Geoffrey Holder

**Geoffrey Lamont Holder** (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, voice actor, dancer, choreographer, singer, director and painter.[1] A multifaceted performer and creator,[2] he is best remembered by audiences for his performance as the villainous Baron Samedi in the 1973 Bond-movie *Live and Let Die* and as the pitchman for 7 Up.[3]

After seeing him perform in St. Thomas, the choreographer Agnes de Mille invited Holder to work with her in New York.[6]Upon arriving he joined Katherine Dunham dance school where he taught folkloric forms for two years.[7]

From 1955 to 1956, he performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet as a principal dancer[8]. He left the ballet to make his Broadway debut in the Harold Arlen and Truman Capote musical *House of Flowers.*[9] While working on *House of Flowers*, Holder met Alvin Ailey, with whom he later worked extensively, and Carmen de Lavallade, his future wife. After the show closed he starred in an all-black production of *Waiting for Godot* in 1957.[9]

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*.[4] He contributed to the film's choreography.

In addition to his movie appearances, Holder was a spokesman in advertising campaigns for the soft drink 7 Up in the 1970s and 1980s, declaring it the "uncola", and, in the 1980s, calling it "crisp and clean, and no caffeine; never had it, never will".[10][11]

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.[12]

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),[13] 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!*[14][15][16] Holder's 1957 piece "Bele" is also 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.),[17] ardent art collector, book author, and music composer. As a painter, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship in fine arts in 1956.[18] A book of his photography, *Adam*, was published by Viking Press in 1986.[19]