{{short description|American actor}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Fred Grossinger | image = Publicity_Photo_of_Fred_Grossinger.jpg | caption = Publicity Photo of Fred Grossinger | birth_date = {{birth date|1936|1|1}} | birth_place = Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1995|11|21|1936|1|1}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | resting_place = Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery | other_names = Fred Holliday | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1958–1995 | spouse = {{plainlist| * Judy Kapler * Nancy King }} | children = 1 daughter }}
'''Fred Grossinger''' (January 1, 1936 – November 21, 1995), better known as '''Fred Holliday''', was an American stage, film, and television actor.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyTdAwAAQBAJ&dq=Fred+holliday+1936+1995&pg=PA127|title=Letters to the Dead: Things I Wish I'd Said|first=Ann|last=Palmer|date=June 20, 2014|publisher=CCB Publishing|isbn=9781771431262 |via=Google Books}}</ref> He starred in more than one thousand television commercials from the late 1950s through the 1980s.
==Career== From the late 1950s to the mid 1990s, Holliday also made guest appearances on more than one hundred and fifty television shows, including ''Gunsmoke'', ''Ben Casey'', ''Gomer Pyle: USMC'', ''Dragnet'', ''That Girl'', ''The Mod Squad, Nanny and the Professor'', ''Dan August'', ''Ironside'', ''Lassie'', ''Mission:Impossible'', ''Adam-12'', ''The F.B.I.'', ''McCloud'', ''Columbo'', ''Eight is Enough'', ''Lou Grant'', ''The Love Boat'', ''Galactica 1980'', ''The Facts of Life'', ''Falcon Crest'', ''Dynasty'', ''Gimme a Break!'', ''Riptide'', ''Matlock'', ''Knots Landing'', ''Jake and the Fatman'' and ''Empty Nest''.<ref name="Weiskind">Weiskind, Ron (November 29, 1995) "Fred Holliday: Actor who feasted on commercials" ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' page B-6</ref> He was one of the ''Mighty Carson Art Players'' on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' for twelve years,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tv-show-guide.com/shows/9324.html |title="The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" ''TV Shows Guide'' |access-date=2007-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928133103/http://www.tv-show-guide.com/shows/9324.html |archive-date=2007-09-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> performed in the daytime dramas as Ron Wyche in ''Days of Our Lives'',<ref name="imdb">{{IMDb name|0391050|Fred Holliday (I)}} </ref> as the manager at the Capwell Hotel in ''Santa Barbara'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cybercom.net/~jima/chara.html|title=Santa Barbara Characters|website=www.cybercom.net}}</ref> in nighttime dramas such as John Atherton in ''Dallas''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.soapchat.net/showthread.php?t=118341 |title=''Dallas'' Cast Deaths |access-date=2007-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927023423/http://www.soapchat.net/showthread.php?t=118341 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was host of a short-lived daytime show, ''The Girl in My Life'', on ABC between 1973 and 1974.<ref name="imdb2">{{IMDb title|0313080|"Girl in My Life" (1973)}}</ref>
His movie credits include ''A Patch of Blue (1965), Airport'' (1970), ''Colossus: The Forbin Project'' (1970), ''First Family'' (1980), ''Edge of the Axe'' (1988), and ''Lobster Man from Mars'' (1989).<ref name="imdb"/> Holliday appeared in more than fifty Broadway and regional theater productions.<ref name="Weiskind"/>
Professionally, Holliday served on the local board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of AFTRA for ten years, as well as serving on the national board of AFTRA.<ref>"Obituaries: Fred Holliday" ''Daily Variety'' November 29, 1995</ref>
He was also active in the Screen Actors Guild.<ref>Robb, David (1993) "Top SAG race a 5-way heat" ''The Hollywood Reporter'' September 16, 1993</ref>
Holliday was married to Judy Kapler. He had one daughter, Debra Jeanne (Grossinger) Rouse, from his first marriage to Nancy King.<ref name="Weiskind"/>
==Death== Holliday died in Los Angeles on November 21, 1995, at the age of 59. The cause of death was a heart attack.<ref name="Weiskind"/>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1958|| ''Wind Across the Everglades'' || Slow Boy || Uncredited |- |1963|| ''The Prize'' || Swedish Officer (Nudist Meeting) || Uncredited |- |1964|| ''The New Interns'' || Intern || Uncredited |- |1965|| ''A Patch of Blue'' || Man || Uncredited |- |1967|| ''A Guide for the Married Man'' || Party Guest #6 || |- |1970|| ''Airport'' || Chester Jennings - Passenger || Uncredited |- |1970|| ''Colossus: The Forbin Project'' || Military Computer Entry - Missile Launch || Uncredited |- |1972|| ''Lapin 360'' || || |- |1980|| ''First Family'' || U. N. Official #1 || |- |1988|| ''Edge of the Axe'' || Frank McIntosh || |- |1989|| ''Lobster Man from Mars'' || Colonel Ankrum || |}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *{{IMDb name|0391050}} *{{Find a Grave|4395}} *[http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/imgcache/2155.imgcache Fred Holliday on the ''Johnny Carson Show''] Jpeg formatted image file, poor quality
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossinger, Fred}} Category:1936 births Category:1995 deaths Category:Male actors from Pittsburgh Category:American male comedians Category:American male film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American comedians Category:Comedians from Pittsburgh