Judd Clifton Holdren (October 16, 1915 – March 11, 1974) was an American film
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
Zombies of the Stratosphere
''Zombies of the Stratosphere'' is a 1952 black-and-white Republic Studios serial directed by Fred C. Brannon, with a screenplay by Ronald Davidson, and special effects by Republic's Lydecker brothers. It was intended to be Republic's second ser ...
'' (1952), ''
The Lost Planet
''The Lost Planet'' is a 1953 American horror science fiction serial film 15-chapter serial which has the distinction of being the last interplanetary-themed sound serial ever made. It was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet with a screenplay b ...
Villisca, Iowa
Villisca is a city in Montgomery County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,132 at the time of the 2020 census. It is most notable for the unsolved axe mass murder that took place in the town during the summer of 1912.
Geography
Villis ...
, the fifth of 10 children in a farming family, and showed early interest in an acting career. He dropped out of high school to travel to
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, where he studied at the Omaha Playhouse.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he served in the
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
. While in the Coast Guard, he rose to the rank of commander. His first regular employment there was as a male model.
Career
Most of his early film parts were uncredited bits, including ''
All the King's Men
''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U.S ...
'' (1949) and ''
Francis the Talking Mule
Francis the Talking Mule was a mule character who gained popularity during the 1950s as the star of seven popular Universal-International film comedies. The character originated in the 1946 novel ''Francis'' by former U.S. Army Captain David S ...
'' (1950). However, he got lead roles in ''
Purple Heart Diary
''Purple Heart Diary'' is a 1951 American drama film directed by Richard Quine, produced by Sam Katzman and released by Columbia Pictures. It stars Frances Langford and Judd Holdren.
Plot
During World War II, a singing trio goes out on tour enter ...
'' (1951) co-starring
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades.
She was known as the "GI Nighting ...
Captain Video
''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television.
The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apri ...
, becoming the third actor (after
Richard Coogan
Richard Charles Potter Coogan (April 4, 1914 – March 12, 2014) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Captain Video in ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' from 1949 to 1950.
Career
Born in Madison, New Jersey, Coogan worked ...
and
Al Hodge
Albert E. Hodge (April 18, 1912 – March 19, 1979) was an American actor best known for playing space adventurer Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network from December 15, 1950, to April 1, 1955. He played the Green Hornet on radio f ...
) to assume the role of the heroic Captain. Holdren portrayed
Aramis
René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), ''Twenty Years After'' (1845), and ''The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847-1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, Atho ...
in the
Three Musketeers
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...
Louis Hayward
Louis Charles Hayward (19 March 1909 – 21 February 1985) was a Johannesburg-born, British-American actor.
Biography
Born in Johannesburg, Louis Hayward lived in South Africa and was educated in France and England, including Latymer Upper Scho ...
as
D'Artagnan
Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fra ...
and
Patricia Medina
Patricia Paz Maria Medina (19 July 1919 – 28 April 2012) was a British actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) and ''Mr. Arkadin'' (1955).
Early life
Medina was the daughter of Laure ...
in the titular role. After ''
The Lost Planet
''The Lost Planet'' is a 1953 American horror science fiction serial film 15-chapter serial which has the distinction of being the last interplanetary-themed sound serial ever made. It was directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet with a screenplay b ...
'' (1953), Holdren tried to maintain a foothold in feature films and TV, but with limited success.
He appeared in a number of ongoing TV series, such as '' Dragnet'' and ''
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
'', but usually in bit parts, often uncredited. His last significant film appearances were in very minor roles in feature films like ''
Jeanne Eagels
Jeanne Eagels (born Eugenia Eagles; June 26, 1890 – October 3, 1929) was an American stage and film actress. A former Ziegfeld Girl, Eagels went on to greater fame on Broadway and in the emerging medium of sound films. She was posthumously no ...
'' (1957), ''
Ice Palace
An ice palace or ice castle is a castle-like structure made of blocks of ice. These blocks are usually harvested from nearby rivers or lakes when they become frozen in winter. The first known ice palace (or, rather, '' ice house'', ледяной ...
'' (1960), and ''
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond
''The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' is a 1960 neo-noir crime film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Ray Danton, Karen Steele and Elaine Stewart. The supporting cast features Warren Oates, Jesse White and Robert Lowery. The picture mar ...
'' (1960). The rapidity of his descent is indicated by the fact that in '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe'' (1953) he plays the lead role and Richard Crane plays his (semi-comical) sidekick, whereas in the TV series ''
Rocky Jones Space Ranger
''Rocky Jones, Space Ranger'' is an American science fiction television serial originally broadcast in syndication from February to November 1954. The show lasted for only two seasons and, though syndicated sporadically, dropped into obscurity. ...
'' (1953–54) Richard Crane plays the lead role and Holdren has a walk-on part in two episodes as "Ranger Higgins".
After 1960, Holdren became a full-time insurance salesman. During his Hollywood years, he was seen in public as the escort of many different Hollywood beauties, but he never married.
Death
Holdren committed
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
on March 11, 1974, by a gunshot to the head.
He is buried at Valhalla Memorial Park in
North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...