Biography: Geoffrey Lamont Holder was born on August 1, 1930 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He attended Queen's Royal College. He made his debut in his brother's folkloric dance troupe, the Holder Dancing Company, at age 7. Holder became the company's director and lead performer, and took it to New York City in 1954. From 1956 to 1958 he was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Holder received a Guggenheim fellowship in painting, and his work was shown at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington and at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. He then expanded into costume design, directing, and choreographing. He choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Dance Theater of Harlem. He married Carmen de Lavallade, a dancer he met during his Broadway debut in House of Flowers. They had one son named Léo.

Film/TV Credits: Film credits include: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Annie," "Live and Let Die," "Boomerang," "Doctor Dolittle," "Porgy and Bess," "and "All Night Long." Television credits include: "The Apprentice," "The Cosby Show," "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," "Today," "Great Performances," "Tarzan," and "It Takes a Thief."

Trivia:
He published and illustrated "Black Gods, Green Islands," written with Tom Harshman, in 1959.
He authored "Geoffrey Holder's Caribbean Cookbook" in 1973.
The marquees of Broadway theaters were dimmed in his honor on October 10, 2014.