Earl Holliman

Earl Holliman
Holliman at the National Film Society convention, May 1979
Born	September 11, 1928 (1928-09-11) (age 81) Delhi, Richland Parish, Louisiana, USA
Occupation	Actor

Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American film and television actor.

Biography

Earl Holliman was born at Delhi in Richland Parish of northeastern Louisiana, Holliman’s biological father died before he was born, and his biological mother, living in poverty with several other children, gave him up for adoption at birth. Henry Holliman, an oil-field worker, and his wife adopted Earl and his early years were normal until his adoptive father died when Earl was 13. He saved some money from his job ushering at a movie theater and left Shreveport, Louisiana, hitchhiking his way to Hollywood. Unsuccessful at finding work, he was soon convinced to return to Louisiana. His mother had remarried, and Earl disliked his stepfather,^[1] so he lied about his age and enlisted in the Navy.^[2] He was assigned to a Communications School in Los Angeles and spent all his free time at the Hollywood Canteen, talking to stars who dropped by to support the troops. When, a year after he enlisted, the Navy discharged him for being underage, Holliman went home to finish high school. When he could, he joined the Navy again and was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. While there, he was cast as the lead in several Norfolk Navy Theatre productions.^[2] When Holliman left the Navy, he studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.^[1] He later graduated from UCLA.^[3]

He first appeared in film in 1953's Scared Stiff and three years later won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture for his performance in the 1956 film, The Rainmaker. Among his other notable film appearances were in Giant, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Forbidden Planet, Hot Spell, Visit to a Small Planet,The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Trap, The Big Combo,The Sons of Katie Elder, Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff, Last Train From Gun Hill and Summer and Smoke (film).

In addition to a successful career in films, Holliman became a popular television personality through his roles as Sundance in CBS's Hotel de Paree, with costar Jeanette Nolan, and in the lead role with Andrew Prine in NBC's The Wide Country, a drama about the travails of modern rodeo performers, which aired for twenty-eight episodes in the 1962-1963 season. In 1962, he and Claude Akins guest starred as feuding brothers in "The Stubborn Stumbos" episode of Marilyn Maxwell's ABC drama series, Bus Stop. In 1967, Holliman guest starred on Wayne Maunder's short-lived ABC military-western series Custer. In 1970 and 1971, Holliman made two appearances in the western comedy Alias Smith and Jones starring Pete Duel (né Deuel) and Ben Murphy.

From 1974-1978, he was cast as Lieutenant Bill Crowley opposite Angie Dickinson in the Police Woman series. He also had the distinction of appearing in the first episode of CBS's The Twilight Zone titled "Where is everybody?" which aired on October 2, 1959, also the night of the premiere of Hotel de Paree.

Playbill & autograph of Earl Holliman

He continued to appear in television guest roles throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His most notable role during this period was in the hit mini series The Thorn Birds with Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward. He also took part in the Gunsmoke reunion movie "Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge" in 1987 as Jake Flagg.

He earned a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a television Series" for his acting with Delta Burke in her short-lived 1992 series Delta.

The Fiesta Dinner Playhouse in San Antonio, Texas was owned by Earl Holliman. Roddy McDowell starred in Harvey in October, 1980^[4] and Holliman occasionally performed at his theatre when he wasn’t working in Hollywood. In September, 1983 he starred in Same Time, Next Year with Julie Sommars^[5] The facility closed after 1987.

For his contribution to the television industry, Earl Holliman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Blvd.

Holliman is also known for his work as an animal-rights activist, including more than 25 years as president of Actors and Others for Animals.^[6]

Confusion regarding Anthony Earl Numkena

For a number of years from various references, it was said that the name Anthony Earl Numkena was an alias or an original name of Earl Holliman.

In reality, Earl Holliman never carried the name Anthony Earl Numkena. Anthony Earl Numkena was a Native American child actor, born in 1942 in Culver City, California, who appeared with Earl Holliman in the motion picture Destination Gobi in 1954.^[7] Holliman has been aware of the confusion for more than twenty years when he learned that Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion, a publication of Leslie Halliwell, put the two names together. Subsequently, the error was picked up by television and movie guides and on the Internet. Filmgoer's Companion did not correct the error for six years. In April 2008, Numkena and Holliman spoke via telephone to clear up the matter.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Earl Holliman at the Internet Movie Database
• Earl Holliman Fan website