Thanks for sharing this. Geoffrey Holder, the only theater man who at 6 feet, 6 inches could look Tommy Tune right in the eye and say "Abosolutely maaaaah-velous," died Sunday in New York City. He went real fast.". Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. Carmen De Lavallade. Ad Age and Creativity Staff According to The Washington Post, Varney was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1998 and even underwent surgery where he had two-thirds of his right lung removed. According to his website, Winchell had other Disney roles too, voicing a Siamese cat in "The Aristocats" and Boomer the woodpecker in "The Fox and the Hound.". I appreciate the drop and the education. Geoffrey Holder - the actor, dancer and director whose "Uncola" spot for 7UP proved one of the best ads of the 20th century died on Sunday of complications from pneumonia. Lindsay Rittenhouse Holder began his movie career in the 1962 British film All Night Long, a modern remake of Shakespeare's Othello. Geoffrey Holder appears in ads for Seven-Up. 61 in Ad Age's list of the best spots of the 20th century. By portraying Coke and Pepsi as the Establishment, JWT effectively situated 7-Up as analternative brand for alternative people. Holder portrayed the Ghost of Christmas Future in John Grin's Christmas, a 1986 variation on Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol directed by its star, Robert Guillaume. His other films included Doctor Dolittle, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex, Annie and Boomerang. A collection of heads of some of the most celebrated persons of every age and country : with brief extracts from eminent writers illustrative of their lives, characters and genius : in prose and verse : autograph manuscript. Holder was the first black man to be nominated in either category. New York City. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.\" ", Billy Mays was all over television screens. Dancer, choreographer and actor Geoffrey Holder was born on August 1, Artist, dancer, and choreographer, Geoffrey Holder, was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on August 20, 1930. Kamen did find success in the music industry in the U.K. when he released the song "Each Time You Break My Heart" which was co-written by Madonna. Geoffrey Holder has died at the age of 84. There were some iffy moments about Geoffrey Holder, 7-Up's pitchman from the 70s and 80s, getting there, but it all worked out and Geoffrey was the surprise finishing touch in Marlee's commercial, with Richard Hatch in an afro wig wanting to boogie, La Toya as a Wonder Woman wannabe and Meat Loaf as a Bat out of Hell. His character became the spokesperson for everyone's favorite cookies by Pepperidge Farm, which was heard on radio and seen on commercials until he retired from acting in the late 70s, as AP noted. You must log in or register to reply here. His elder brother Boscoe Holder was a dancer, choreographer, and artist. However, viewers watching television in the '70s and '80s would likely recognize Holder as the man behind the 7Up ads. As a painter, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship in fine arts in 1956. Landon was a breakout star in Hollywood, and besides his many roles, he became the face of Kodak film and starred in many commercials throughout the late '70s and early '80s. Entertainmentreporting that Madonna quickly took him under her wing as he had inspirations to become a singer. Geoffrey Holder (1930-2014). Holder, who passed away Oct. 5 at age 84 in New York City, was a dancer, a choreographer, a Tony Award-winning director and costume designer and actor you might remember as the Voodoo spell-casting henchman in the 1973 James Bond thriller Live and Let Die. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. They cut that shit out. In 1975, he won his Tony Awards for directing and designing costumes for, He was the voice of Ray in the popular children's TV series. Geoffrey Holder, best known as a Bond baddie and pitchman for 7Up, has died at the age of 84. To Continue Reading. To television audiences, Holder may be best remembered for a series of commercials for the product '7 Up' during the 1970s and 1980s in which he provided his trademark hearty laugh. [2][3] He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in Carib Gold. He provided narration work for the film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005). In 1973, he played the villainous Baron Samedi in the Bond film Live and Let Die. His ability to sell anything and everything landed him a show on the Discovery Channel called "Pitchmen," which also followed Anthony Sullivan, a memorable pitchman who earned the nickname The OxiClean Man. While Popeil had his fair share of nicknames, he became a huge success and shared in 1995 (via The New York Times), "I've gone by many titles: King of Hair, King of Pasta, King of Dehydration, or to use a more colloquial phrase, a pitchman or a hawker. [8], From 1955 to 1956, he performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet as a principal dancer. Geoffrey Holder the actor, dancer and director whose "Uncola" spot for 7UP proved one of the best ads of the 20th century died on Sunday of complications from pneumonia. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 Productions 5.1 Broadway 5.2 Radio 5.3 Filmography Early life With just under 6,000 Wendy's across the nation (via Restaurant Business), it has become a fast-food favorite among Americans, with Forbes reporting that it had "dethroned" Burger King to become the second biggest hamburger chain behind McDonald's. Who was the 7 Up the Uncola guy? At the time, 7UP prohibited African-Americans from appearing in its TV ads, according to Charlie Martell, the J. Walter Thompson creative director who wrote the ad. [10] While working on House of Flowers, Holder met Alvin Ailey, with whom he later worked extensively, and Carmen de Lavallade, his future wife. RIP Geoffrey Holder. A 1973 article from Southern Advertising described the success of the billboard campaign: To zero in on the college and younger age groups, [Seven-Up executive] Roesch has developed a different approach to the use of the outdoor medium. four children, he was taught painting and dancing by his older brother. The dancer, actor, painter and director died Sunday at 84. Several of his commercials were Christmas-themed, one in which showed the star Christmas shopping with his real son Chris who picks out a Kodak camera to give to his grandmother. While becoming Ernest was his most notable role, Varney also took part in Disney's "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" where he voiced Slinky Dog, and starred as Jed Clampett in the film version of The Beverly Hillbillies, per Wide Open Country. Post contributed by Claire Payton, John W.Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History internand Ph.D. candidate, Duke University Department of History. I remember as a kid tasting 7up cake for the first time. However, before she appeared on television in her white overalls and asked viewers to choose Comet instead of the competition, she was a famous child star of the 1930s. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade papers, circa 19002018, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_Holder&oldid=1126110644, Actor, voice actor, singer, dancer, composer, choreographer, director, Choreographed the season 5 opening credits, Voice, Episode 118, "Problem Solving in Shangri-La", This page was last edited on 7 December 2022, at 16:03. October 9, 20149:33 AM ET. . For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. 32K views, 1K likes, 112 loves, 89 comments, 636 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from WPIX Archives: Crisp and clean, the Uncola! Holder died at the age of 84 in 2014 after complications due to pneumonia, per The New York Times. Geoffrey Holder. The Guinness Book of World Records even recognized Thomas with "Most TV commercials starring [the] company founder. The prominent slogan in this 7 UP ad is \"Never had it, never will.\"\r\r\r\"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for \"fair use\" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Those commercials, oddly, were the best-known work of the 6-foot-6 Renaissance man who excelled at numerous other, more lofty artistic endeavors. Researched and produced by Bill Barre and Karl Idsvoog, both professors at Kent State University, this seven-minute program uses interviews with former JWT executives Charlie Martell and Jon Furr to tell the story of 7UP's racial breakthrough. That clip had star power! Out of this collaboration came one of the most famous advertising campaigns of the 20th century. NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In the early 1970s, as part of its new "uncola" advertising strategy, the 7UP company had J. Walter Thompson produce a TV commercial starring actor, director and. 7UP Commercial from the '70's. Thread starter parisian; Start date Nov 1, 2022; parisian International. The commercial is an art form unto itself . An actor, dancer, musician, and artist Geoffrey Holder is the Tony Award-winning director and costume designer of the groundbreaking original Broadway production of The Wiz. . He once harassed Roger Moore as a voodoo villain in the 1973 James Bond film "Live and Let Die" and was a an accomplished author,. Geoffrey Holder, the Tony-winning director and costume designer from Trinidad who brought an exuberant style to his work in dance, theater, movies and even a series of soft drink commercials,. Over 100,000 Movies 420,00 Scenes with Previews Try it for $2.99. 40 : written in honour of Casals, Unified program, land use planning, Caswell county, North Carolina, A reply to A letter to the Right Rev. David Gordon. And what a voice! The most memorable ads from this campaign featured Trinidadian dancer and actor Geoffrey Holder explaining the difference between ugly, dry, kola nuts and the tangy, juicy lemon and limes that flavor 7-Up. Lounging in a straw chair, Geoffrey Holder touted the no-caffeine virtues of the "Uncola" as he poured and sipped a glass of the bubbly beverage, and at the end, drove home his point by leaning back his head and laughing with an earthy, authentic robustness. Actor "Geoffrey Holder" Famous for 7UP Commercial Dies (10/5/14) Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 - October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, voice actor, dancer, choreographer, singer, director and painter. Geoffrey Holder, whose energetic laugh helped sell cans of 7Up in the '70s and '80s . Never put it together that he was Punjab in Annie. NPR reported that an autopsy showed that Mays died of a heart attack in his sleep which was contributed to the use of cocaine. You must put a stake in the ground and, with authority, say, "This is who we are.". Holder portrayed Jupiter, the hulking manservant of an ill-fated treasure-hunter (Roberts Blossom), in a 1980 made-for-television adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold Bug which also starred Anthony Michael Hall. You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. According to Star Tribune, Billy Mays sadly died in June 2009, shortly after wrapping up filming of the first season. You may unsubscribe at any time. Dena Dietrich appeared in numerous television shows, was on Broadway, and had a few movie roles, with her most notable roles including the 1971 Broadway production "The Prisoner of SecondAvenue" and films like1974's "The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder" and 1979's "History of the World: Part I," per TheHollywood Reporter. - 1 day 8 hours ago, By Had always thought they would bring Baron Samedi back in a future Bond film. Anderson died in 2016 at the age of 93, per The New York Times. Hahaha! Trinidadian-born Mr. Holder was of 84. Who was the 7 Up the Uncola guy? The New York Times reported that Fennelly was known for playing much older roles, and when he finally reached his 90th birthday, he shared, "I was born old and I played old parts most of my life." But behind the scenes, the project also represented a dramatic change in the marketing culture of the soft-drink company -- the first time it allowed a person of color to be cast in its TV ad. According to NPR, Mays started out selling "As Seen on TV" products on the Atlantic City boardwalk in New Jersey and then found work on the Home Shopping Network. Charles C. Woodman journal and commonplace book, 1856-1860 : autograph manuscript signed. I can still here that voice saying those famous words: Crisp and clean, and no caffeine; never had it, never will. Here is a commercial that captures Holder in action playing against a kid who is curious about 7 Up. By registering you agree to our privacy policy, terms & conditions and to receive occasional emails from Ad Age. Holder said his artistic life was governed by a simple credo, shaped by his own experience as a West Indian child who had yet to see the world, the Times reported. Welcome to the blog of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University. He was basically continuing the character he did in James Bond Live and Let Die thru the 70s and 80s in those commercials. Ad Age and Creativity Staff After all, you are seducing people," Holder said about his role in 7UP commercials. Geoffrey Holder as the un-cola man In 1987, the animated 7Up Spot appeared as the soda's mascot. Fans of the classic Western television show "Bonanza" will remember actor Michael Landon starring as the handsome Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright. Billy Mays was all over television screensin the early 2000s pitching household cleaning products like OxiClean, Orange Glo, and Kaboom. Lindsay Rittenhouse Charles M. Mirotznik, a spokesman for the family, told the New York Timesthe cause was complications of pneumonia. - Hardly a day goes by when somebody doesn't ask me to sing the Lucky Charms jingle, and I'm proud of that.". Mr. Holder's casting turned that around and helped pushed the industry forward. Besides his many voiceovers on television shows and movies, Winchell also found work in commercials. 1930, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, into a middle-class family. This exclusive. JavaScript is disabled. Here's one of his 7UP commercials. - 1 day 2 hours ago. and "Law & Order." Disillusioned young people were building a robust oppositional counter-culture that rejected war, racial segregation, and violence. "The minute the Mother Nature commercial came out, all the phone calls started to come in from Hollywood, 'cause they were very curious to see what that broad looked like, or was like, or what was the story behind her." "The commercial is an art form unto itself," Mr. Holder told People magazine about his work in the 7UP spots. - Surprise Party, Port of Spain, Trinidad, British West Indies [now Trinidad and Tobago]. AP Images. As well known for the honey-smooth bass-baritone that resonated through countless voice-overs as for the white linen suit and Panama hat that set off his gleaming Caribbean features saucer eyes, broad-as-the-George-Washington-Bridge smile and shaved head Holder became an advertising icon in the 1970s and 80s as the pitchman for 7Up, declaring it the Un-Cola you know,Sevmup wet, wild, all that : But Holder, born in Trinidad, was much more than a seductive accoutrement to Madison Avenue. He made his debut in his brother's folkloric dance troupe, the Holder Dancing Company, at age 7. Jack Schuessler, the retired chairman and, CEO of Wendy's International Inc., shared, "Dave was our patriarch, a great, big lovable man," adding, "Although Dave was widely popular, he was never very comfortable as a celebrity. He broke barriers. Fight fraud and ID theft with the AARP Fraud Watch Network.