ACTOR
Sterling Holloway
19 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
19 Interesting Facts About Sterling Holloway
Interesting Facts (12)
- #001
Sterling Holloway turned down a contract with Louis B. Mayer at MGM because he did not want to become a star.
- #002
A director once told him he was "too repulsive" for the screen, and Holloway stopped making films for nearly five years. After the 1929 stock market crash, financial need pushed him back into making sound pictures.
- #003
Holloway worked on several Will Rogers films and was injured on a few of them. In one instance, a shelf full of objects fell on his head after Rogers lassoed and dislodged a supporting prop; in another, a gun Holloway was supposed to fire in a scene accidentally went off in his hand.
- #004
Holloway grew up at 301 S. College Street in Cedartown, GA. The street forming the corner where Holloway's house stood is now known as Sterling Holloway Place.
- #005
Holloway was an avid art collector.
- #006
At the age of 15, Holloway enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
- #007
Holloway enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 19, 1942. His height and weight were listed as 5' 9" and 124 lb.
- #008
According to Joe Collura in a full-length article and interview about Sterling in "Classic Images," Holloway was a distant relative of the English stage actress Lady Penelope Boothby, who was immortalized on canvas by the artist Sir Joshua Reynolds.
- #009
Holloway was an AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts) graduate, Class of 1923.
- #010
Sterling Holloway died on the 29th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
- #011
Sterling Holloway died on November 22, 1992, the day actress Scarlett Johansson turned eight years old. He was set to voice the character Kaa in Disney's live-action version of The Jungle Book (2016).
- #012
Sterling Holloway's former home now belongs to Ginnifer Goodwin, the voice of Judy Hopps in the Zootopia films.
Characters & Cast (1)
- #013
Holloway was associated with the Pasadena Playhouse for a time, and in 1931, while there, he appeared in the musical comedy "Hullabaloo." Someone saw him in the show and cast him in a role in Blonde Venus (1932), which starred Marlene Dietrich.
Career & Awards (2)
- #014
Holloway was educated at the Georgia Military Academy, where he appeared in school plays.
- #015
In the 1952 presidential election, Holloway supported the candidacy of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Life & Family (4)
- #016
Although he never married, Holloway adopted a son named Richard Holloway, who survived him when he died in 1992.
- #017
In 1942 he was drafted by the Army and served in Special Services. While there, he helped develop a military-themed show called "Hey Rookie" that ran for nine months in Los Angeles and raised $350,000 for the Army Relief Fund.
- #018
Holloway had a younger brother named Boothby Holloway (1909-1978).
- #019
Holloway was the uncle of Sterling Holloway III, the son and grandson of his brother Boothby Holloway, and the great-uncle of Sterling Holloway IV.
Related pages
- Jim Cummings — Sterling Holloway comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work