He was born in New York City on September 7, 1848, the son of well-known English American stage actor George Holland.

The next year, under the name of Mr. E. Milton, he became a member of Wallack's company, with which he played successfully in The Road to Ruin, Caste, and other pieces until 1880.

In 1909 he joined the New Theatre Company, of which he remained a member till 1911, playing, among other parts: Holland was married to actress Emily Seward.

[1] Holland is interred in the family plot in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York.

The pallbearers at his funeral included playwrights Clay M. Greene, Joseph R. Grismer, and Augustus Thomas; and actors Francis Wilson, John Drew Jr., DeWolf Hopper and William Courtleigh.