This intelligent, warmly maternal character actress first made her mark in the theater in the late 1930s and early 40s. After stock work, the native New Yorker made her Broadway debut in "Glorianna" (1938), then went on to create the role of the raucous Ado Annie (the "girl who can't say no") in the original 1943 stage production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!". Holm went on to star as the early feminist Dolly Bloomer in the musical "Bloomer Girl" (1944) before moving to features. She continued to make stage appearances throughout her career, making her return in "Affairs of State" (1950), starring as Anna in "The King and I" (1952), assuming the role of "Mame" in 1966, portraying writer Janet Flanner in "Paris Was Yesterday" (1977-79) and appearing in the troubled production of "I Hate Hamlet" (1991).
Holm signed a long-term contract with 20th Century-Fox and made her screen debut in 1946 as one of the "Three Little Girls in Blue." Though pretty in a "smart blonde" way, Holm wasn't the typical Hollywood cutie, and Fox was hard-pressed to cast her. After the forgettable "Carnival in Costa Rica" (1947), she earned critical acclaim (and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) as Gregory Peck's lovelorn co-worker in "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947). Holm appeared in a total of nine Fox film through 1950, turning in superb supporting performances as one of the unfortunate denizens of "The Snake Pit" (1948), a nun in "Come to the Stable" (1949), and, most notably, Bette Davis' sweet-natured best pal in the classic "All About Eve" (1950).
After her release from Fox, Holm freelanced in films, between stage and TV assignments. She partnered Frank Sinatra in "The Tender Trap" (1955) and "High Society" (1956)--though he was four years older, Sinatra played the romantic lead and Holm was the wry, aging "spinster." The rest of her films consisted of small, good roles in such fare as the silly farce "Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding" (as Sandra Dee's mother, 1967), as Aunt Polly in the musical "Tom Sawyer" (1973), as Ted Danson's mother in "Three Men and a Baby" (1987), and as Brendan Fraser's musical grandmother in the independent romantic comedy "Still Breathing" (1997).
Holm has been very busy on TV since the early 1950s, when she appeared on such anthologies as "The Lux Video Theater," "Climax!", "Zane Grey Theater" and many others. She headlined her own series, playing a New York reporter in "Honestly, Celeste!" (CBS, 1954), and has been featured as a regular on the series "Nancy" (NBC, 1970-71), "The Delphi Bureau" (ABC, 1972-73), and the ABC soap "Loving" (1986, opposite her fourth husband Wesley Addy). She returned to series work as Gerald McRaney's mother in the CBS drama "Promised Land" (1996-99) and also had a recurring role on the short-lived UPN cop drama "The Beat" (2000).
She has also appeared in numerous specials, miniseries and TV-movies, winning particular attention for her performance as Florence Harding in "Backstairs at the White House" (NBC, 1979). Holm was also a welcome and reliable presence in "The Yeoman of the Guard" (NBC, 1957), as the wife of "The Man in the Dog Suit" (NBC, 1960), the fairy godmother in "Cinderella" (CBS, 1965), a nun in "The Captain and the Kings" (NBC, 1976), Miss Snow in the saccharine musical "Polly" (NBC, 1989) and its 1990 sequel. She also set sail on both "Death Cruise" (ABC, 1974) and "The Love Boat II" (ABC, 1977). More recently, she has been seen in the "Strangers on a Train" re-make "Once You Meet a Stranger" (CBS, 1996). While her more glamorous contemporaries fell by the wayside, Holm has aged gracefully and has continued to be a welcome presence in many mediums for more than half a century.
Milestones
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1936 Toured the USA understudying role of Ophelia in a production of "Hamlet", starring Leslie Howard
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1936 Stage acting debut with Pennsylvania stock company
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1938 Broadway debut in "Glorianna"
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1938 Had featured role in the Broadway play "The Time of Your Life"
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1943 Originated the role of Ado Annie in the groundbreaking Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!"
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1944 Starred in the Harold Arlen-E Y Harburg musical "Bloomer Girl"
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1946 Film debut, "Three Little Girls in Blue"
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1947 Had one of her best film roles in "Gentleman's Agreement"; won Best Supporting Actress Oscar
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1948 Co-starred in "The Snake Pit"
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1948 Provided voice of Addie in Joseph L Mankiewicz's award-winning "A Letter to Three Wives"
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1949 Earned a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination as a French nun alongside Loretta Young in "Come to the Stable"
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1950 Co-starred as the narrator Karen in classic film "All About Eve", written and directed by Mankiewicz; received third Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination
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1950 Returned to stage work with "Affairs of State" (Broadway)
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1952 Played the role of Anna in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I"
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1954 Headlined own TV series "Honestly, Celeste!" (CBS)
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1955 Offered a fine supporting turn in "The Tender Trap"; first of two films with Frank Sinatra
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1956 Co-starred in a TV production of "Jack and the Beanstalk" (NBC)
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1956 Supported Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby in the musical "High Society", based on Philip Barry's play "The Philadelphia Story"; last film for six years
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1966 Succeeded Angela Lansbury in the title role of the Broadway musical "Mame"; toured in the part from 1967 until 1969
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1967 Cast as the fairy godmother in the ABC remake of "Cinderella", with a score by Rodgers and Hammerstein
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1968 Earned an Emmy nomination for an appearance on the syndicated religious-themed program "Insight"
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1973 Resumed feature film career after six year absence playing Aunt Polly in the musical "Tom Sawyer"
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1975 Returned to Broadway as part of the American cast of the British hit "Habeas Corpus"
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1976 Portrayed a nun in the NBC miniseries "Captains and the Kings"
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1977 First played writer Janet Flanner in the one-woman show "Paris Was Yesterday" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey; reprised role briefly Off-Broadway in 1979
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1977 Last film for ten years, "The Private Files of J Edgar Hoover"
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1979 Cast as First Lady Florence Harding in "Backstairs at the White House" (NBC); earned Emmy nomination
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1979 Returned to stage musical in the Broadway flop "The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall"
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1986 Briefly joined the cast of the ABC soap opera "Loving", co-starring her fourth husband Wesley Addy
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1987 Made one-shot return to films after a decade in "Three Men and a Baby"
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1989 Had role of Miss Snow in "Polly", the NBC remake of "Pollyanna"
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1990 Reprised role of Miss Snow in "Polly Comin' Home!" (NBC)
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1991 Was back on Broadway in "I Hate Hamlet"
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1997 Again made one-shot return to features after a decade in the independent film "Still Breathing", playing Brendan Fraser's grandmother
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2000 Had recurring role on the UPN police drama "The Beat"
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2000 Returned to the stage as co-star of "Don Juan in Hell" at Off-Broadway's Irish Repertory Theater
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Made frequent guest appearances on TV programs like "Lux Video Theater", "U.S. Steel Hour", "Dr. Kildare", "Mr. Novak" and "The Fugitive"
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Played mother of Gerald McRaney in the CBS series "Promised Land"; also made appearances in the same role on CBS' "Touched By and Angel"
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Played regular role on the ABC series "The Delphi Bureau"
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Portrayed Jaclyn Smith's mom in the limited TV series "Christine Cromwell" (ABC)
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Portrayed the chaperone to the president's daughter in the NBC sitcom "Nancy"
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Was under contract with 20th Century-Fox