Jack Holt | |
---|---|
Born |
Charles John Holt May 31, 1888 Fordham, New York, U.S. |
Died | January 18, 1951 Sawtelle, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
(aged 62)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1914–1951 |
Spouse(s) | Margaret Woods (1916-1951) Three children |
Charles John "Jack" Holt Jr. (May 31, 1888 – January 18, 1951) was an American motion picture actor in both silent and sound movies, particularly Westerns.
Born in 1888 as Charles John Holt, in Winchester, Virginia and when in Manhattan, attended Trinity School. He was accepted into the Virginia Military Institute in 1909, but expelled for misbehavior. He ended his fleeting pursuit of becoming an attorney-at-law and took on odd jobs while on the road. He triumphantly rode a horse down a steep embankment into the Russian River in a scene for Salomy Jane, included in the DVD released 2011 anthology Treasures 5 The West 1898—1938 by the National Film Preservation Foundation. He does not seem to have registered for World War I. At the start of World War II, Holt enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 54, at the request of General George C. Marshall so that Holt could be a horse buyer for the United States Cavalry.
He seems to have started out in Hollywood with stunt and bit parts in serials and at Universal Pictures worked as a supporting player for Francis Ford and his brother John Ford, and Grace Cunard.