Geoffrey Holder

Geoffrey Holder
Holder at the Big Apple Con, November 15, 2008.
Born	Geoffrey Richard Holder (1930-08-20)August 20, 1930 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Died	New York, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Alma mater	Queen's Royal College
Occupation	Actor, choreographer, director, costume designer, dancer, painter, vocalist
Years active	1957-2014
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Spouse(s)	Carmen de Lavallade (1955–2014; his death)
Family	Boscoe Holder (brother)
Awards	Outstanding Costume Design 1975 The Wiz Best Direction of a Musical 1975 The Wiz Best Costume Design 1975 The Wiz

Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 20, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, choreographer, dancer, painter, singer, and Tony Award-winning stage director and costume designer. He was known for his height (6 ft 6 in), "hearty laugh" and heavily accented bass voice.

Early life

One of four children, of parents who had emigrated to the United States from Trinidad, Holder attended Tranquillity School and then secondary school at Queen's Royal College in Port-of-Spain. At the age of seven, he made his debut in the dance company of his elder brother Boscoe Holder, from whom he had been receiving lessons in dancing and painting.

Career

In 1952, choreographer Agnes de Mille saw Geoffrey Holder dance in St. Thomas. She invited him to New York; he would teach at the Katherine Dunham School of Dance for two years.

Holder was a principal dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York City from 1955 to 1956. He made his Broadway debut in House of Flowers, a musical by Harold Arlen (music and lyrics) and Truman Capote (lyrics and book). He also starred in an all-black production of Waiting for Godot in 1957.

Holder began his movie career in the 1962 British film All Night Long, a modern remake of Shakespeare's Othello. He followed that with Doctor Dolittle (1967) as Willie Shakespeare, leader of the natives of Sea-Star Island. In 1972, he was cast as the Sorcerer in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex*. The following year he was a henchman – Baron Samedi – in the Bond movie Live and Let Die; He contributed to the film's choreography.

In addition to his movie appearances, Holder became a spokesman for the 1970s and 1980s 7 Up soft drink "uncola" and 1980s "crisp and clean, and no caffeine" and "never had it, never will" advertising campaigns.

In 1975 Holder won two Tony Awards for direction and costume design of The Wiz, the all-black musical version of The Wizard of Oz. Holder was the first black man to be nominated in either category. He won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design. The show ran for 1672 performances.

As a choreographer, Holder created dance pieces for many companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, for which he provided choreography, music and costumes for Prodigal Prince (1967), and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, for which he provided choreography, music and costumes for Dougla (1974) and designed costumes for Firebird (1982). In 1978, Holder directed and choreographed the Broadway musical Timbuktu! Holder's 1957 piece "Bele" is part of the Dance Theater of Harlem repertory.

In the 1982 film Annie, Holder played the role of Punjab. He was in the 1992 film Boomerang with Eddie Murphy. He was also the voice of Ray in Bear in the Big Blue House and provided narration for Tim Burton's version of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He reprised his role as the 7 Up Spokesman in the 2011 season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, where he appeared as himself in a commercial for "7 Up Retro" for Marlee Matlin's team.

Holder was a prolific painter (patrons of his art included Lena Horne and William F. Buckley, Jr.), ardent art collector, book author and music composer. As a painter, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship in fine arts in 1956. A book of his photography, Adam, was published by Viking Press in 1986.

Personal life

In 1955, Holder married dancer Carmen de Lavallade, whom he met when both were in the cast of the musical House of Flowers. They lived in New York City and had one son, Léo. They were the subject of a 2004 film, Carmen & Geoffrey. His elder brother Boscoe Holder was a renowned dancer, choreographer and artist. His nephew is Christian Holder (Boscoe's son), who has also won acclaim as a dancer, choreographer and entertainer.

Death

Holder with wife Carmen de Lavallade. photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1955

Geoffrey Holder died in Manhattan from complications from pneumonia on October 5, 2014. His immediate survivors were his wife, Carmen, and their son Léo,.

Productions

Broadway

• Waiting for Godot, revival (all black cast), 1957 – performer
• House of Flowers, Original Musical, 1954 – Banda dance choreography, performer
• Josephine Baker, musical review, 1954 – performer
• The Wiz, original musical, 1975 – direction, costume design (Tony Award for Best Costume Design and Best Direction of a Musical, 1975)
• Timbuktu!, original musical, 1978  – direction, choreography, costume design, playbill cover illustration
• The Wiz, revival, 1984 – direction, costume design
• The Boys' Choir of Harlem and Friends, staged concert, 1993 – staging

Radio

• KYOT-FM in Phoenix, Arizona, 1994–2011 – Voiceover

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1956	Carib Gold	Voo Doo Dancer	Film debut
1962	All Night Long
1967	Doctor Dolittle	Willie Shakespeare
1968	Krakatoa, East of Java	sailor
1972	Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask	The Sorcerer
1973	Live and Let Die	Baron Samedi	also choreography
1975	The Noah	Friday	Voice
1976	Swashbuckler	Cudjo
1978	Doctor J. Kanye
1982	Annie	Punjab
1992	Boomerang	Nelson
1998	Hasards ou coïncidences	Gerry
1999	Goosed
2005	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Narrator	Voice
2006	Joséphine Baker. Black Diva in a White Man's World
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Aladdin	the Genie
1967	Androcles and the Lion
1983	Alice in Wonderland	the Cheshire Cat
1985	John Grin's Christmas	Ghost of Christmas Future
1988	The Cosby Show	choreography	Choreographed the Season 5 opening credits.
1990	The 62nd Annual Academy Awards	performing
1997	Bear in the Big Blue House	Ray	Voice
2002–2-03	Cyberchase	Master Pi (Voice)	Episode 118, "Problem Solving in Shangri-La"
			Episode 209, "Double Trouble"
2011	Celebrity Apprentice	Himself
Video Games
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller	Jean St. Mouchoir	One of only two live actors in the game (as opposed to voice only)

External links

• Geoffrey Holder's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• Leo Holder, "'This Impromptu Dance': Geoffrey Holder's Son Tells One More Story", NPR, October 29, 2014.