About Geoffrey Holder
Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, director, choreographer, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in Carib Gold. For his theatre work, Holder won two Tony Awards: Best Direction of a Musical and Best Costume Design in a Musical for the original Broadway production of The Wiz. In 1973, Holder played the villainous Baron Samedi in the James Bond film Live and Let Die. He also appeared in such films as Doctor Dolittle (1967), Annie (1982), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Holder was the voice of Ray the Sun on the children's television series Bear in the Big Blue House (1998–2002) while he also carried out advertising work as the pitchman for 7 Up. 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 won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.