Judd Clifton Holdren (October 16, 1915 – March 11, 1974) was an American film

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who starred in science fiction movies. He was best known for his starring roles in the serials '' Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere'' (1951), '' Zombies of the Stratosphere'' (1952), '' The Lost Planet'' (1953), and the semi-serial '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe'' (1953). He committed suicide in 1974.

Early life

He was born near

Villisca, Iowa Villisca is a city in East Township, Montgomery County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,132 at the time of the 2020 census. It is most notable for the unsolved axe murder that took place in the town during the summer of 1912. Hist ...

, the fifth of 10 children in a farming family, and showed early interest in an acting career. He dropped out of high school to travel to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, where he gained experience at the Omaha Playhouse. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

on the

USS General H. B. Freeman (AP-143) USS ''General H. B. Freeman'' (AP-143) was a for the United States Navy, U.S. Navy in World War II. The ship was crewed by the United States Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard until decommissioning. She was named in honor of United States Army, U.S. ...

, then moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. While in the Coast Guard, he rose to the rank of commander. His first regular employment there was as a male model.

Career

Most of his early film parts were uncredited bits, including ''

All the King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U. ...

'' (1949) and ''

Francis the Talking Mule Francis the Talking Mule is a fictional mule who first appeared in three short stories written for ''Esquire magazine'' by David Stern, which he later combined into the 1946 novel ''Francis''. This was the basis of a series of seven Universal-I ...

'' (1950). Holdren soon won lead roles in the war comedy '' Purple Heart Diary'' (1951) co-starring

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightinga ...

, as well as '' Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere'' (1951) the serial version of the adventures of

Captain Video Captain Video may refer to: *Captain Video and His Video Rangers, an American science fiction television series *'' Captain Video'', a 1981 jazz album by pianist Andy LaVerne *"Captain Video", a nickname for baseball player Tony Gwynn *"Captain Vide ...

, becoming the third actor (after Richard Coogan and

Al Hodge Albert E. Hodge (April 18, 1912 – March 19, 1979) was an American actor best known for playing space adventurer Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network from December 15, 1950, to April 1, 1955. He pla ...

) to assume the role of the heroic Captain. Holdren portrayed

Aramis René d'Herblay, alias Aramis, is a fictional character in the novels ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844), '' Twenty Years After'' (1845), and '' The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' (1847–1850) by Alexandre Dumas, père. He and the other two musketeers, ...

in the

Three Musketeers 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

adventure film '' Lady in the Iron Mask'' (1952) starring Louis Hayward as

D'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fr ...

and

Patricia Medina Patricia Paz Maria Medina (19 July 1919 – 28 April 2012) was a British actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) and ''Mr. Arkadin'' (1955). Early life Medina was born on 19 July 1919 ...

in the titular role. After '' The Lost Planet'' (1953), Holdren tried to maintain a foothold in feature films and TV, but with limited success. He appeared in a number of ongoing TV series, such as '' Dragnet'' and ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'', but usually in bit parts, often uncredited. His last significant film appearances were in very minor roles in feature films like ''

Jeanne Eagels Jeanne Eagels (born Eugenia Eagles; June 26, 1890 – October 3, 1929) was an American stage and film actress. Eagels appeared in many Broadway productions, and in the emerging medium of sound films. She was posthumously nominated for the Acad ...

'' (1957), ''

Ice Palace An ice palace or ice castle is a castle-like structure made of blocks of ice. These blocks are usually harvested from nearby rivers or lakes when they become frozen in winter. The first known ice palace (or, rather, '' ice house'', ледяной ...

'' (1960), and '' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' (1960). The rapidity of his descent is indicated by the fact that in '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe'' (1953) he plays the lead role and Richard Crane plays his (semi-comical) sidekick, whereas in the TV series '' Rocky Jones Space Ranger'' (1953–54) Richard Crane plays the lead role and Holdren has a walk-on part in two episodes as "Ranger Higgins". After 1960, Holdren became a full-time insurance salesman. During his Hollywood years, he was seen in public as the escort of many different Hollywood beauties, but he never married.

Death

Holdren committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on March 11, 1974, by a gunshot to the head. He is buried at Valhalla Memorial Park in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Des Moines Register article on Judd Holdren
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holdren, Judd 1915 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male film serial actors People from Montgomery County, Iowa United States Coast Guard officers Suicides by firearm in California United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II 1974 suicides Military personnel from Iowa