Actor Earl Holliman, 96, died on Nov. 25. The rugged, tough-looking actor was best known as Angie Dickinson’s boss on Police Woman, but the versatile actor also had good showcase roles in The Rainmaker, Giant, Forbidden Planet, the pilot episode of Twilight Zone, Summer and Smoke, The Sons of Katie Elder, and Sharky’s Machine, as well as countless TV guest spots. Holliman was a WWII Navy vet, and worked as a newsboy, theater usher, and magician’s assistant while looking for acting jobs. He got his start at the Pasadena Playhouse, and began getting bit parts in movies and TV in 1953. He was an animal rights activist, and though he never publicly came out, is survived by his husband, Craig Curtis. Holliman said of his early days on live TV, “The adrenaline was really going. Sometimes, when they had a close-up on your face, your wardrobe was being changed. You’d be talking to someone who had long gone for their own costume change. I think all the actors who did that live television really miss that stuff.” He summed up, “I’m a lucky guy. I’ve made a great living doing what I’ve always dreamed about doing and what I love doing.”
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