Tony Winning 'WIZ' Director & Costume Designer Geoffrey Holder Dies at 84

The New York Times reports that Tony Award-winning stage director and costume designer Geoffrey Holder passed away on Sunday, October 5th in Manhattan. The site reports that according to family spokesman Charles M. Mirotznik, the cause of death was complications from pneumonia. Holder was 84 years old.

Born in Trinidad, the actor was well known for his grand stature, "hearty laugh" and heavily accented bass voice. In 1952, the choreographer Agnes de Mille saw Holder dance on Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands. She invited him to New York where he would eventually teach at the Katherine Dunham School of Dance for two years. He was a principal dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York from 1955 to 1956.

In 1955, Holder married dancer Carmen De Lavallade, whom he met when both were in the cast of Broadway's House of Flowers, a musical by Harold Arlen (music and lyrics) and Truman Capote (lyrics and book). They were the subject of a 2004 film, Carmen & Geoffrey. He later played the role of Lucky in a revival of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" directed by Herbert Berghof on Broadway in January 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. This was a trying experience for Holder, as he had to contend with casual racism from Rex Harrison's then-wife, Rachel Roberts, and his entourage. In the 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; Holder also contributed to the film's choreography. In addition to his movie appearances, Holder became a spokesman for the 1970s 7 Up soft drink "uncola" advertising campaign.

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 also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design. The show ran for 1672 performances over a four-year period; it was revived in 1984.

As a choreographer, Holder has 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 also part of the Dance Theater of Harlem repertory.

In the 1982 film version of the musical Annie, Holder played the role of Punjab. 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.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Geoffrey Holder: (NOTE: Slight modifications have been made to the original work)

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos