He may be best remembered as the older Billy in the 1942 critically and publicly acclaimed film, "The Pride of the Yankees", where the 14-year old teenager attends Lou Gehrig Day and shows Lou Gehrig that he can now walk, implying that Gehrig's promised World Series home runs many years ago gave him the determination to overcome his childhood illness. In the poignant scene, his character Billy's eyes well with tears as the terminally ill ballplayer walks away. Author Richard Sandomir writes in his book about the movie's making that Holt actually cried when he was interviewed for the part by MGM studio mogul Samuel Goldwyn, explaining that he had suffered from polio.