Biography
Geoffrey Holder (1930–2014) was a Trinidadian actor, dancer and choreographer. Born in Port of Spain, he moved to New York in the early 1950s and began appearing in films with a role in the 1962 adaptation All Night Long. He played William Shakespeare X in Doctor Dolittle (1967) and Baron Samedi in Live and Let Die (1973).
Holder’s other screen roles included the Sorcerer in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Punjab in Annie (1982) and the narrator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). On stage he directed and designed costumes for the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz*, winning two Tony Awards. He was also known for choreography created for companies including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Holder was married to dancer Carmen de Lavallade, whom he met while performing in Truman Capote’s House of Flowers.
