Geoffrey Holder

Geoffrey Holder
Holder at the Big Apple Con, November 15, 2008.
Born	1 August 1930 (1930-08-01) (age 79) Port of Spain, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago
Occupation	Actor, choreographer, costume designer, dancer, painter, vocalist, voice artist
Years active	1957–2005
Spouse(s)	Carmen De Lavallade (1955-present)

Geoffrey Holder (born 1 August 1930) is a Trinidadian actor, choreographer, dancer, painter, costume designer, singer and voice-over artist.

Biography

Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Holder is known for his towering 200-centimeter (6'6") height, heavily accented deep basso voice and hearty laugh. With that and his appearance in the 1970s 7 Up soft drink "uncola" advertising campaign, Holder's image quickly became recognizable. He was also in movie Dr.Dolittle as William Shakespeare "Willy" (1967)

Though the 7 Up advertising campaign lasted only a short while in the early 1970s, the company revived the campaign in the early 1980s after Holder achieved a spike in popularity in the 1982 movie version of the musical Annie, in which he played the role of Punjab.

He is a prolific painter, ardent art collector, and performer who has also authored books and composed music.

Holder is married to dancer Carmen De Lavallade, whom he met when both were in the Broadway cast of Flower Drum Song. They live in New York City and have one son, Leo Anthony Lamont. Holder's brother is the London-based artist Boscoe Holder.

Productions

Broadway

• The Boys' Choir of Harlem and Friends, Staged Concert, 1993 - Staging
• The Wiz, 1984 Revival - Direction, Costume Design
• Timbuktu! - Original Musical, 1978 - Direction, Choreography, Costume Design, Playbill Cover Illustration
• The Wiz - Original Musical, 1975 - Direction, Costume Design
• Josephine Baker - Musical Review, 1964 - Performer
• Waiting for Godot - Revival (all black cast), 1957 - Performer
• House of Flowers, Original Musical, 1964 - Banda dance choreography, performer

Film

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

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film), 2005 - narration
• Goosed, 1999
• Hasard ou Coincidence, 1998, a Claude Lelouch Moovie
• Boomerang - 1992
• Annie, 1982
• Doctor J. Kanye, 1978
• Swashbuckler 1976
• Live and Let Die, 1973 - also choreography
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask, 1972
• Doctor Dolittle, 1967

Television

Geoffrey Holder in "Joséphine Baker. Black Diva in a White Man's World", Director: Annette von Wangenheim, http://www.annettevonwangenheim.de/e_film03.htm

• Cyberchase as Master Pi in "Secrets of Symmetria" (episode 118), 2002 and "Double Trouble" (episode 209), 2003
• Bear in the Big Blue House, 1997
• The 62nd Annual Academy Awards, 1990 - performing
• The Cosby Show, 1988 - choreography
• John Grin's Christmas, 1985 - Ghost of Christmas Future
• Alice in Wonderland, 1983
• 7-Up commercials (The Un-cola), from early 1970s to mid 1980s
• What's My Line, circa 1972
• Isle of Capri Casino (commercials), late 1980s

Radio

• KYOT-FM in Phoenix, Arizona, 1994-present - Voiceover

Bibliography

• Holder, Geoffrey; Harshman Tom (1959). Black Gods, Green Islands. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0837127890. 
• Holder, Geoffrey (1973). Geoffrey Holder's Caribbean Cookbook. New York: Viking Press. OCLC 2700931. 
• Holder, Geoffrey (1986). Adam. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670810282. 
• Holder, Geoffrey; University Art Museum. (1995). Geoffrey Holder: the painter. Albany, New York: State University of New York at Albany. ISBN 0910763135. 
• Holder, Geoffrey; Falke, Stefan; Lovelace, Earl (2004). The Dancing spirits of Trinidad: Moko Jumbies. New York: Pointed Leaf Press. ISBN 0972766138. 

References

• "Geoffrey Holder: Visionary Videos: NVLP: African American History:". The National Visionary Leadership Project. http://www.visionaryproject.org/holdergeoffrey/. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 

External links

• Geoffrey Holder's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
• Geoffrey Holder at the Internet Broadway Database
• Geoffrey Holder at the Internet Movie Database