Veteran actor Earl Holliman passes away at the age of 96.
Holliman died on Monday in hospice care at his home in Studio City, California, his partner Craig Curtis confirmed. hollywood reporter Tuesday
The late star made his acting debut in 1953 with a line of dialogue in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy “Scared Stiff.”
Three years later, he starred in the western romance “The Rainmaker” with Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn. He defeated Elvis Presley for the role and won a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
Holliman’s other notable films include “Broken Lance,” “Forbidden Planet,” “Giant,” “Hot Spell,” “Sharkey’s Machine,” and “Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge.”
On television, Holliman appeared in the first episode of “The Twilight Zone” in October 1959. He played the role of a man suffering from amnesia in a deserted town.
In the 70s, Holliman had the recurring role of Lieutenant Bill Crowley on the police drama “Police Woman”. Angie Dickinson was his co-star.
According to THR, in a 2003 interview Holliman said of a specific storyline on the show, “She’d get into trouble and I’d run over and save her.” “I’d make some smart comment and she’d get back to me in some sexy way, and a lot of it was ad-libbed. “We had a kind of tacit permission to do this.”
The NBC series also featured prominent guest stars such as Mark Harmon, Joan Collins, Sam Elliott, William Shatner, Adam West, Barry Williams, Smokey Robinson, Kim and Kyle Richards, and Sandra Dee.
Holliman also starred in the shows “Hotel De Parry,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
He was nominated for a second Golden Globe for his performance in the 1992 sitcom “Delta”.
Holliman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977.
Before becoming an actor, Holliman was raised in Oil City, Louisiana. He served briefly in the US Navy during World War II where he hung out with famous stars at the Hollywood Canteen.
He later studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He was working at North American Aviation when he broke into Paramount and was befriended by a studio executive, who offered him his part in “Scared Stiff”.
Holliman enjoyed a brief career as a singer thanks to a record deal with Capitol Records.
Additionally, Holliman was an animal rights activist and served as president of Actors and Others for Animals for 34 years. He was also honorary president of Toys for Tots.
