Sterling Holloway

Infobox actor
bgcolour = silver
name = Sterling Holloway


birthname = Sterling Price Holloway Jr.
birthdate = birth date|1905|1|14|mf=y
deathdate = death date and age|1992|11|22|1905|1|4|mf=y
yearsactive = 1926 to 1989

Sterling Price Holloway, Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was largely a character actor, appearing in 150 films and television shows, and a long-standing voice actor for the Walt Disney Studios.

Biography

Early life

Holloway was named after Confederate General Sterling "Pap" Price. He was born in Cedartown, Georgia in 1905, where his father Sterling Price Holloway Sr. was prominent and prosperous, owning a grocery store and serving as mayor in 1912. After attending the Georgia Military Academy in College Park, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Holloway made his way through the Theater Guild to appear in the first joint venture of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, "Garrick Gaieties", a series of 1920s revues. With his light tenor voice, young Holloway made a foray into a professional singing. He introduced the Rodgers and Hart standard "I'll Take Manhattan" in 1925, and in the 1926 edition of "Garrick Gaieties", he introduced their "Mountain Greenery" ("... where God paints the scenery").

Career

In 1926, the 5 foot 9 inch (1.77m), 124 lb Holloway moved to Hollywood to a movie career of almost 50 years. He worked with Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Lon Chaney Jr, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby, David Carradine. Though he was a busy movie character actor and an athletic dancer, he soon found his niche as a voice actor. Holloway served in World War II as a member of the Army's Special Services unit. He produced a show for servicemen and toured with it near the front lines in North Africa and Italy.

In 1941, he was heard in "Dumbo", as the voice of "Mr. Stork." Walt Disney earlier wanted Holloway to play Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but storyman Pinto Colvig got the job. He was the voice of the adult "Flower" in "Bambi", the narrator of the Antarctic penguin sequence in "The Three Caballeros", the narrator in the "Peter and the Wolf" sequence of "Make Mine Music". He voiced Kaa in "The Jungle Book", Roquefort the mouse in "The Aristocats", and the Cheshire cat in "Alice in Wonderland". His Disney Winnie-the-Pooh featurettes are well known. Disney honored him as an Disney legend in 1991. His last narrating credit was the ""Moonlighting"" episode "Atomic Shakespeare". His last film credit was for the movie Thunder and Lightning. Holloway played the role of Hobe Carpenter, a friendly moonshiner who gets help from Harley Thomas (David Carradine).

Radio and recordings

As a radio actor, he was heard on such shows as "The Railroad Hour", "The United States Steel Hour", "Suspense" and "Lux Radio Theater". With a distinctive voice, he narrated numerous children's records, such as "Uncle Remus Stories" (Decca), "Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes" (Disneyland Records) and "Peter and the Wolf" (RCA Victor).

Television

Sterling Holloway's career as a character actor, his memorably comic face, tousled sandy hair and squeaky voice, made the transition to television. He had a recurring role as Uncle Oscar, an eccentric inventor in the "Adventures of Superman" series, and had a recurring role on "The Life of Riley". He guest starred in such TV shows as "Circus Boy" as a hot air balloonist, "The Untouchables", "Hazel", "The Twilight Zone", "Gilligan's Island", "The Andy Griffith Show", "F-Troop", and "Moonlighting" (his final appearance on film, narrating a Shakespeare-themed episode).

Later years

Little is known about Holloway's personal life except that he adopted a son, Richard, who became a producer. He once admitted to being very stubborn. During his final years, he purchased a house in Los Angeles, where he amassed a major collection of contemporary art about which he sometimes lectured. Holloway was 87 when he died of cardiac arrest November 22, 1992 at a Los Angeles hospital. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean. A street in Hollywood was named after Holloway in the 1980s.

Filmography

Feature-Length

*"American Madness" (1932)
*"Blonde Venus" (1932)
*"Faithless" (1932)
*"Rockabye" (1932)
*"Lawyer Man" (1932)
*"Hard to Handle" (1933)
*"Blondie Johnson" (1933)
*"Fast Workers" (1933)
*"Hell Below" (1933)
*"Elmer The Great" (1933)
*"Picture Snatcher" (1933)
*"Adorable" (1933)
*"International House" (1933)
*"Gold Diggers of 1933" (1933)
*"Professional Sweetheart" (1933)
*"When Ladies Meet" (1933)
*"Wild Boys of The Road" (1933)
*"Dancing Lady" (1933)
*"Advice To The Lovelorn" (1933)
*"Going Hollywood" (1933)
*"Alice in Wonderland" (1933)
*"Tomorrow's Children" (1934)
*"The Cat & The Fiddle" (1934)
*"Strictly Dynamite" (1934)
*"Operator 13" (1934)
*"Murder In The Private Car" (1934)
*"The Back Page" (1934)
*"Down To Their Last Yacht" (1934)
*"Gift of Gab" (1934)
*"The Merry Widow" (1934)
*"Girl o' My Dreams" (1934)
*"A Wicked Woman" (1934)
*"Tomorrow's Youth" (1935)
*"The Lottery Lover" (1935)
*"Life Begins At Forty" (1935)
*"Doubting Thomas" (1935)
*"I Live My Life" (1935)
*"1,000 Dollars A Minute" (1935)
*"Rendezvous" (1935)
*"Palm Springs" (1936)
*"Career Woman" (1936)
*"Join The Marines" (1937)
*"Maid of Salem" (1937)
*"When Love Is Young" (1937)
*"The Woman I Love" (1937)
*"Varsity Show" (1937)
*"Behind The Mike" (1937)
*"Human Hearts" (1938)
*"Dr. Rhythm" (1938)
*"Held Hor Ransom" (1938)
*"Professor Beware" (1938)
*"Spring Madness" (1938)
*"St. Louis Blues" (1939)
*"Nick Carter, Master Detective" (1939)
*"Remember The Night" (1940)
*"The Blue Bird" (1940)
*"Hit Parade of 1941" (1940)
*"Street of Memories" (1940)
*"Little Men" (1940)
*"Cheers For Miss Bishop" (1941)
*"Meet John Doe" (1941)
*"New Wine" (1941)
*"Top Sergeant Mulligan" (1941)
*"Dumbo" (1941) (voice)
*"Look Who's Laughing" (1941)
*"Don't Get Personal" (1942)
*"The Lady Is Willing" (1942)
*"Bambi" (1942) (voice)
*"Iceland" (1942)
*"Here We Go Again" (1942)
*"Star Spangled Rhythm" (1942)
*"The Three Caballeros" (1944) (voice)
*"Wildfire" (1945)
*"A Walk In The Sun" (1945)
*"Make Mine Music" (1946) (voice)
*"Death Valley" (1946)
*"Sioux City Sue" (1946)
*"Her Wonderful Lie" (1947)
*"Trail To San Antone" (1947)
*"Twilight On The Rio Grande" (1947)
*"Saddle Pals" (1947)
*"Robin Hood of Texas" (1947)
*"The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend" (1949)
*"Alice In Wonderland" (1951) (voice)
*"Kentucky Rifle" (1956)
*"Shake, Rattle & Rock!" (1956)
*"Alakazam the Great" (1960) (voice)
*"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1960)
*"My Six Loves" (1963)
*"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World" (1963) (cameo)
*"Batman" (1966) (scenes deleted)
*"The Jungle Book" (1967) (voice)
*"Live A Little, Love A Little" (1968)
*"The Aristocats" (1970) (voice)
*"Cries" (1975) (documentary) (narrator)
*"Super Seal" (1976)
*"Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood" (1976)
*"The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" (1977) (voice)
*"Thunder & Lightning" (1981)

hort subjects

*"The Battling Kangaroo" (1926)
*"The Girl From Everywhere" (1927)
*"The Girl From Nowhere" (1928)
*"One Track Minds" (1933)
*"Not The Marrying Kind" (1933)
*"Meeting Mazie" (1933)
*"Born April First" (1934)
*"Pleasing Grandpa" (1934)
*"Picnic Perils" (1934)
*"Sterling's Rival Romeo" (1934)
*"Father Knows Best" (1935)
*"My Girl Sally" (1935)
*"Bring 'Em Back A Lie" (1935)
*"The Pelican & The Snipe" (1944) (voice)
*"The Cold-Blooded Penguin" (1945) (voice)
*"Unusual Occupations L-5-2" (1945)
*"Peter & The Wolf" (1946) (voice)
*"Moron Than Off" (1946)
*"Scooper Dooper" (1947)
*"Hectic Honeymoon" (1947)
*"Mickey & The Beanstalk" (1947) (voice)
*"Speaking of Animals No. Y7-1: Dog Crazy" (1947)
*"Man Or Mouse" (1948)
*"Flat Feat" (1948)
*"Lambert The Sheepish Lion" (1951) (voice)
*"Susie The Little Blue Coupe" (1952) (voice)
*"The Little House" (1952) (voice)
*"Ben and Me" (1953) (voice)
*"Goliath II" (1960) (voice)
*"Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" (1966) (voice)
*"Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" (1968) (voice)
*"Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!" (1974) (voice)
*"Man, Monsters & Mysteries" (1973) (voice)

Television episodes

*"The Adventures of Superman - The Machine That Could Plot Crimes (1952) also the same year in the Superman episode "The Whistling Bird" in which he plays the same eccentric scientist
*"The Life of Riley" (1953-1958)
*"Willy" 1955
*"Our Mr. Sun" (1956) (voice)
*"Hemo the Magnificent" (1957)
*"The Twilight Zone", episode "What's in the Box", as the TV repairman (1964)
*"The Restless Sea" (1964)
*"The Baileys of Balboa" (1964-1965)
*"That Girl" (episode 14, "Phantom of the Horse Opera") (1966)
*"Tukiki and His Search for a Merry Christmas" (1979) (voice)
*"Andy Griffith Show", as Bert, a traveling salesman (1962)
*"F-Troop", as the Sheriff, episode "Wilton the Kid" (1966)
*"Gilligan's Island" (1967), as Birdy, a man with a fondness for birds.
*"Moonlighting - Atomic Shakespeare (1986) narrator

ee also

*Cedartown, Georgia
*Winnie the Pooh

External links

*imdb name|id=0001359|name=Sterling Holloway
* [http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=Sterling+Holloway Disney Legends]
* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2760 "New Georgia Encyclopedia": Sterling Holloway]