Tim Holt

Tim Holt February 5 1918 February 15 1973 was a popular American film actor of the 1940s and early 1950s appearing in fortysix B westerns released by RKO Pictures Born in Beverly Hills to actor Jack Holt and his wife Margaret he spent much of his childhood on set with his father whose career began in 1914 during the silent pictures era and appeared mostly in westerns Holt was signed to his first acting contract at the age of 17 by producer Walter Wanger who loaned him to RKO late that year When that contract expired RKO signed him to a sevenyear contract and quickly put him to work with Holt appearing in 24 westerns over the first three years for the studio to secure their permission for him to enlist during WWII In 1943 he joined the Army Air Corps and became a distinguished B17 and B29 pilot in the Pacific Theatre earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart for bullet wounds he received while flying over Tokyo on the very last day of the war that ended in a crash landing Once he had recovered he returned to RKO to honor the remaining time of his contract raising his total appearances with them to 46 In a career spanning more than four decades he is best remembered for his leading role in The Magnificent Ambersons 1942 and costarring in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 alongside Humphrey Bogart and Walter Hustonthe latter becoming enshrined in 1997 as No 30 on the American Film Institutes 100 Years100 Movies list