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, he 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, he 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), ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2005), and was the voice of Ray the Sun on the children's television series ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' (1998–2002). He also carried out advertising work as the pitchman for 7 Up.

Holder was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group. Provided by Wikipedia