Geoffrey Holder obit

Geoffrey Holder, Bond villain and dancer, dies aged 84

He was not on the list.

Geoffrey Holder, the Tony-winning actor, dancer and choreographer known to millions as Baron Samedi in Bond movie Live and Let Die, has died at 84. 

Born in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, Holder was also a composer, a designer and a celebrated painter. 

He will be best remembered to many as the cackling Voodoo villain who dogged Roger Moore's footsteps in his first outing as secret agent James Bond. 

His other films included 1982 musical Annie, in which he played Punjab. 

Often cast in exotic roles, he played a tribal chieftain in 1967 film Doctor Dolittle and a sorceror in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask). 

More recently, his distinctive bass voice was heard narrating Tim Burton's 2005 film version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

Holder, one of four children, was taught to dance by his older brother Boscoe, joining his dance company at the age of seven. 

He became director of the company in the late 1940s after Boscoe moved to London, before moving to the US in 1954. 

Holder made his Broadway debut that same year in House of Flowers, a Caribbean-themed musical in which he first played Baron Samedi. 

A top-hatted spirit of death in Haitian Voodoo culture, the character made full use of the actor's imposing physique and physical dexterity. 

He won two Tony Awards for best costume design and musical direction in the original Broadway production of The Wiz, an all-black version of The Wizard of Oz. He also appeared in an all-black version of Waiting for Godot. He also carried out advertising work as the pitchman for 7 Up. 

According to a family spokesman, he died on Sunday in New York from complications caused by pneumonia, He is survived by his wife, Carmen de Lavallade, and their son Leo. 

 

Filmography 

Film  

Year, Title, Role, Notes  

1957, Carib Gold, Voo Doo Dancer, Film debut  

1959, Porgy & Bess, Dancer, Uncredited  

1962, All Night Long, Himself, Uncredited  

1967, Doctor Dolittle, Willie Shakespeare,  

1968, Krakatoa, East of Java, Sailor,  

1972, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask, The Sorcerer,  

1973, Live and Let Die, Baron Samedi, Also choreography  

1975, The Noah, Friday, Voice  

1976, Swashbuckler, Cudjo, Also choreography  

1978, Doctor J. Kanye, ,  

1982, Annie, Punjab,  

1987, Where Confucius Meets the New Wave, Narrator,  

1992, Boomerang, Nelson,  

1998, Hasards ou coïncidences, Gerry,  

1999, Goosed, Dr. Bowman,  

2005, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Narrator, Voice  

2006, Joséphine Baker. Black Diva in a White Man's World

2008, The Magistical, Narrator,  

 

Television  

Year , Title , Role , Notes  

1958, Aladdin, The Genie,  

1967, Androcles and the Lion, ,  

1968, A Gun for Jai, Mayko,  

1983, Alice in Wonderland, The Cheshire Cat,  

1985, John Grin's Christmas, Ghost of Christmas Future,  

1988, The Cosby Show, Choreography, Choreographed the Season 5 opening credits  

1990, The 62nd Annual Academy Awards, Performing,  

1998-1999, Bear in the Big Blue House, Ray the Sun, Voice  

2002–2003, Cyberchase, Master Pi, Voice, Episode 118, "Problem Solving in Shangri-La"  

Voice, Episode 209, "Double Trouble"  

2011, Celebrity Apprentice, Himself,  

 

Video Games  

Year , Title , Role , Notes  

1994, Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller, Jean St. Mouchoir, One of only two live actors in the game (as opposed to voice only)  

2005, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Narrator, Voice