William Holden's father was an industrial chemist and his mother a teacher. In 1937, while studying chemistry at Pasadena Junior College, he was signed to a film contract by Paramount. His first starring role was as a young man torn between the violin and boxing, "Golden Boy" (1939). From then on he was type-cast as the boy-next-door. After returning from World War II military service, he got two very important roles: Joe Gillis the gigolo in "Sunset Blvd." (1950) the tutor in "Born Yesterday" (1950) followed by his Oscar-winning role as the cynical sergeant in "Stalag 17" (1953) and stayed popular through the '50s, e.g., "Picnic" (1955).