Actor, dancer was much more than 7Up pitchman

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014

GEOFFREY Holder, a multifaceted artist whose impact on dance, design and pop culture was felt for more than four decades, was, by his own admission, best known for pitching a soft drink.

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GEOFFREY Holder, a multifaceted artist whose impact on dance, design and pop culture was felt for more than four decades, was, by his own admission, best known for pitching a soft drink.

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GEOFFREY Holder, a multifaceted artist whose impact on dance, design and pop culture was felt for more than four decades, was, by his own admission, best known for pitching a soft drink.

Holder, who died Sunday at 84 after a bout with pneumonia, became a familiar figure in the ’70s and ’80s as the face and voice of 7Up ads. A native of Trinidad with an expressive face and booming baritone, he would pop up against tropical backgrounds, trumpeting the “absolutely marvellous” taste of the product — always stressing the “ahhh,” to emphasize his distinctive accent.

Successful as they were, those ads didn’t hint at the talents of the man who appeared in them. An accomplished dancer and choreographer, he also distinguished himself as a painter, sculptor, photographer, costume designer and composer. He created dances, music and costumes in his work for such prestigious companies such as Alvin Ailey and the Dance Theater of Harlem, and in 1975 won Tony Awards both for choreography and costume design for his work on The Wiz, an all-black adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz that he also directed.

Holder’s career on Broadway stretched back to 1954, when he appeared in the musical House of Flowers, a collaboration between Truman Capote and Harold Arlen. His next Main Stem appearance was in a historic 1957 revival of Waiting for Godot, in which he played Lucky.

He was also a screen actor, with memorable roles as a voodoo-practising villain in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die and as the good-natured bodyguard Punjab in the 1982 musical Annie.

— USA Today