1. Geoffrey Lamont Holder was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, director, choreographer, and artist.
22 Facts About Geoffrey Holder
1. 2.
Geoffrey Holder was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in Carib Gold.
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Geoffrey Holder appeared in such films as Doctor Dolittle, Annie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and was the voice of Ray the Sun on the children's television series Bear in the Big Blue House.
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Geoffrey Holder carried out advertising work as the pitchman for 7 Up.
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Geoffrey Holder was educated at Tranquility School and Queen's Royal College in Port of Spain.
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Geoffrey Holder made his performance debut at the age of seven in his brother Boscoe Holder's dance company.
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Geoffrey Holder began his movie career in the 1962 British film All Night Long, a modern remake of Shakespeare's Othello.
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Geoffrey Holder followed that with Doctor Dolittle as Willie Shakespeare, leader of the natives of Sea-Star Island.
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Geoffrey Holder considered refusing to do the stunt but agreed to do it when it was revealed that Princess Alexandra would be visiting the set.
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In 1975, Geoffrey Holder won two Tony Awards for direction and costume design of The Wiz, the all-black musical version of The Wizard of Oz.
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Geoffrey Holder was the first black man to be nominated in either category.
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Geoffrey Holder won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design.
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Geoffrey Holder portrayed Jupiter, the hulking manservant of an ill-fated treasure-hunter, in a 1980 made-for-television adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold-Bug which starred Anthony Michael Hall.
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In John Huston's 1982 film adaptation of the hit stage musical Annie, Geoffrey Holder played the role of Punjab, Albert Finney's bodyguard.
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Geoffrey Holder portrayed the Ghost of Christmas Future in John Grin's Christmas, a 1986 variation on Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol directed by its star, Robert Guillaume.
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Geoffrey Holder portrayed Nelson in the 1992 film Boomerang with Eddie Murphy.
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Geoffrey Holder was the voice of Ray in Bear in the Big Blue House and provided narration for Tim Burton's 2005 film version of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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Geoffrey Holder 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.
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In 1990, Geoffrey Holder performed at the 62nd Academy Awards, singing "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid.
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In 1993, Geoffrey Holder did a series of commercials for the Armory Auto Group auto dealership in Albany, New York.
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Geoffrey Holder's elder brother Boscoe Holder was a dancer, choreographer, and artist, whose son Christian Holder won acclaim as a dancer, choreographer, and entertainer.
22.
Geoffrey Holder died in New York City of complications from pneumonia on October 5,2014, aged 84.