Note: the above photos were contributed from the collection of Donnie Jarrell, who was a friend to Sterling Holloway in his final years. – KtE

Today, we celebrate a local talent who left behind a legacy in film and television that can only be matched by some of the greatest names on the silver screen.

I’m of course talking about Sterling Holloway, who if he were still alive today would have been 116 years old. He was born on this day in 1905.

The longtime film and television actor grew up here and helped with the family grocery store, but got his real start in fame when he left Georgia for New York City after graduating from the Georgia Military Academy in 1920 at the age of 15 and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

It was six years later when he moved to Hollywood that his fame grew in his film career, which spanned 50 years. He served in the Army’s Special Services when he enlisted at the age of 37 in 1942, and appeared in all kinds of shows.

However, most of you know Holloway’s voice and not his face. He worked on Dumbo, Bambi and narrated Peter and the Wolf. However, you’ll know his voice for sure as Winnie the Pooh and the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, and Kaa the snake in The Jungle Book. He also did voices for The Aristocats.

Holloway also appeared on television, which is the focus of this year’s birthday post honoring Holloway: he even stopped by Mayberry during his career.

That’s right, here’s a clip of Sterling Holloway talking with Sheriff Andy on The Andy Griffith Show as an example (note, couldn’t find this full episode on Youtube.)

His Andy Griffith Show appearance came as Bert in an episode titled “The Merchant of Mayberry” that first aired in 1962.

Television appearances also included spots on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Untouchables, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Adventures of Superman, The Twilight Zone, Gilligan’s Island and a lot more.

Nowadays in Cedartown, Sterling Holloway is remembered in several ways. His talents are celebrated with a room dedicated to his life and career at the Polk County History Museum downtown, there’s Sterling Holloway Place along with a historic marker indicating where his boyhood home once stood, and the park in front of Polk County Courthouse No. 2 now bears his name, Holloway Park.

Find out more about his life and career here.