Tim Holt was a stalwart, granite-jawed American leading man of silent and early talkie films, often associated with Westerns. Born in New York City, Holt claimed to have been born in Winchester, Virginia, where he grew up. As the son of an Episcopal minister, he attended Trinity School in Manhattan, followed by the Virginia Military Institute, from which he was expelled for misbehavior. Abandoning his vague aspirations to become a lawyer, he embarked on a nomadic journey, engaging in various occupations. He mined gold in Alaska, worked as a railroad and civil engineer, delivered mail, rode herd on cattle, and performed in traveling stage productions.
While searching for work as a surveyor in San Francisco in 1914, he volunteered to ride a horse off a cliff in a stunt for a film crew shooting in San Rafael. In gratitude, the director offered him a part in the film. Holt followed the movie people to Hollywood and began landing bits and stunt jobs in numerous Westerns and serials being produced there. He impressed a number of co-workers at Universal Pictures, including Francis Ford and his brother John Ford, as well as Grace Cunard. Soon, Holt became a frequent supporting player in their films, eventually becoming a star in serials.
A move to Paramount studios in 1917 solidified his status as a leading man, and he became one of the studio's greatest stars, particularly in a highly successful series of Westerns based on the novels of Zane Grey. Talkies proved no obstacle for Holt, and his career thrived, mostly in run-of-the-mill adventure films. At the outbreak of World War II, Holt enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 54, serving as a horse buyer for the cavalry at the request of General George C. Marshall. Upon his return to pictures following the war, he alternated between character roles in major films such as John Ford's They Were Expendable (1945) and leading roles in minor Westerns.
He made a cameo appearance in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948),which starred his son Tim Holt. That same year, father and son played father and son in a B-Western, The Arizona Ranger (1948). Less than three years later, on January 18, 1951, Holt passed away from a heart attack at the Los Angeles Veterans Hospital in Sawtelle, just a couple of blocks west of the Los Angeles National Cemetery where he is now buried.
