- For over 25 years, he was president of Actors and Others for Animals.
- During World War II, he lied about his age and enlisted in the United States Navy at age 15. He was discharged a year later when his real age was discovered. Following his high school graduation, he rejoined the Navy at age 18 and was stationed in Norfolk, VA, where he became involved in the Norfolk Navy Theater and appeared in leading roles in several productions.
- In 1974, while he was starring as Bill Crowley in Police Woman (1974), he was stopped by a policeman while driving one day and when asked to show his driver's license, the officer paused after examining it and asked, "Do you know a girl named Pepper?" When Holliman answered, "Yes", the officer reportedly handed him back his driver's license, smiled, and said, "You're free to go, I'll let you off with a warning".
- Although his role in Scared Stiff (1953) was uncredited, Holliman stayed up for three nights straight to practice the perfect delivery of his only line which was less than a sentence long.
- While riding on a train to Marfa, Texas, to begin filming Giant (1956), Earl was sitting with the cast and crew in one of the passenger cars when it was announced by one of the conductors that Elizabeth Taylor's club car was up front. After hearing this, Earl went up to her cabin to introduce himself and when she answered she invited him in to sit and visit with her so she would be able to get to know him somewhat better before they were to begin work on the production. Not long after he was sitting with her, he happened to look out the window into the desert the train was riding through and remarked, " Look at those flowers! Aren't they pretty?" When Elizabeth looked at the cactus flowers, Earl was speaking of she then looked at him and asked, "Do you want one?" Before Earl could answer Elizabeth's question, she immediately stood up, pulled the emergency brake, after the train came to an immediate screeching halt, she then proceeded to run outside and pick the biggest cactus flower she could. While the engineers ran around trying to calm the rest of the cast and crew aboard and find out what happened, Elizabeth had promptly returned to her cabin with Earl still sitting there in amazement to find Ms. Taylor approaching him with a smile on her face, and still looking beautiful as ever with no broken sweat whatsoever, handing him a cactus flower simply saying, "Here.".
- The interior of his home consists of framed movie posters of every single movie he ever starred in hanging through various rooms.
- For his work in The Rainmaker (1956), he's one of only 7 actors to win the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a motion picture without receiving an Oscar nomination for the same performance. The other 6 are, in chronological order: Millard Mitchell in My Six Convicts (1952), Stephen Boyd in Ben-Hur (1959), Oskar Werner in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), Richard Attenborough, The Sand Pebbles (1966) and Doctor Dolittle (1967), Richard Benjamin in The Sunshine Boys (1975) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nocturnal Animals (2016).
- Out of all his movie roles, he has reportedly cited The Rainmaker (1956) as being his personal favorite.
- He has a street named after him in Torrance, California.
- In a July 1998 fan letter response, he said that if he hadn't gone into acting, he would have either become a schoolteacher, a writer, or even both.
- In 1960, MGM toyed with the idea of doing an all-male remake of The Women (1939) which would have been entitled, Gentlemen's Club. Like the female version, this would have involved an all masculine cast and the plot would have involved a man (Jeffrey Hunter) who recently discovers among his friends that his wife is having an affair with another man (Earl Holliman) and after going to Reno to file for divorce and begin a new life, he later finds himself doing what he can to rectify matters later on when he discovers that the other man is only interested in money and position and he decides to win his true love back again. Although nothing ever came of this, it would have consisted of the following ensemble had it did: Jeffrey Hunter (Martin Heal), Earl Holliman (Christopher Allen), Tab Hunter (Simon Fowler), Lew Ayres (Count Vancott), Robert Wagner (Mitchell Aarons), James Garner (Peter Day), Jerry Mathers (Little Martin), James Stewart (Mr. Heal), Ronald Reagan (Larry), Troy Donahue (Norman Blake), and Stuart Whitman (Oliver, the bartender who spills the beans about the illicit affair).
- In the late 1970s, he was a National Honorary Chairman for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.
- In a 2006 interview with actress Betty White, when asked of Actors and Others for Animals she praised Holliman for his work and dedication over the years and how if it had not been for him the organization would not have proved so successful. In 2010, Actors and Others for Animals established a fund entitled The E.A.R.L. (Emergency Animal Relief Lifeline) to carry out his vision to help animals in need. This fund provides larger subsidies for a select number of more serious medical requests.
- A staunch conservative Republican, Holliman campaigned for President Eisenhower's re-election in 1956. He supported Ronald Reagan's run for governor of California in 1966 and 1970 and later endorsed him for president in the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections. He also endorsed Richard Nixon for president in the 1968 and 1972 presidential elections, and later endorsed George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. He was one of many celebrities who worked with Nancy Reagan in advocating and raising awareness of her "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign.
- At the start of his film career in the 1950s, he was always given the star billing when his films were shown in his home town of Oil City, Louisiana, and The Strand Theatre where he had ushered in Shreveport, however minor the role.
- In the mid-1980s, he was an honorary spokesman for The Alzheimer's Association.
- One of Holliman's fondest memories of Police Woman (1974) includes moving into an unfurnished house and procrastinating decorating and later when he returned from working on a television movie, he found his house fully furnished courtesy of Angie Dickinson.
- In his early teens, he was a movie usher at a theatre in Shreveport, Louisiana.
- He turned down the lead roles in Laramie (1959), Riverboat (1959), and The Deputy (1959) to play the role of Sundance in Hotel de Paree (1959).
- He was invited to be an honorary guest at the 2019 Serling Fest in Binghamton, New York, to celebrate both the 60th Anniversary of The Twilight Zone (1959) and the career of Rod Serling. Despite wanting to be there, he declined the offer citing that at his age it would prove rather difficult for him to make such a long trip from California.
- In 1960, he developed acute hepatitis and had to undergo a two-week hospitalization from which he fully recovered.
- He is the last surviving cast member of Forbidden Planet (1956).
- In his early teens, he worked in a magic shop as a magician's assistant.
- In 2006, he appeared with Warren Stevens and Richard Anderson at the 2006 Comic Con in San Diego, California, to partake in the 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition DVD release of Forbidden Planet (1956).
- Longtime companion of Anthony George.
- On June 21, 2018, a profile was established on the website DeviantArt entitled, "EarlHollimanTributes". The website posted more than 25 caricatures in honor of the actor (whom is described not only as his favorite actor but "the greatest actor of the 20th-century and evermore") which includes a variety of original drawings, in both B&W and color, hand sketched, and even digitally replicated. The site displays Holliman in some of his memorable movie and television appearances.
- Holliman had originally not wanted to play Bob Dace in Giant (1956) but after meeting with George Stevens he accepted after learning Stevens had personally chosen him to bring the character to screen life, having been impressed by the actor and wanted him to be part of the production.
- He was considered for the role of Beauregard Decker in the romantic comedy drama Bus Stop (1956), which was later given to Don Murray.
- Holliman was reportedly considered for the role of Mr. Parker ("The Old Man") in A Christmas Story (1983), which went to Darren McGavin.
- On February 24, 2018, South Carolina based artist Greg Joens submitted a caricature of Holliman on his official website honoring Earl as his Sketch of the Day.
- "The Sundance Cocktail" and "The Mitch Guthrie Cocktail" are adult beverages named in honor of Holliman, having been the title characters he portrayed in the series, Hotel de Paree (1959) and Wide Country (1962).
- In 1994, he was negotiating to appear in a Lifetime television movie entitled, "Our Anniversary". It told the story of a couple nearing their 40th wedding anniversary who not only look back on the years of their marriage but also ponder as to whether how many more they will have when the misses discover she has contracted a health condition that might be fatal, which later proves to be a negative prognosis, ensuring they will have many more happy years ahead due to her rediscovered perfect health. It was never made.
- On April 21, 2018, he was caricatured by American graphic artist "peterpicture" via his profile on the website DeviantArt honoring Earl as the sketch of the day.
- On April 8, 1987, he, Veronica Hamel, and Jo Anne Worley, traveled to New York City to host the first annual 9 Lives National Morris Award, a cat lovers tournament where the judges choose the top household cat in the entire city.
- In 1997, he was considered to appear in a television adaptation of "12 Angry Men" in the role of Juror No. 8, which was later given to Jack Lemmon when Holliman had to decline due to his busy schedule appearing in the lead cast of NightMan (1997) and appearing in a guest spot on Caroline in the City (1995) at the same time.
- In 1998, he was in talks to be in the title role of a television Christmas special for Hallmark Hall of Fame entitled "Joshua's Wish" and would have told the story of a man whose family wants to gift him with a holiday season to remember by reuniting him with a childhood comrade whom he hadn't seen in years having been separated from one another during the final years of the Great Depression. It was never made.
- During the 2018 Holiday Season, the company Fantastic Vinyl sold a set of handmade wall clock's (which were made from vinyl records) featuring Holliman with a selling price of $29.99 a piece.
- During his time studying at the Pasadena Playhouse, he supplemented his income working for Blue Cross as a file clerk.
- He was considered for the role of Brick Pollitt in the 1958 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams' acclaimed play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", which went to Paul Newman.
- On December 24, 2018, he was honored with a Sketch of the Day caricature on the website Star Portraits by American artist Ronda West.
- In February 2021, he officially announced that he would no longer honor autograph requests due in part to his advanced age.
- A 1946 graduate of Oil City High School in Oil City, Louisiana, he was Senior Class President and played right tackle on the football team. He returned in 1965 for a week long motivational seminar as an Honorary Guest Speaker. Prior to Oil City High School, he had previously attended Fair Park College Preparatory Academy and C.E. Byrd High School.
- Earl was the seventh out of ten children in his biological family. In later years, despite being put up for adoption at birth, he was able to reconnect and establish relationships with them. He was adopted from an orphanage one week after his birth by Henry Holliman, a World War I veteran and oil field worker, and his wife, Velma. After his adopted father died when he was 13, he worked with his mother waiting on tables for $1 a night and in the oil fields on the side.
- On March 12, 2010, he was caricatured by American illustrator James O'Brien in his Twilight Zone appearance with the drawing simply titled, "Earl".
- In 1970, he was filmed in a television movie for 20th Century Fox entitled "The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta", but it was never released and has since been lost.
- At the beginning of the 1950s, before his entry into film acting, he had been employed for North American Aviation.
- In May 1976, he appeared on The John Davidson Show (1969) performing a solo rendition of The Carpenters' "Rainy Days and Mondays" as well as singing a vaudeville themed duet with Davidson of B.J. Thomas' "Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song".
- A busy character actor through his career, Earl became typecast playing louts, dimwits, and naive characters until he reached the age of about 40.
- In 1983, he appeared as himself in two commercials for Actors and Others for Animals promoting the importance of spaying and neutering during pet ownership.
- In honor his 95th birthday on September 11, 2023, his name was cited first and foremost in nationwide Born on the Day mention columns.
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