William Franklin Beedle Jr., more commonly known as William Holden, was an American actor best known for his role in Stalag 17 (1953), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance in the television film The Blue Knight (1973). He was one of Hollywood's most popular actors from the 1950s to the 1970s and starred in numerous blockbuster films, including The Bridge on the River Kwai, Sunset Boulevard, The Wild Bunch, The Towering Inferno, Sabrina, and Network. Holden was named one of the ‘Top 10 Stars of the Year’ six times and was ranked 25th on the American Film Institute's list of the ‘Greatest Male Stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.’ He earned the nickname ‘Golden Boy’ after his early success in Hollywood and was sometimes called ‘Golden Holden.’ He spent much of his later life traveling to Africa, where he co-owned the Mount Kenya Safari Club, and to Switzerland. In 1995, Empire magazine ranked him 63rd on its list of the ‘100 Sexiest Stars in Film History.’ He also served as the best man at the wedding of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.