A version of how he obtained his stage name “Holden” was given by George Ross of Billboard in 1939: “William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beadle [sic]. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. Winston was one of those who discovered the Golden Boy newcomer and who renamed him—in honor of his former spouse!”Holden’s first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer. The film was made for Columbia, which negotiated a sharing agreement with Paramount for Holden’s services.
Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Stanwyck was already a film star. She liked Holden and went out of her way to help him succeed, devoting her personal time to coaching and encouraging him, which made them lifelong friends. When she received her Honorary Oscar at the 1982 Academy Award ceremony, Holden had died in an accident just a few months prior. At the end of her acceptance speech, she paid him a personal tribute: “I loved him very much, and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish”.
Next he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes (1939), billed below Raft and above Bogart.
