Earl Holliman Biography

Fast Facts

• An animal-rights activist, he served as the president of Actors and Others for Animals for 25 years
• Won a Bronze Wrangler at the 1966 Western Heritage Awards for "The Sons of Katie Elder․"
• Studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles
• When his first attempt at stardom didn't pan out, he lied about his age and joined the United States Navy during World War II, then reenlisted at the legal age and was stationed in Norfolk, Va
• When he was a teenager, he hitchhiked from his home in Louisiana to Hollywood in the hopes of becoming a star
• Quote: "Ever since I was 6 years old, I always told people I wanted to be an actor․"
• Quote: "I can remember fitting my shoes into the footprints at Grauman's Chinese and walking down Hollywood Boulevard․ I wore dark glasses, and I hoped people would think I was an actor․"
• Finally found fame in 1956 when he appeared in both "Giant" and "The Rainmaker․"
• Appeared in many popular dramatic television anthologies in the 1950s
• Owned and occasionally performed at the Fiesta Dinner Playhouse in San Antonio