---
name: "Geoffrey Holder"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/geoffrey-holder"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "1 August 1930"
died: "5 October 2014"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T04:52:22.451102+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Geoffrey Holder

Actor. Born 1 August 1930 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Died 5 October 2014.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 1 August 1930, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
- **Died:** 5 October 2014
- **Active:** 1967–1973
- **Also known as:** Джеффри Ламонт Холдер
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Holder, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945691, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0390305/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10225

## 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*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Doctor Dolittle* (1967), Fi1m 50, as William Shakespeare X — [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-dolittle.md)

## Complete filmography (28)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Magistical* (2008), as Narrator
- *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* (2005), as Narrator (voice)
- *Bear in the Big Blue House LIVE! - Surprise Party* (2002), as Ray
- *Cyberchase* (2002), series, as Master Pi (voice)
- *Goosed* (1999), as Dr. Bowman
- *Chance or Coincidence* (1998), as Gerry
- *Bear in the Big Blue House* (1997), series, as Ray the Sun
- *Going, Going, Almost Gone! Animals in Danger* (1995), Actor
- *Boomerang* (1992), as Nelson
- *Tropical Rainforest* (1992), as Narrator
- *Ghost of a Chance* (1987), as Johnson
- *John Grin's Christmas* (1986), as Ghost of Christmas Future
- *Alice in Wonderland* (1983), as Cheshire Cat
- *Annie* (1982), as Punjab
- *The Gold Bug* (1980), as Jupiter
- *Swashbuckler* (1976), as Cudjo
- *The Noah* (1975), as Friday
- *Goggles!* (1974), as (voice)
- *Live and Let Die* (1973), as Baron Samedi · Choreographer
- *The Man Without a Country* (1973), as Slave on Ship
- *Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask* (1972), as Sorcerer
- *Great Performances* (1971), series, as Cheshire Cat
- *Krakatoa, East of Java* (1969), as Sailor
- *Doctor Dolittle* (1967), as William Shakespeare X — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/doctor-dolittle.md)
- *Androcles and the Lion* (1967), as Lion
- *Aladdin* (1958), as Genie
- *DuPont Show of the Month* (1957), series, as Genie
- *Carib Gold* (1956), as Voo Doo Dancer

## Gallery

- ![Actor Geoffrey Holder at the November 2008 Big Apple Convention in Manhattan.](https://film.one/media/person/1026077/gallery-26eee8b03d01.jpg) Actor Geoffrey Holder at the November 2008 Big Apple Convention in Manhattan. — Nightscream, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/GeoffreyHolder11.15.08ByLuigiNovi.jpg/1280px-GeoffreyHolder11.15.08ByLuigiNovi.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade in 1955](https://film.one/media/person/1026077/gallery-82d34911e5fd.jpg) Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade in 1955 — Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Geoffreyandcarmenholder.jpg/1280px-Geoffreyandcarmenholder.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Geoffrey Holder](https://film.one/media/person/1026077/gallery-bb47db46ee6b.jpg) Geoffrey Holder — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won, 1 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1978: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design 1975: Tony Award for Best Costume Design (won)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical 1975: Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/geoffrey-holder