About 80 years ago, Earl Holliman was helping moviegoers find their seats in a theater in Shreveport, Louisiana.
But his real dream was to be on the big screen.
Facing numerous rejections at auditions, Holliman was often told, “you just don’t look the part.” Determined and undeterred, he headed to the Paramount Studio barber shop to change his appearance.
Learn more about the Golden Globe-winning actor and the haircut that kickstarted his career!
Born in 1928 in Louisiana, Earl Holliman always aspired to be a movie star.
At around 14 years old, he earned 25 cents an hour ushering patrons to their seats at Shreveport’s Strand Theatre.
Saving his earnings, he “saved a few bucks,” and hitchhiked to Hollywood at 15.
“I wore dark sunglasses, thinking that was what Hollywood stars did. On my first day in Hollywood, I walked up and down Grauman’s Chinese Theater, hoping people would wonder who I was,” Holliman, now 95, recalled. “I didn’t last long. I couldn’t find a job and ended up returning home to finish high school.”
Following high school, he served in the navy, which placed him at a radio communications school in Los Angeles.
“Whenever I had shore leave, I’d rush over to the Hollywood Canteen and met people like Roddy McDowall, who I would later work with. Eventually, I was accepted into the Pasadena Playhouse,” said Holliman, who had a small role in the 1953 film Scared Stiff with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.
Despite his determination, Hollywood wasn’t easy on the young actor. He often heard, “you just don’t look the part.”
“I was told that while I was a good actor, I wasn’t handsome enough for leading roles and not quirky enough for character roles. I was in-between,” he recalled.
Determined, Holliman decided to get a makeover to land a role in the 1953 film The Girls of Pleasure Island.
‘Funny-looking haircut’
Discussing his transformation, the star of Forbidden Planet said, “When I sat in the barber’s chair, they cut my hair to about a quarter of an inch. With my big ears, a broken nose, two front teeth, small eyes, and funny-looking haircut, I became a character actor. Just like that.”
Following his makeover, Holliman landed a role in The Girls of Pleasure Island and delivered a Golden Globe-winning performance in 1956’s The Rainmaker, alongside Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster.
“That’s still my favorite film,” Holliman said in a 1991 interview with the Calgary Herald. “It boosted my career to a whole new level.”
Over the subsequent years, Holliman, also successful in music, shared the screen with Hollywood giants such as John Wayne, Dean Martin, Kirk Douglas, and Rock Hudson.
From 1974 to 1978, Holliman starred as Sergeant Bill Crowley in the TV series Police Woman with Angie Dickinson.
Speaking about his chemistry with Dickinson, Holliman said, “She was very sexy, yet had a quality that made you want to protect her. We spent 12 to 14 hours a day together. Angie is very opinionated, and we had our disagreements, but there was a genuine warmth. It looked like two people who adored each other. It was there.”
Holliman made small appearances in series like The Twilight Zone and Delta, and films like Bad City Blues (1999) and The Perfect Tenant (2000). He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977 before retiring from acting.
Animal Advocacy
Since retiring, Holliman has dedicated himself to animal rights advocacy.
The former star, who has cared for a blind possum, injured doves, and mauled cats, loves animals of all kinds.
He even has a soft spot for pigeons.
“I feed at least 500 pigeons a day. My place is like a pigeon McDonald’s,” he said.
For 25 years, Holliman served as president of Actors and Other Animals, an organization supported by many celebrities like the late Betty White, Lily Tomlin, Valerie Bertinelli, and Wendie Malick.
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