburn, who had little Hollywood experience, while Holden's reaction was the opposite, wrote biographer Michelangelo Capua. Holden recalls their romance: Before I even met her, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day later, I felt as if we were old friends, and I was rather fiercely protective of her, though not in a possessive way. Their relationship did not last much beyond the completion of the film. Holden, who was at this point dependent on alcohol, said, "I really was in love with Audrey, but she wouldn't marry me." Rumors at the time had it that Hepburn wanted a family, but when Holden told her that he had had a vasectomy and having children was impossible, she moved on. (A few months later, Hepburn met Mel Ferrer, whom she later married and with whom she had a son Sean Hepburn Ferrer.) He took third billing for The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, directed by George Seaton from a play by Clifford Odets. It was a big hit, as was The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), a Korean War drama with Kelly. In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. The golden run at the box office continued with Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a bestselling novel, with Jennifer Jones, and Picnic (1955), as a drifter, in the film adaptation of the William Inge play with Kim Novak. Picnic was his last film under the contract with Columbia. The Bridge on the River Kwai Holden had his most widely recognized role as "Commander" Shears in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness, a huge commercial success. His deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving 10% of the gross, which earned him over $2.5 million. However, Holden stipulated that he should only receive a maximum of $50,000 per year from the film ($482,405 in 2021 dollars He made another war film for a British director, The Key (1958) with Trevor Howard and Sophia Loren for director Carol Reed. He played an American Civil War military surgeon in John Ford's The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, which was a box-office disappointment. Columbia would not meet Holden's asking price of $750,000 and 10% of the gross for The Guns of Navarone (1961); the amount of money Holden asked exceeded the combined salaries of stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn. Holden had another hit with The World of Suzie Wong (1960) with Nancy Kwan, which was shot in Hong Kong. Less popular was Satan Never Sleeps (1961), the last film of Clifton Webb and Leo McCarey; The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), his third film with Seaton; or The Lion (1962), with Trevor Howard and Capucine. The latter was shot in Africa and sparked his fascination with the continent which lasted for the rest of his life. Holden's films continued to struggle at the box office, however: Paris When It Sizzles (1964) with Hepburn was shot in 1962 but given a much-delayed release, The 7th Dawn (1964) with Capucine and Susannah York, a romantic adventure set during the Malayan Emergency produced by Charles K. Feldman, Alvarez Kelly (1966), a Western, and The Devil's Brigade (1968). He was also among many stars in Feldman's Casino Royale (1967). The Wild Bunch Holden in The Revengers (1972) In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch by 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 and French actor Bourvil, 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. Holden made a Western with Ryan O'Neal and Blake Edwards, Wild Rovers (1971). It was not particularly successful. Neither was The Revengers (1972), another Western. 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 bestselling Joseph Wambaugh novel of the same name. In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop. 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), an examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type for which he had become iconic in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. Around this time he also appeared in 21 Hours at Munich (1976). Final roles Holden made a fourth and final film for Wilder with Fedora (1978). He followed it with Damien: Omen II (1978) and had a cameo in Escape to Athena (1978), which co-starred his real-life love interest Stefanie Powers. Holden starred in The Earthling, as a loner dying of cancer at the Australian outback and accompanying an orphan boy (Ricky Schroder). After his final film Blake Edwards' S.O.B., with Julie Andrews, Holden declined to star in Jason Miller's film That Championship Season. Personal life Matron of honor Brenda Marshall (left) and best man William Holden were the only guests at Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan's wedding in 1952. Holden was best man at the wedding of his friend Ronald Reagan to actress Nancy Davis in 1952. Although a registered Republican, he never involved himself in politics. While in Italy in 1966, Holden was responsible for the death of another driver in a drunk-driving incident near Pisa. He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter. Holden maintained a home in Switzerland and also spent much of his time working for wildlife conservation as a managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa. His Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki (founded in 1959) was popular with the international jet set. On a trip to Africa, he fell in love with the wildlife and became increasingly concerned with the animal species that were beginning to decrease in population. With the help of his partners, he created the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. Death According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's autopsy report, Holden bled to death in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, after lacerating his forehead from slipping on a rug while intoxicated and hitting a bedside table. Forensic evidence recovered at the scene suggested that he was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. His body was found four days later. Rumors existed that he was suffering from lung cancer, which Holden had denied at a 1980 press conference. His death certificate makes no mention of cancer. He dictated in his will that the Neptune Society cremate him and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. In accordance with his wishes, no funeral or memorial services were conducted. President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. We were close friends for many years. What do you say about a longtime friend – a sense of personal loss, a fine man. Our friendship never waned." For his contribution to the film industry, Holden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1651 Vine Street. He also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. His death was noted by singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, whose 1987 song "Tom's Diner", about a sequence of events one morning in 1981, included a mention of reading a newspaper article about "an actor who had died while he was drinking." Vega subsequently confirmed that this was a reference to Holden. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1938 Prison Farm Prisoner film debut uncredited Golden Boy Joe Bonaparte Invisible Stripes Tim Taylor 1940 Those Were the Days! P.J. "Petey" Simmons Our Town George Gibbs Arizona Peter Muncie 1941 I Wanted Wings Al Ludlow Texas Dan Thomas 1942 The Fleet's In Casey Kirby The Remarkable Andrew Andrew Long Meet the Stewarts Michael Stewart 1943 Young and Willing Norman Reese 1947 Blaze of Noon Colin McDonald Dear Ruth Lt. William Seacroft Variety Girl himself 1948 Rachel and the Stranger Big Davey Apartment for Peggy Jason Taylor The Dark Past Al Walker The Man from Colorado Del Stewart 1949 Streets of Laredo Jim Dawkins Miss Grant Takes Richmond Dick Richmond Dear Wife Bill Seacroft 1950 Father Is a Bachelor Johnny Rutledge Sunset Boulevard Joe Gillis Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor Union Station Lt. William Calhoun Born Yesterday Paul Verrall 1951 Force of Arms Sgt. Joe "Pete" Peterson Submarine Command LCDR Ken White 1952 Boots Malone Boots Malone The Turning Point Jerry McKibbon 1953 Stalag 17 Sgt. J.J. Sefton Won - Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated – New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The Moon Is Blue Donald Gresham Forever Female Stanley Krown Escape from Fort Bravo Capt. Roper 1954 Executive Suite McDonald Walling Venice Film Festival Special Award for Ensemble Acting Sabrina David Larrabee The Bridges at Toko-Ri LT Harry Brubaker, USNR The Country Girl Bernie Dodd 1955 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing Mark Elliott Picnic Hal Carter Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor 1956 The Proud and Profane Lt. Col. Colin Black Toward the Unknown Maj. Lincoln Bond 1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai Cmdr. Shears 1958 The Key Capt. David Ross 1959 The Horse Soldiers Major Henry Kendall 1960 The World of Suzie Wong Robert Lomax Nominated – Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance 1962 Satan Never Sleeps Father O'Banion The Counterfeit Traitor Eric Erickson The Lion Robert Hayward 1964 Paris When It Sizzles Richard Benson/Rick shot in 1962, given delayed release The 7th Dawn Major Ferris 1966 Alvarez Kelly Alvarez Kelly 1967 Casino Royale Ransome cameo role 1968 The Devil's Brigade Lt. Col. Robert T. Frederick 1969 The Wild Bunch Pike Bishop The Christmas Tree Laurent Ségur 1971 Wild Rovers Ross Bodine 1972 The Revengers John Benedict 1973 Breezy Frank Harmon 1974 Open Season Hal Wolkowski cameo role The Towering Inferno Jim Duncan 1976 Network Max Schumacher Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated – National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor 1978 Fedora Barry "Dutch" Detweiler Damien: Omen II Richard Thorn 1979 Escape to Athena Prisoner smoking a cigar in prison camp uncredited Ashanti Jim Sandell 1980 When Time Ran Out Shelby Gilmore The Earthling Patrick Foley 1981 S.O.B. Tim Culley final film role 1986 Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown Charlie Brown archive audio recordings Television Year Title Role Notes 1955 Lux Video Theatre Intermission Guest episode: "Love Letters" 1955 I Love Lucy Himself episode: "L.A. at Last!" 1956 The Jack Benny Program Himself episode: "William Holden/Frances Bergen Show" 1973 The Blue Knight Bumper Morgan Television film Won - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie 1976 21 Hours at Munich Chief of Police Manfred Schreiber Television film Radio Year Program Episode/source 1940 Lux Radio Theatre Our Town 1942 I Wanted Wings 1945 Christmas Holiday 1946 Miss Susie Slagle's 1948 Dear Ruth 1949 Apartment for Peggy Dear Ruth 1951 Dear Wife Love Letters Sunset Boulevard The Men 1952 Union Station Submarine Command Hollywood Star Playhouse The Joyful Beggar 1953 Lux Radio Theatre Appointment with Danger Lux Summer Theatre High Tor
Personal Life & Family

Marriage and relationships Holden had a daughter born in 1937 from his relationship with actress Eva May Hoffman.[42] Holden was married to actress Brenda Marshall from 1941 until their divorce in 1971.[3] They had two sons, Peter and Scott. [43][citation needed] Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. The two starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964). They reportedly began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden's alcoholism.[44] Capucine and Holden remained friends until his death in 1981. In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers and sparked her interest in animal welfare.[45] After his death, Powers set up the William Holden Wildlife Foundation at Holden's Mount Kenya Game Ranch.[46]
1981

Death

1981

Death date

Fell while drunk and bled to death.

Cause of death

Home 1158 26th St, in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California 90403, United States
Death location

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1981

Gravesite & Burial

1981

Funeral date
Cremated and ashes scattered in the Pacific.
Burial location
Obituary

WILLIAM HOLDEN DEAD AT 63 WILLIAM HOLDEN DEAD AT 63; WON OSCAR FOR 'STALAG 17' By Linda Charlton Nov. 17, 1981 5 min read Credit...The New York Times Archives See the article in its original context from November 17, 1981, Section B, Page 10Buy Reprints View on timesmachine TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. William Holden, the film star who won an Oscar in 1953 for his role in ''Stalag 17'' and who represented the manly, straightforward, romantic figure during a career of more than 40 years, was found dead yesterday in his apartment in Santa Monica, Calif. Mr. Holden, who was 63 years old, was found by an apartment manager. The police said he had apparently died of natural causes and had been dead for possibly two or three days. His permanent home was in Palm Springs but he maintained an apartment in Santa Monica. His performance as Gloria Swanson's ill-fated lover in ''Sunset Boulevard'' in 1950 was perhaps his best known; it won him a second Oscar nomination. His role in ''Network '' in 1976 won him a third. His most recent movie was ''S.O.B.,'' a farce, in which Vincent Canby, reviewing the film in The New York Times, said he was ''especially fine.'' The movie was released last July. Mr. Holden was for many years a sort of grownup boy-next-door type, but his acting developed a fine cynical edge in such films as ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' and ''Sunset Boulevard'' as well as ''Stalag 17.'' 'I'm Not a Classic Actor' ''I'm a pretty fair interpreter of a certain kind of contemporary character,'' he said in an interview in The Times in 1976. ''I'm not a classic actor, dealing in tragedy. Most actors have a specific corridor, and within the limits of that corridor they travel the course of their career. ''For me, acting is not an all-consuming thing, except for the moment when I am actually doing it. There is a point beyond acting, a point where living becomes important. When you're making a movie, you get up in the morning and you put on a cloak; you create emotions within yourself, send gastric juices rushing up against the lining of your stomach. It has to be manufactured.'' Did you know you can share 10 gift articles a month, even with nonsubscribers? Share this article. Indeed, there was a seven-year period in the late 1950's and early 60's when Mr. Holden made no movies in Hollywood; he moved abroad to Switzerland, Hong Kong and Kenya. He became a conservationist and a founder of the Mount Kenya Safari Club. He invested in hotels in Africa, where he said he was happiest. However, he did return to Hollywood in 1965 to make ''Alvarez Kelly.'' The actor, whose original name was William Franklin Beedle Jr., was born April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Ill. His father was a chemist and his mother a teacher. The family moved to California when he was very young, and he attended public schools in Monrovia and Pasadena. At junior college he took a course in radio drama, and made his first stage appearance at the Playhouse Theater. A talent scout, impressed by his performance in the role of Madame Curie's grandfather, persuaded Paramount to give him a small part in ''Million Dollar Legs'' in 1939. It was then that he took the name William Holden, which he made his legal name in 1943. Title Role in 'Golden Boy' It was also in 1939 that he had his first major role - and the title role - in ''Golden Boy,'' opposite Barbara Stanwyck. Mr. Holden's performance established him immediately as star. From then on, he made more than 50 movies; most but not all were successful, and he tried to set certain standards both for himself and for the movies in which he agreed to appear. He was handsome but not in a classic matinee-idol style; he was the decent average man, only a bit better than average. He became one of the most popular male movie stars ever, respected by the critics and by directors. The director Billy Wilder said that he was ''the best movie actor of his generation.'' Editors’ Picks ‘Like a Romance’: Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht’s Spring Fling Onstage Japan Has Millions of Empty Houses. Want to Buy One for $25,000? As Presenters Cut Back on Streams, Some Disabled Arts Lovers Feel Left Out Continue reading the main story Eight months after his marriage to the actress Brenda Marshall in 1941, Mr. Holden enlisted in the Army Air Forces; he served more than three years. After his discharge, there was a 17-month hiatus when he had no parts, but he then appeared in 13 movies in three years. His roles were varied, moving him out of what he called, with dislike, his ''Smiling Jim'' slot. They included a psycopathic gangster in ''The Dark Past'' in 1948 and, in 1950, the young writer who becomes the emotional property of an aging actress in ''Sunset Boulevard.'' The Times wrote then that he was ''doing the finest acting of his career.'' Mr. Holden also had the gift of a light touch, which was displayed in such films as ''Born Yesterday'' and ''The Moon Is Blue.'' The role in ''Stalag 17'' for which he won the Oscar was that of a cynical, hard-bitten prisoner of war who inevitably becomes a hero. Symbol of Normality For many years Mr. Holden was also an offscreen symbol of normality in Hollywood - the nice guy with a long marriage to one woman, the solid citizen with two children who enjoyed working around his home. He was regarded as cooperative with the press and with the studios where he worked, although he was on occasion suspended for refusing scripts he believed to be below his standards. A sort of wholesome charm was his trademark, but in later years his roles - such as that of Pike Bishop, an outlaw, in the violent film ''The Wild Bunch'' - acquired a new, hard-bitten dimension. Mr. Holden also became a much more private person, refusing in interviews to talk about his politics, his family, or why he lived abroad when he did. He said in 1971 that he had always resented the ''ground rules of 30 years ago, when you did anything to get your name in the paper with Hedda Hopper or Louella Parsons.'' Mr. Holden was separated in 1963 from his wife, with whom he had two sons, Peter and Scott; they were later divorced. In recent years, Mr. Holden's frequent companion was the actress Stefanie Powers. His most notable movies included ''Our Town'' (1940); ''Apartment for Peggy'' (1948); ''Union Station'' (1950); ''Executive Suite'' (1954); ''Sabrina'' (1954); ''The Country Girl'' (1954); ''The Bridges at Toko-Ri'' (1955); ''Love is a Many-Splendored Thing'' (1955); ''Picnic'' (1956); ''The Key'' (1958) and ''The World of Suzie Wong (1960). He also starred in the television mini-series ''The Blue Knight,'' about police officers, and in a television movie, ''21 Hours at Munich.'' ----- WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -President Reagan expressed shock today over the death of Mr. Holden, who was the best man at his wedding to Nancy Davis. Deputy press secretary Larry Speakes quoted the President as saying: ''I have a great feeling of grief. We were close friends for many years. What do you say about a longtime friend - a sense of personal loss, a fine man. Our friendship never waned.''

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William Holden lived 10 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 62.

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