Earl Holliman, the actor remembered for leading The Twilight Zone’s first broadcast episode and for his Golden Globe-winning role in The Rainmaker, died November 25, 2024, at 96. The Washington Post reported that he died at his home in Studio City, California, citing his husband, Craig Curtis. The Los Angeles Times also reported his death and age. Neither obituary disclosed a cause of death.
Who was Earl Holliman?
Holliman was an American film and television actor whose career stretched across roughly five decades. The Washington Post described nearly 100 film and television appearances in 2024; the Los Angeles Times, also in 2024, counted more than 50 movies and nearly 50 television shows. These are each publication’s rounded career totals, not a single exact combined count.
His screen credits included the science-fiction film Forbidden Planet, the drama Giant, the westerns Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and The Sons of Katie Elder, and the television series Police Woman. The two roles most closely associated with him, however, came in different formats and at different points in his career.
What was Earl Holliman known for?
Mike Ferris in the first broadcast episode of The Twilight Zone
Holliman played Mike Ferris, an astronaut who finds himself alone in an apparently deserted town, in “Where Is Everybody?” The episode was the first broadcast installment of The Twilight Zone, airing October 2, 1959, according to the Washington Post. The role put him at the center of a television anthology’s opening story: a performance built around a character trying to make sense of an unsettling mystery.
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Holliman’s Golden Globe-winning turn in The Rainmaker
Three years earlier, in the 1956 film The Rainmaker, Holliman played the younger brother of Katharine Hepburn’s character. The Washington Post reported that he beat Elvis Presley for the role and won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor. Unlike the solitary lead in the television episode, this was a supporting performance in a theatrical film—and an award-winning one.
In a 2016 interview with the Connors Corner podcast, as quoted by the Washington Post, Holliman reflected on opportunity: “It’s wonderful to get a break, but when you do, you have to be ready for it.”
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How to revisit Holliman’s work
The Rainmaker is available in home-video formats, though editions and regional availability can change. Prime Video’s catalog listing identifies Holliman in the cast and displays DVD and Blu-ray formats; Paramount Movies describes home-video formats, and Kino Lorber lists a U.S. Blu-ray edition naming him. Check the listing and edition for your region before purchasing.
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