an album for him reflecting the start of his professional career as an actor. Holliman saved money from his positions as an usher at the Strand Theatre, as a newsboy for the Shreveport Times,, and as a magician's assistant before he left Louisiana for Hollywood. After an unsuccessful first attempt finding work in the film industry, he soon returned to Louisiana after being in California for only one week. Meanwhile, Velma had remarried, and Holliman disliked his new stepfather Guy Bellotte so much that he lied about his age and enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. Assigned to a Navy communications school in Los Angeles, Holliman spent his free time at the Hollywood Canteen, talking to stars who dropped by to support the servicemen and women. A year after his enlistment, the Navy discovered his real age and he was immediately discharged. Holliman returned home, worked in the oilfields in his spare time, washed dishes at various restaurants, and after some attendance at Louisiana Avenue, Fair Park, and Byrd High School in Shreveport, completed his public education at Oil City High School in Oil City, graduating with high honors in 1946; while a student there, he also played right tackle on the school football team and served as senior-class president. After rejecting a scholarship to Louisiana State University, he re-enlisted in the Navy and was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. Interested in acting, he was cast as the lead in several Norfolk Navy Theatre productions. When he left the Navy for good, he studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He also graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles. During the time he studied acting at both the Playhouse and UCLA, he supplemented his income working as a file clerk for Blue Cross (later known as Blue Cross Blue Shield Association) and with North American Aviation constructing airplanes. Career Film While at the Pasadena Playhouse, Holliman entered the Paramount lot by claiming he had an appointment with a studio barber. Eventually he became friendly with studio executives. Holliman first got a small bit part opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in Scared Stiff (1953). Next he was cast as a marine in The Girls of Pleasure Island (1953), for which he needed a G.I. haircut. Finally he saw the barber and ended up with a haircut (and bangs) that changed his life. After he gained popularity in