Earl Holliman, Golden Globe-Winning Actor from The Rainmaker and Forbidden Planet, Dies at 96

Actor and animal rights activist Earl Holliman was known for his roles in ‘The Twilight Zone’ and ‘Police Woman’

Award-winning screen star Earl Holliman died on Monday, Nov. 25. He was 96. The actor’s spouse, Craig Curtis, confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.

Born on Sept. 11, 1928, in Delhi, La., Holliman was adopted and named by oil field worker Henry Holliman. He studied acting at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Pasadena Playhouse. After making his screen debut opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in 1953’s Scared Stiff, he starred in many hit Westerns and dramas throughout the 1950s and ’60s.

Holliman won a Golden Globe Award for his supporting performance as Jim Curry — a role he beat out Elvis Presley for — in the 1956 Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn film The Rainmaker. That same year, he appeared in the groundbreaking sci-fi hit Forbidden Planet alongside Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen.

The actor also had the distinction of appearing in the debut episode of CBS’ Rod Serling-created hit The Twilight Zone, the 1959 episode “Where Is Everybody?”

From 1974 to 1978, Holliman became a beloved fixture for NBC audiences as Sergeant Bill Crowley on the television cop drama Police Woman. He and costar Angie Dickinson remained friends in the years following.

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Holliman followed up his Golden Globe win with another nomination for a 1992 episode of Delta starring Delta Burke. He was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1977.

A longtime animal rights activist, Holliman served as the president of Actors and Others for Animals for decades. It was at an animal adoption event that Holliman was emceeing that the late Bob Barker met his longtime girlfriend Nancy Burnet.

In an August 1982 issue of PEOPLE, the Picks & Pans section singled out Holliman for his work in 1979 TV movie The Solitary Man: “A much-worked-over subject—divorce—comes off fresh in this TV movie thanks to a sophisticated script and Earl Holliman’s fine performance.”

Per Variety, Curtis, 85, remembered his spouse as “a gracious, kind confidant, a consummate host, a man whose indefatigable positivity was evergreen and powered by a 1000-watt smile, an easy charm and infectious goodwill. A joy and a privilege to spend time with, he was even-keeled and compassionate, possessing a deep sensitivity and mischievous sense of humor which were belied by his stoically handsome countenance.”