Sterling Holloway facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sterling Holloway
|
|
|---|---|
Holloway, circa 1930s
|
|
| Born |
Sterling Price Holloway Jr.
January 14, 1905 Cedartown, Georgia, U.S.
|
| Died | November 22, 1992 (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1926–1986 |
| Children | 1 |
Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (born January 14, 1905 – died November 22, 1992) was an American actor. He was also a famous voice actor. He appeared in over 100 movies and 40 TV shows. He is best known for his voice work for The Walt Disney Company. He voiced many beloved characters, like Mr. Stork in Dumbo, Adult Flower in Bambi, the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Kaa in The Jungle Book, Roquefort the Mouse in The Aristocats, and Winnie the Pooh himself.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sterling Holloway was born in Cedartown, Georgia. He was named after his father, Sterling Price Holloway. His father was a mayor in Cedartown in 1912. Sterling's mother was Rebecca DeHaven Boothby. He also had a younger brother named Boothby.
When he was 15, Sterling finished school at Georgia Military Academy in 1920. He then moved to New York City to study acting. He went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. There, he became good friends with another actor, Spencer Tracy. Sterling always said Spencer was one of his favorite people to work with.
A Career in Acting and Voice Acting
Starting in Films and Theater
_Halloway.jpg)
When Sterling was a teenager, he traveled with a theater group. They performed plays in many towns across the western United States. After that, he went back to New York. He got small roles in plays and appeared in a musical show called The Garrick Gaieties. Sterling was a talented singer. In 1925, he sang the famous song "Manhattan" for the first time. The next year, he sang "Mountain Greenery".
In 1926, he moved to Hollywood to start his movie career. This career lasted for almost 50 years! Sterling had bright red hair and a unique, foggy voice. Because of this, he often appeared in funny movies. His first movie was a silent film called The Battling Kangaroo (1926). Over the years, he acted alongside many famous stars. These included Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Clark Gable, and Joan Crawford.
During World War II in 1942, Sterling joined the United States Army. He was 37 years old. He worked in a special unit that created shows for soldiers. He helped make a show called "Hey Rookie." This show ran for nine months and raised a lot of money for the Army. In 1945, Sterling played a medic in the movie A Walk in the Sun. After the war, he was a funny sidekick in five Western movies with Gene Autry.
Becoming a Disney Legend
Walt Disney first thought about Sterling for the voice of Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). But another actor got the part. Sterling's voice work for animated movies began with Dumbo (1941). He was the voice of Mr. Stork.
Sterling voiced many other characters for Disney:
- The adult Flower in Bambi (1942).
- The narrator for the penguin part in The Three Caballeros (1944).
- The narrator in the Peter and the Wolf story in Make Mine Music (1946).
- The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (1951).
- The narrator for The Little House (1952), Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952), Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952), and Goliath II (1960).
- Kaa the snake in The Jungle Book (1967).
- Roquefort the mouse in The Aristocats (1970).
He is probably most famous as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. He voiced Pooh in Disney's Winnie the Pooh cartoons until 1977. In 1991, Sterling was honored as a Disney Legend. He was the very first person to get this award for voice acting! His last movie role was in Thunder and Lightning (1977). After he passed away, another voice actor named Jim Cummings took over many of his famous roles.
Radio and Recordings
Sterling Holloway was also a popular radio actor. He appeared on many shows like The Railroad Hour, The United States Steel Hour, and Suspense. His voice had a slight Southern accent and was easy to recognize.
He was chosen to narrate many children's records. These included Uncle Remus Stories, Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, and Walt Disney Presents Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories.
Television Appearances
Sterling easily moved from radio to television. He played "Uncle Oscar," a quirky inventor, on Adventures of Superman. He also had a regular role on The Life of Riley. He appeared as a guest on many other TV shows. Some of these were Circus Boy, The Untouchables, The Real McCoys, Hazel, The Twilight Zone, Gilligan's Island, and The Andy Griffith Show.
In the 1970s, Sterling did voice-overs for commercials. He voiced Woodsy Owl in commercials for the United States Forest Service. He also sang the catchy jingle for Purina Puppy Chow dog food. In 1982, he tried out for the voice of the cartoon cat Garfield. But he lost the role to Lorenzo Music.
Personal Life and Legacy
Sterling Holloway never married. He once said he was happy with his life and didn't want to change it. He adopted a son named Richard Holloway.
Sterling passed away from a heart attack on November 22, 1992, at the age of 87. Before his death, another actor, Hal Smith, took over the voice of Winnie the Pooh for a short film. When Sterling was 83, he could no longer do the voice for The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. So, Jim Cummings took over the role. Jim Cummings also voiced Kaa in later Jungle Book cartoons.
Sterling Holloway left behind a wonderful legacy of characters. His unique voice brought joy to millions of children and adults around the world.
Images for kids
-
Holloway in The Battling Kangaroo (1926)
-
Holloway with William Bendix on The Life of Riley, 1957
-
Holloway with Andy Griffith on The Andy Griffith Show, 1962
See also
In Spanish: Sterling Holloway para niños
