Hollywood’s Golden Boys – in more ways than three

HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN BOYS. Holden, Redford, Pitt. AFP PHOTOS

Marilyn Monroe, Jean Harlow, Diana Dors, Doris Day and other famous goddesses of the silver screen know that blondes have more fun – and their male counterparts haven’t done too badly, either. Take it from three of Hollywood’s most iconic Golden Boys through the years – William Holden, Robert Redford and Brad Pitt.

Holden’s fair-haired charms were in stunning evidence on the screen in standout starrers like “Golden Boy,” “Sabrina,” “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai.”

A bit of “localized” trivia: Holden came to Manila in the ’50s, and was feted by local “high society,” including some lovely and elegant women who aspired to show him (preferably in private) what our celebrated Filipino hospitality was all about.

But, if a veteran fortune-teller is to be believed (and she has the faded newspaper clippings to “prove” it), she was the one who caught the handsome actor’s eye –and heart – at least for the few days he was here. Oooh, she used to recall with a self-satisfied purr, how those green-eyed society “b—–s” hated her then!

Popular

For his part, Robert Redford was Hollywood’s next Golden Boy, even more so than Paul Newman, his similarly popular and bodacious co-star in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

After other standout starrers like “The Way We Were” (in which he made beautiful music with Barbra Streisand), Redford stunned everyone by revealing that there was much more to him than his to-die-for looks and hunky body. Not only did he act in and direct some of the movie industry’s most provocative dramas, but he also founded the indie Sundance Film Festival, which has rightfully earned a name for itself as the discoverer of brave, new filmmakers and their budget but awesome productions.

Today’s Golden Boy, Brad Pitt, looks like he’s bound to end up as a great film artist, too. He’s as heartbreakingly handsome as they come, but his golden looks are the least of his concerns these days.

With his similarly beautiful life partner, Angelina Jolie, he’s reinvented what a movie star is or can be: No longer just a great-looking star, but also an exemplar for many others to emulate due to his philanthropic and humanitarian involvements and commitments, which have taken him all over the world and used up many of the millions of dollars he’s earned.

Philanthropies

And, when he does face the cameras again to earn more millions with which to fund his philanthropies, Pitt makes sure they’re artistically challenging. The best example is his recent starrer, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” which has been adjudged Best Film in the 2011 Cannes film festival.

He plays a father who’s loving and violent and psychologically troubled at the same time. Not many popular stars would agree to play such a potentially off-putting character, but Pitt embraces the challenge and danger with the great heart of the true champion that he’s become.