Sterling Holloway

Sterling Price Holloway, Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992), was an American character actor who appeared in 150 films and television shows. He was also a voice actor for The Walt Disney Company, well known for his distinctive tenor voice, and is perhaps best remembered as the original voice of Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh.

Early life

Born on January 4, 1905 in Cedartown, Georgia, Holloway was named after his father, Sterling Price Holloway, who himself was named after a prominent Confederate general, Sterling "Pap" Price. His mother was Rebecca DeHaven (some sources say her last name was Boothby). He had a younger brother named Boothby. The family owned a grocery store in Cedartown, where his father served as mayor in 1912. He was said to have had a theatrical bent from an early age and reportedly bore a distant relationship to a historical London stage actress named Lady Penelope Boothby.

After graduating from Georgia Military Academy in 1920 at the age of fifteen, he left Georgia for New York City, where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. While there, he befriended actor Spencer Tracy, whom he considered one of his favorite working colleagues.

Career

Motion pictures and shorts

In his late teens, Holloway toured with stock company of The Shepherd of the Hills, performing in one-nighters across much of the American West before returning to New York where he accepted small walk-on parts from the Theatre Guild, and appeared in the Rodgers and Hart review The Garrick Gaieties in the mid-1920s. A talented singer, he introduced "Manhattan" in 1925, and the following year sang "Mountain Greenery". He moved to Hollywood in 1926 to begin a film career that lasted almost 50 years. His bushy red hair and high pitched voice meant that he almost always appeared in comedies. His first film was The Battling Kangaroo (1926), a silent picture. Over the following decades, Holloway would appear with Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Lon Chaney Jr, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby, and David Carradine. In 1942, during World War II, Holloway enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 37 and was assigned to the Special Services. He helped develop a show called "Hey Rookie", which ran for nine months and raised $350,000 for the Army Relief Fund.[2] In 1945, Holloway played the role of a medic assigned to an infantry platoon in the critically acclaimed film A Walk in the Sun. During 1946 and 1947, he played the comic sidekick in five Gene Autry Westerns.

Holloway's voice work in animated films began in 1941, when he was heard in Dumbo (1941), as the voice of Mr. Stork. Walt Disney considered him for the voice of Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), but chose Pinto Colvig instead. Holloway was the voice of the adult Flower in Bambi (1942), the narrator of the Antarctic penguin sequence in The Three Caballeros (1944) and the narrator in the Peter and the Wolf sequence of Make Mine Music (1946). He was the voice of the The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (1951), the narrator in Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952), the narrator in Goliath II (1960), Kaa in The Jungle Book (1967), and Roquefort in The Aristocats (1970). He is perhaps best remembered as the voice of Winnie the Pooh in Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh featurettes. He was honored as a 'Disney Legend' in 1991, the first one to ever receive the award in the Voice category.

Holloway's last role was the Hobe Carpenter, a friendly moonshiner who gets help from Harley Thomas (David Carradine) in Thunder and Lightning (1977),

Radio and recordings

Holloway acted on many radio programs, including The Railroad Hour, The United States Steel Hour, Suspense and Lux Radio Theater. His distinctive tenor voice retained a touch of its Southern drawl and was very recognizable. Holloway was chosen to narrate many children's records, including Uncle Remus Stories (Decca), Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes (Disneyland Records), Walt Disney Presents Rudyard Kipling's Just so Stories (Disneyland Records) and Peter and the Wolf (RCA Victor).

Television


Holloway easily made the transition from radio to television. He appeared on the Adventures of Superman as "Uncle Oscar", an eccentric inventor. He also played a recurring role on The Life of Riley. He was a guest star on Fred Waring's CBS television program in the 1950s, and appeared on Circus Boy as a hot air balloonist, Five Fingers ("The Temple of the Swinging Doll"), The Untouchables, The Real McCoys (in the 1960 episode "The Jinx"), Hazel, Pete and Gladys, The Twilight Zone (episode "What's in the Box"), The Brothers Brannagan, Gilligan's Island, The Andy Griffith Show, The Donald O'Connor Show, Peter Gunn as 'Felony', F Troop, and Moonlighting. He voiced Sugar Bear in many Sugar Crisp cereal commercials. During the 1970s, Holloway did commercial voice-overs for Purina Puppy Chow dog food and sang their familiar jingle, "Puppy Chow/For a full year/Till he's full-grown!". He also provided the voice for Woodsy Owl in several 1970s and 1980s United States Forest Service commercials. In 1982 he auditioned for the well known comic book character Garfield but lost to Lorenzo Music.

Final years, death, and legacy

Unmarried through his life, Holloway once explained that this was because he felt lacking in nothing and did not wish to disturb his pattern of life, but he had a son, Richard (it is unknown exactly when Richard was adopted). Holloway died on November 22, 1992 of cardiac arrest in a Los Angeles hospital, aged 87. He was cremated and his ashes were buried at sea.

Voice actor Hal Smith took over the role of Winnie the Pooh for the 1981 short Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons. He would maintain the role until Jim Cummings replaced him in 1988 for The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and also took over most of Holloway's other voice roles, including Kaa in Jungle Cubs and The Jungle Book 2.

The show Animaniacs paid tribute to him by having Cummings (in his Pooh voice) narrate episodes like "Nighty Night Toon" and "The Warners and the Beanstalk".

Quotes[edit source | editbeta]

"I've always loved the theater very much. I've always been in it. I hate being away from it. I'm very stubborn — I like to do what I want to do. And what I want to do most is theater."

"I started in show business when I was fifteen years old by enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. That was in 1920. Some of my classmates included Spencer Tracy, Allen Jenkins, and Pat O'Brien. You know what happened to them."

Filmography

Feature films


Casey at the Bat (1927)
American Madness (1932)
Blonde Venus (1932)
Faithless (1932)
Rockabye (1932)
Lawyer Man (1932)
Hard to Handle (1933)
Blondie Johnson (1933)
Fast Workers (1933)
Wild Boys of the Road (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)
Snow Whit and the Seven Dwarves (1937) Sleepy (voice)
The Woman I Love (1937)
Varsity Show (1937)
Behind The Mike (1937)
Of 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)
The Great Awakening (1941)
Top Sergeant Mulligan (1941)
Dumbo (1941) (voice) Mr. Stork
Look Who's Laughing (1941)
Don't Get Personal (1942)
The Lady Is Willing (1942)
Bambi (1942) Adult Flower (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)
Fun and Fancy Free (1947) (voice)
Twilight on the Rio Grande (1947)
Saddle Pals (1947)
Robin Hood of Texas (1947)
The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) (voice)
Alice in Wonderland (1951) Cheshire Cat (voice)
Ben and Me (1953) Amos Mouse (voice)
Kentucky Rifle (1956)
Shake, Rattle & Rock! (1956)
Alakazam the Great (1960) (voice)
Goliath II (1960) Narrator (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) Kaa (voice)
Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)
The Aristocats (1970) Roquefort the Mouse (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) Winnie the Pooh (voice)
Thunder & Lightning (1977)

Short 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)
Boy Meets Dog (1938) (voice)
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


The Adventures of Superman - The Machine That Could Plot Crimes (1952) as the eccentric scientist; also that same year, he appeared in the Superman episode "The Whistling Bird" as the same character. Played Professor Twiddle in the 1954 color episode "Through The Time Barrier".
The Life of Riley (1953–1958) - as Waldo Binny
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - episode "Pancake Mix", as the groceryman (1953)
Willy (1955)
Our Mr. Sun (1956) (voice of chlorophyll)
Hemo the Magnificent (1957)
The Real McCoys - episode "The Jinx" (1960), as cousin Orval McCoy
The Andy Griffith Show - episode "The Merchant of Mayberry", as Bert, a traveling salesman (1962)
Hazel (TV series) - "The Retiring Milkman" Season 3, Episode 13, as Claude the Milkman (1963)
The Twilight Zone - episode "What's in the Box", as the TV repairman (1964)
The Restless Sea (1964)
Burke's Law (episode 28, "Who Killed Annie Foran?") (10 April 1964)
The Baileys of Balboa (1964–1965)
That Girl (episode 14, "Phantom of the Horse Opera") (1966)
F-Troop - as the Sheriff in the episode "Wilton the Kid" (1966)
Gilligan's Island (1967) - as Birdy, a man with a fondness for birds.
Tony the Pony - as GG the Wizard (1976)
Tukiki and His Search for a Merry Christmas (1979) (voice)
Moonlighting - episode "Atomic Shakespeare" (1986), as the narrator