Jesse Boyce Holleman (February 26, 1924 – November 21, 2003) was an American war veteran,

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

, politician, and actor. Boyce Holleman was born in

Fruitland Park, MS Fruitland Park is a small unincorporated community in southern Forrest County, Mississippi. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. Camp Tiak, a Boy Scouts of America camp with a one-mile educational forest trai ...

, to a family that made their living in timber and construction. As a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

in World War II, he was shot down while making a bomb run during the invasion of

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

and spent 14 months recovering from severe injuries. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was awarded the Purple Heart. Holleman attended Perkinston Junior College, now Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, at

Perkinston, MS Perkinston is an unincorporated community in central Stone County, Mississippi, United States. It is situated along U.S. Highway 49, approximately five miles south of Wiggins. The community is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi, Mississippi Metr ...

and the University of Mississippi at Oxford, MS. After graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1950, Holleman established his legal practice in Wiggins and moved his family to

Gulfport, MS Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan ...

in 1967. Holleman was elected to the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

in 1947, at the age of 23, and served until 1953 when he was appointed to the position of

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As District Attorney, Holleman survived an assassination attempt by the Dixie Mafia. During his tenure as District Attorney, Holleman fought to overturn a crooked election, taking this battle all the way to the State Supreme Court. He was re-elected five times as District Attorney, retiring in 1972, to return to the private practice of law. When reflecting on his life, Holleman said that he wanted to be remembered, first and foremost, as a lawyer. Holleman served as Attorney for the Harrison County

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

and School District for 18 and 15 years, respectively. In 1969 and 1970, he was elected President of the State bar association in Mississippi. In 1995, he received the Outstanding Achievement in Law Award from the Mississippi State Bar Association. An autobiographical video, titled ''Trailblazers of the Mississippi Legal Frontier'', was produced to document his legal career. In 1975, Holleman began an acting career, which led him to perform on stage, in movies, and in television series. Holleman had a starring role in '' The Ponder Heart'', a movie based on a book by Eudora Welty and was an active member of the Screen Actors Guild. In 1976, Holleman was interviewed about his distinguished legal career as part of the Mississippi

Oral History Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

Program. Following his death from cancer, Holleman was buried in ''Floral Hills Memorial Gardens'', Gulfport, Mississippi.

Partial filmography

*'' The Beast Within'' (1982) - Doc Odom *'' Stone Cold'' (1991) - County Judge *'' A Simple Twist of Fate'' (1994) - Politician #1 *''Cries of Silence'' (1996) - Judge Ladner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holleman, Jesse Boyce 1924 births 2003 deaths Burials in Mississippi Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives People from Forrest County, Mississippi Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alumni University of Mississippi School of Law alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Mississippi American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors