Geoffrey Holder has died at the age of 84.
You’ll remember him as ‘Baron Samedi’ in Live And Let Die or Willie Shakespeare in Doctor Doolittle. Or perhaps his 7-Up commercials: ‘Cola nut… UN-Cola nut.’ and ‘Crisp and clean, with no caffeine!’ (That last phrase still pops into my head from time to time.
We’ve lost a distinctive, talented actor.
What a voice that man had!
Condolences to his friends and family.
He and Usain Bolt would have made a dandy team!
I have almost no memory of that movie except that his character scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. ::Shudder::.
His best line: “The smell of success is never too sweet. HAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Star Trek should have cast him as the ruler of some advanced alien civilzation. I can see him sitting on his throne, laughing down his nose at Kirk or Picard.
RIP.
Boooooooo!!!
I loved listening to him. He and Carol Burnett were the only watchable things about Annie.
I recently read an account of the making of DOCTOR DOOLITTLE.
Rex Harrison was one of those rare individuals that you’ll almost never read anything nice about: “a complete bastard’s complete bastard” according to one source, that source being his son Noel, and Sexy Rexy was in rare form during the making of DOCTOR DOOLITTLE. He didn’t want to do the movie to begin with, he was having major marital problems with wife 4, Rachel Roberts, and was hurling abuse at everybody on the set including children and seals and animal trainers; Anthony Newley threatened to beat the hell out of him at one point due to his anti-Semitic slurs. While filming in the Caribbean he absolutely insisted on being housed on a luxury yacht- no hotel or private house.
At one point he and Mrs. Harrison did have a cocktail party on the yacht for cast and crew. Mrs. Harrison seemed a bit p.o.d that Holder had the bad form to both be black and come to the party. From the deck they watched several black men loading bananas onto a cargo ship and she said something to the effect of “It must be nice for you to be on a boat without having to carry bananas for a change.”
He responded with words to the effect of “At least the men carrying bananas associate with a higher caliber of sailor.”
There was a hurricane during the already disaster laden production that almost destroyed the yacht. It was a source of delight to the cast that the Harrisons were tossed about and terrified.
Ddamn that sucks. A wonderful voice and an incredible stage presence; why the fuck didn’t anyone think to cast him as Michael Clarke Duncan’s father in some movie back in the '90s? That would have totally fucking rocked.
I remember him in one of my “guilty pleasure” films; Swashbuckler (1976) - Robert Shaw, James Earl Jones, Peter Boyle, Genevieve Bujold, Beau Bridges, and Holder running around playing pirates.
My favorite line: “What a funny accent!” Especially funny since Dr. Doolittle came three years after My Fair Lady.
Oh yes, I’ve found someone else who likes this film!
I saw a PBS production which detailed his choreographing an African style production of The Firebird. Tha man was a fantastic dancer himself, but the production of this ballet was out of this world.
This is one celebrity death that I really mourn.
What a deep voice. He will need a separate casket for his balls.
I always enjoyed Geoffrey’s 7 up commercials. They were cleverly done. I saw him on Celebrity Apprentice a couple years ago. He was brought in to help with a celebrity challenge. I think it was the semi-final.
R.I.P.
Did he do a Starburst commercial too or am I thinking of somebody else?
Geoffrey Holder also did a “Ring around the collar” commercial. A man is doing the limbo dance, and as he is going under the bar Holder is singing. . .
“You are do-ing fine. . .
Now watch your shoooulda. . .
Oh, you got a ring. . .
Ring around the coll-uuuuuh”
Couldn’t find it on youtube, though.
he’s The Man Who Cannot Die he can just use voodoo to come back
that’s sad he was good in Live and Let Die and those 7-up commercials. never had it ha ha ha never will
I don’t know him in anything else
Him riding the cow catcher at the front of the train and laughing at the end was possibly the single best Roger Moore bond ending…
