Geoffrey Holder
Birth : 1930-08-01, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Death : 2014-10-05
History
Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad of African descent, Holder was an actor 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 the 1967 movie Dr. Dolittle as William Shakespeare, "Willy," and played Baron Samedi, one of the main villain's henchmen, in the 1973 James Bond film, Live and Let Die. 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 was a prolific painter, ardent art collector, and performer who had also authored books and composed music. As a choreographer, he created dance pieces for many companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Holder was married to dancer Carmen De Lavallade, whom he met when both were in the cast of Truman Capote's House of Flowers. .
Narrator
Once upon a time a guardian was chosen to watch over all living things. She was called The Magistical. Hoping to preserve all precious life, The Magistical created a spell. This spell granted the last of every type of creature, immortality. However, to one very evil Draken, the spell would carry a very different meaning than intended. By killing all other Drakens, she would become the last. Without fear of death, such a beast could rule the world. Now only one baby cub stands between her and her evil ambitions. And between them stands a small, but determined obstacle, named Foible.
Narrator (voice)
A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world's most unusual candy maker.
Self
This intimate documentary follows careers of two remarkable personalities: Carmen de Lavallade, a dynamic dancer and choreographer from California who moved to New York with Alvin Ailey and began a legacy of modern dance in America, and her husband Geoffrey Holder, a Trinidad-born choreographer, set and costume designer, painter and man about town with productions such as The Wiz. Features interviews and performance footage of friends and colleagues: dancers Judith Jamison, Gus Solomons, Jr., Dudley Williams, Ulysses Dove and Alvin Ailey.
Ray
It's Tutter's birthday and viewers are invited to join Bear and the gang in the Big Blue House as they work together to plan a surprise party for Tutter. This stage production features many of the voices from the show and many of its songs as well.
Gerry
Once a successful dancer, Miriam has abandoned her career to bring up her son, Serge, after her boyfriend walked out of her.
Nelson
Marcus is a successful advertising executive who woos and beds women almost at will. After a company merger he finds that his new boss, the ravishing Jacqueline, is treating him in exactly the same way. Completely traumatised by this, his work goes badly downhill.
Narrator
The story of the evolution of tropical rain forests, their recent and rapid destruction, and the intense efforts of scientists to understand them even as they disappear. This film gives viewers a better appreciation of the importance of tropical rain forests on a global scale.
Self
A celebrity benefit for The Actors' Fund of America, featuring music, songs, dance and comedy.
Johnson
A television movie about a veteran policeman who accidentally kills a musician. The ghost of the musician returns to persuade the cop to steer the musician's grandson away from drug peddlers and into a life of music.
Ghost of Christmas Future
An adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol " with Robert Guillaume as John Grin, the Scrooge character. His son Kevin has a role as the Bob Cratchit character, with Geoffrey Holder and Ted Lange as two of the Ghosts.
Self
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.
Cheshire Cat
From the elaborate Broadway revival of the 1932 Eva Le Gallienne/Florida Friebus production comes a whimsical retelling of the Lewis Carroll classic.
Self
Documentary profile of singer-actress Eartha Kitt.
Punjab
An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs to meet her parents. So Warbucks announces a search for them and a reward, which brings out many frauds.
Self / Punjab
An in-depth look into the making of the film Annie (1982). It covers the adaptation changes from the original Broadway musical, the hiring of director John Huston, the nationwide search to cast the title role, the production process, and the conception of several musical numbers, including a different version of the song "Easy Street" than the one that ended up in the film.
Jupiter
Cudjo
A pirate and a hot-tempered noblewoman join forces to protect Jamaica from a tyrant.
Friday
Noah, the sole remaining survivor on our planet after a nuclear holocaust, finds himself unable to to accept his unique predicament. To cope with his loneliness, he creates an imaginary companion, then a companion for his companion and finally an entire civilization - a world of illusion in which there is no reality but Noah, no rules but those of the extinct world of his memory - our world.
(voice)
Two boys discover a pair of lensless motorcycle goggles, and have to outsmart some older boys before they can have fun with their new treasure.
Choreographer
James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.
Baron Samedi
James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.
Sorcerer
A collection of seven vignettes, which each address a question concerning human sexuality. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester, a doctor, a queen and a journalist adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask.
A team of maritime salvage workers are about to embark on a recovery dive. However the 1883 Krakatoa Volcano eruption provides more pressing problems.
William Shakespeare X
A veterinarian who can communicate with animals travels abroad to search for a giant sea snail.
Lion
The story of Androcles, the simple-hearted Christian tailor whose friendship with a lion saves himself and his friends from martyrdom in the Roman Colosseum.
Genie
Cole Porter's version of the story of Aladdin--his only musical written especially for television.
Voo Doo Dancer
The hard-working but struggling crew of a shrimp boat discover a sunken treasure. Trouble ensues in this dramatic black-cast production.
