how old was william holden in sunset boulevard

In addition to starring in "Queen Kelly", Swanson also produced it, and fired von Stroheim when he had already gone over the budget by more than double, and with no end to filming in sight. Billy Wilder's 1978 Flop Fedora is less a worthy follow up to Sunset Boulevard than a sorry footnote. It was largely from his association with Wilder that Holden would enjoy the greatest acting successes of his career in the 1950s. [45], 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. Norma Desmond: I *am* big. Winston was one of those who discovered the Golden Boy newcomer and who renamed himin honor of his former spouse!"[3]. For added meta-truthfulness, Wilder wanted to have that film's lead actress, Hedy Lamarr, be there too, so that DeMille could ask her to let Norma sit in her chair (you know, those behind-the-scenes chairs that have the star's name on them). As this film opens, William Holden's character Joe Gillis describes himself as a Hollywood screenwriter "living in an apartment house above Ivar Street." [22] The golden run at the box office continued with Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a best-selling novel, with Jennifer Jones, and Picnic (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of the William Inge play with Kim Novak. Suratt believed that DeMille's epic, "The King of Kings" (released in 1927) was based on her screenplay and filed a $1,000,000 plagiarism suit which was settled out of court in 1930. These actors were bigger than life. Norma Desmond says that she paid $28,000 for the Isotta-Fraschini car in 1929. But like so many of the female actors of the era, Holden soon realized it was his physical attributes and not his acting ability that the studio cared about. Joe Gillis' typewriter is a portable manual Remington Rand Noiseless Model 7. It has to be an opera. To publicize the film, Paramount sent Gloria Swanson on a cross-country tour, paying her $1,000 a week for her services. Holden starred in the 20th Century Fox film Apartment for Peggy (1948). Director Cecil B. DeMille, a pioneer of silent Hollywood who was still a top director when "Sunset Boulevard" was shot in 1949, also famously played himself. [4] They had two sons, Peter and Scott. director of photography Film Editing by Arthur P. Schmidt . "[4], For his contribution to the film industry, Holden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1651 Vine Street. taste bar and kitchen missouri city. The film and actors was excellent and lived up to our expectations. Gloria Swanson played her final descent on the staircase barefoot, as she was terrified of tripping in high heels. Perry, George & Andrew Lloyd Webber (1993). On the advice of Libby Holman, Montgomery Clift, who had signed to play the part of Joe Gillis, broke his contract just two weeks prior to the start of shooting. For this Lamarr wanted $25,000 (which would be about $250,000 in 2015 dollars). Holden was best man at the wedding of his friend Ronald Reagan to actress Nancy Davis in 1952. She puts on a show playing a Max Sennett bathing girl and Charlie Chaplins Tramp character, though Maxs bad timing is a little too on the nose. Dont bother with a rewrite, man, take it direct! Co-writer D.M. It said so on the chart from her astrologer, who read DeMilles horoscope. Two years later, he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet's classic Network (1976),[34] 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. Holman was 16 years older than him and was afraid people would think the movie was a parody of their relationship. Gloria Swanson became so identified with the demanding, irascible Norma that later generations of fans were startled to discover her serene, easy-going, naturalist personality in real life. ", The scene of Max playing Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" at the organ might well have been an inspiration for Lurch at the harpsichord in the TV series "The Addams Family.". As far as being a forgotten star, past her prime, Norma is only 50 in the movie, Swanson was 53 when she made it and was herself very busy on the then-new medium of television. Billy Wilder's sixth film in a row for Paramount Pictures. He worked on dramas like The Key (1958), Westerns like John Fords The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, and comedies like The Moon is Blue which so famously challenged the Production Code in 1953 that Hawkeye and BJ insisted it get shown at M*A*S*H 4077 to break the monotony of the Korean War. The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" was voted the #7 movie quote by the American Film Institute. This dynamic served them well for years, each man's extreme tendencies being balanced by the other's, but during Sunset Boulevard it finally became unworkable. To everyone's surprise, Judy Holliday won the Best Actress Oscar in 1951 for Born Yesterday (1950), beating Gloria Swanson in this film, and Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950). According to Cameron Crowe, who shadowed Billy Wilder in his twilight years, a typical day in his office would consist of him answering numerous phone calls from people requesting to remake this film, and he would inform them that he didn't own the rights and promptly hang up. In the movie, an aide tells Cecil B. DeMille "Gordon Cole has been trying to reach you". You murdered me. This indicates that he is smoking filterless cigarettes, which was the norm for that era until filters became the standard after the mid-'50s. The next decade saw Holden's career flourish. In a scene described by director Billy Wilder as one of the best he'd ever shot, the body of Joe Gillis is rolled into the morgue to join three dozen other corpses, some of whom--in voice-over--tell Gillis how they died. If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. You see, this is my life, she promised. 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). The murder made it to the late editions, radio, and television because one of the biggest old-time stars was involved. (1940) followed by the role of George Gibbs in the film adaptation of Our Town (1940), done for Sol Lesser at United Artists.[8]. This makes her the youngest of the cast members, excluding any extras. Gloria Swanson was paid $50,000 plus $5,000 per week for any time over schedule. The actor's second major breakthrough occurred when Wilder cast him in the lead of the. Neither did Toward the Unknown (1957), the one film Holden produced himself. Norma is Scorpio, and Mars had been transiting Jupiter for weeks and that was the day of greatest conjunction. Despite the 19 year gap in their ages, Holden and Swanson died just 2 years apart from each other- Holden in 1981 at age 63 and Swanson in 1983 at age 84. Hedda Hopper: at the top of the stairwell as Norma descends toward the cameras. An inventory of his prospects added up to exactly zero. But along with the accolades came a dependence on alcohol that would play a major role in his tragic end. - 65th Anniversary (25) Film Noir Through the Years (3) Movies Set in Hollywood (3) Our Favorite Male-Female Duos (1) The History of Golden Globe Winners for Best Actor and Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (1) Our Favorite Stills From "The Movies" (1) Movies About Movies (1) 77 Years of Golden Globes Best Picture Winners (1) Gillis: "No, swimming pool." Every time I go to L.A., which isn't too often, I look at these palm-bemused, once smart stucco facades, and wonder if a Norma Desmond from a later era might be hiding from the world inside them, buttressed by cable TV (AMC or TCM, no doubt), a poodle named FiFi or Sir Francis, walk-in closets full of leopard-print Capri pants that haven't fit in decades, and a world class liquor cabinet that has seen heads of state under the table on a good night. Holden never lost his stride as cinema changed. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's 17th and final screenplay collaboration. Although Sheldrake's musings on a film about the story of a female baseball player was seen as humorous, the movie "A League of Their Own" would do just that 42 years later. but Holden's wife, Ardis (Brenda Marshall), who happened to be on set that day. All of the silent film stars mentioned by Norma, Joe, Betty and Max were either dead or no longer active in films by 1950. Wilder won the argument and privately told friends that he would not be making any more films with Brackett. The other line, "I am big! Norma wound up sitting in Mr. DeMilles chair. The 2014 book by William J. Mann, Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood, names Ross Blackie Madsen Sheridan as the killer, based on a death bed confession from actress Margaret Gibson, who beat a 1917 rap on prostitution and opium dealing. Hollywood was known for its excesses long before Michael Jackson hit town. "Waxwork" Buster Keaton was in reality an excellent bridge player, always in demand at Hollywood bridge parties. It always will be! Every character is jaded, except the oldest players. Taylor had $78 in his wallet, a silver cigarette case, a Waltham pocket watch, and a two-carat diamond ring on his finger when his body was found, so cops quickly ruled out robbery as the motive. Normands career never recovered after word of her addiction leaked out and she died of tuberculosis on Feb. 23, 1930. When filming began, William Holden was 31 and Gloria Swanson was 50, the same stated age as her character. Fat Man: "You were murdered?" Still, whatever hard feelings there may have been between Swanson and von Stroheim, they were gone by the time Sunset Boulevard came along. To get around the restrictions of the Breen Code, the script was submitted piecemeal, several pages at a time. Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, son of Mary Blanche Beedle (ne Ball), a schoolteacher, and her husband William Franklin Beedle, an industrial chemist. His characters were always angling for something, whether it was silk stockings in a POW Camp in Stalag 17 from 1953, which won him a Best Actor Oscar, or to clear impersonation charges in in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness. 12 Sep. WILLIAM HOLDEN: At some point, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) played at The Silver Screen. Was Oscar-nominated in all the major categories--Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Screenplay--but only won in the last category. He just didnt have what it takes. This ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom. )[19], 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. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden Grunge 2.14M subscribers Subscribe 486 18K views 3 weeks ago #Actor #Hollywood #SunsetBoulevard While Actor William Holden. Joe Gillis: Wait a minute, haven't I seen you before? (he'd already gotten the shot he needed on the first take). Microphones would catch the last gurgles, and Technicolor would photograph the red, swollen tongues. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first time American audiences saw it. Joe could have slept with Norma and loved Betty, and owned the pool that would be his final resting place. preppy-3 15 March 2008. No one wants to get caught by surprise anymore. (1949), and "Father Is a Bachelor" (1950). So Wilder gave up, and DeMille (who was already being compensated) gave Norma his own chair.. For the clip of the vintage film that Norma was watching Paramount couldn't find anything suitable so Gloria provided it from her own collection. The exterior shots were of a house located not on Sunset but Irving Boulevard, near the corner of Wilshire, owned by the J. Paul Getty family. Now I had two favorite movies - aside from "Gone With The Wind" of course - both from 1950, "Sunset Boulevard" and "All . Sunset Boulevard English audio Gloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness,. "Variety" ran a front-page review, and this led to a belated release of Swanson's version in 1957 (the year of Stroheim's death). "I knew he was off the wagon," she recalled in her memoir "One from the Hart." Betty is engaged to be married to Jack Webbs character, Arthur Artie Green, who is such a good buddy to Joe that he offers to put him up on the couch for a few weeks. This was the actual set of Samson and Delilah (1949), which de Mille was making at the time. At the time this movie was made, the incident was still quite recent. Words are as good as sex to two writers. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. A new 4K high-definition scan was done in 2008 for the film's release on Blu-ray disc. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first American audiences had seen of it. She reportedly told Clift shed kill herself if he made the movie. Schwab's was torn down in 1988 to make way for a movie theater and a shopping center. For the first industry screening, Paramount executives invited several silent-film stars. When Norma visits DeMille at Paramount, he's in the midst of shooting Samson and Delilah, which really is what he was up to at the time. True to character, Von Stroheim refused to leave Paris to attend the Academy Awards ceremony, and declared that his nomination for best supporting actor should've been for best actor. Holden did a sports film at Columbia, Boots Malone (1952), then returned to Paramount for The Turning Point (1952). Born William Beedle Jr. on April 17, 1918, he was 21 when he got his first starring role as the classical fiddle playing boxer in Golden Boy in 1939. Set non-holiday all-time house record of $166,000 at New York's Radio City Music Hall when it opened.

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