Geoffrey Holder to be honored by Broadway

Broadway theaters plan to dim their marquee lights Friday night in memory of multifaceted award-winning performer Geoffrey Holder.

The Broadway League says the lights will be dimmed for one minute at 7:45 p.m. Holder, a Tony Award-winning director who led the groundbreaking show "The Wiz" to Broadway, died Sunday of complications of pneumonia at age 84.

The 6-foot-6, Trinidad-born Holder won Tonys in 1975 for directing and designing the costumes for his all-black retelling of "The Wizard of Oz." In 1978, he directed and choreographed the lavish Broadway musical "Timbuktu!" starring Eartha Kitt and earned another Tony nomination for best costumes.

Along with his work on Broadway, Holder served as spokesperson for 7Up, which he called "the un-cola" in a series of ads in the '70s and '80s.

He also graced the big screen, playing chief Willie Shakespeare in the original "Doctor Dolittle" (1967) and as Baron Samedi in the James Bond film "Live and Let Die" (1973). He also had a memorable part as Punjab in the 1982 movie musical "Annie," starring Carol Burnett and Bernadette Peters. In 2005, he served as the narrator in Tim Burton's version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Just a few years ago, Holder resumed his role as the 7Up spokesman during the 2011 season finale of "The Celebrity Apprentice."