Books in Brief: Golden Boy

Golden Boy, by Bob Thomas (St. Martin’s, 276 pp., $16.95). Throughout the 1950s, he was the epitome of masculinity and a romantic fantasy for the millions of women who flocked to his films. Yet, for all of his cinematic charm, William Holden was a tormented man who never came to terms with his celebrity. He was so uncomfortable with his initial role in Golden Boy that he needed constant coaching from co-star Barbara Stanwyck and two shots of whisky to get through the day’s shooting. Nor did the success of Sunset Boulevard stop him from doubting his worth as an actor or a man. He became a box-office sensation with a string of hits including Stalag 17, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Picnic, and The Bridge on the River Kwai; but his marriage was crumbling. Although his business acumen made him a multimillionaire, he considered himself a failure both as a father and as a husband. Bored with the “smiling Jim” roles that constantly came his way, Holden began to drink even more heavily. The physical toll was evident by the early 1960s, as he walked through a succession of tepid roles that signaled his slide from matinee idol to celluloid curiosity. His jaded portrayals in Network and S.O.B. smacked of self-parody. He died alone, at 63, the apparent victim of a drunken fall in his California apartment. Thomas tells this tragic tale with discretion because the two men were friends for 35 years. But the book is no less painful for his restraint.

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Alan L. Miller

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Golden Boy, by Bob Thomas (St. Martin’s, 276 pp., $16.95). Throughout the 1950s, he was the epitome of masculinity and a romantic fantasy for the millions of women who flocked to his films. Yet, for all of his cinematic charm, William Holden was a tormented man who never came to terms with his celebrity. He was so uncomfortable with his initial role in Golden Boy that he needed constant coaching from co-star Barbara Stanwyck and two shots of whisky to get through the day’s shooting. Nor did the success of Sunset Boulevard stop him from doubting his worth as an actor or a man. He became a box-office sensation with a string of hits including Stalag 17, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Picnic, and The Bridge on the River Kwai; but his marriage was crumbling. Although his business acumen made him a multimillionaire, he considered himself a failure both as a father and as a husband. Bored with the “smiling Jim” roles that constantly came his way, Holden began to drink even more heavily. The physical toll was evident by the early 1960s, as he walked through a succession of tepid roles that signaled his slide from matinee idol to celluloid curiosity. His jaded portrayals in Network and S.O.B. smacked of self-parody. He died alone, at 63, the apparent victim of a drunken fall in his California apartment. Thomas tells this tragic tale with discretion because the two men were friends for 35 years. But the book is no less painful for his restraint.