Anthony Holden
Encyclopedia
Anthony Holden is an English
writer
, broadcaster
and critic, particularly known as a biographer of artists including Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Leigh Hunt, Lorenzo da Ponte
and Laurence Olivier
, and of members of the British Royal family
, notably Charles, Prince of Wales
. He has also published translations of opera and Ancient Greek poetry as well as several autobiographical books about poker. In 2009, he was elected the first President of the International Federation of Poker (IFP)
, whose proclaimed aim is to win poker legal recognition as a skilled ‘mind-sport’.
, Lancashire
, and educated at Oundle School
and Merton College, Oxford
, where he took an MA in English language and literature, edited the student magazine Isis and appeared on University Challenge
. An award-winning journalist before turning full-time writer, he has written for a wide range of publications on both sides of the Atlantic. Named Young Journalist of the Year in 1972, he was on the staff of The Sunday Times
(1973-79), commended in the British Press Awards in 1976 as News Reporter of the Year for his work in Northern Ireland, and winning Columnist of the Year in 1977. He was Washington Correspondent and US editor of The Observer
, 1979-81, Assistant Editor of The Times
, 1981-2, Executive Editor, Today
, 1985-6, and chief classical music critic of The Observer
from 2002-2008.
He has also made frequent appearances on television, presenting such documentaries as Charles at Forty (ITV, 1988), Anthony Holden on Poker (BBC2, 1991) and Who Killed Tchaikovsky? (Omnibus, BBC1, 1993). In the mid-1980s he presented a weekly BBC Radio 4 chat show, In the Air.
At the start of his career in journalism, as a graduate trainee on Thomson Regional Newspapers’ Hemel Hempstead Evening Post-Echo
, Holden covered the trial in St Albans of the psychopathic poisoner, Graham Young. His 1974 book on the case, The St. Albans Poisoner, was filmed in 1995 as The Young Poisoner’s Handbook, starring Hugh O'Conor
and Antony Sher
.
In 1999-2000 he was an inaugural Fellow of the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library
.
When he was a Whitbread Prize judge in 2000 he said it would have been a "national humiliation" if Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
had won, ahead of Seamus Heaney
's translation of Beowulf
. He had threatened to resign if that happened. The novelist Robert Harris
derided this threat as "pompous."
Holden was a member of the Board of Governors of the South Bank Centre
2002-8, during the landmark renovation programme under the chairmanship of Lord Hollick.
Since 2006 he has been a Trustee of Shakespeare North Trust.
Holden's papers are collected at Boston University
's Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center
.
player, and spent a year playing professionally while researching his 1990 book Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player
(ISBN 0743294815), which has been praised by poker enthusiasts from David Mamet
and Salman Rushdie to Walter Matthau
and is frequently described as a 'cult classic'. The book covers his experiences between the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
tournaments
in 1988
and 1989
.
In 2007, Holden published Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom (ISBN 0743294823), a journal of his second stint as a professional player, between the 2005
and 2006
WSOP events.
In 2000 he won TV’s first Celebrity Late Night Poker
on Channel 4, beating Al Alvarez
, Martin Amis
, Victoria Coren
, Ricky Gervais
, Patrick Marber
and Stephen Fry
. In 2005 he appeared on the chat show Heads Up with Richard Herring
to discuss his life, career and his love of poker. In 2006 he represented England in TV’s World Cup of Poker, staged by PokerStars
, for whom he was a sponsored player 2006-2008.
In 2009 he was elected the first President of the International Federation of Poker (IFP)
at its founding congress in Lausanne
, Switzerland. He is also President of the UK Poker Federation.
fan and has a season ticket to the Emirates. His maternal grandfather was Ivan Sharpe
, the England international footballer and Olympic gold medallist who later became a celebrated sports writer.
Holden has a violent dislike of macaroni cheese after being forced to eat it at school.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and critic, particularly known as a biographer of artists including Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Leigh Hunt, Lorenzo da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte
Lorenzo Da Ponte was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte....
and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, and of members of the British Royal family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, notably Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
. He has also published translations of opera and Ancient Greek poetry as well as several autobiographical books about poker. In 2009, he was elected the first President of the International Federation of Poker (IFP)
International Federation of Poker
The International Federation of Poker is a non-profit organization incorporated as a legal entity pursuant to articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. IFP's stated purpose is to "serve as the global governing body for poker".-History:IFP was founded...
, whose proclaimed aim is to win poker legal recognition as a skilled ‘mind-sport’.
Life
He was born in SouthportSouthport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and educated at Oundle School
Oundle School
Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...
and Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
, where he took an MA in English language and literature, edited the student magazine Isis and appeared on University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
. An award-winning journalist before turning full-time writer, he has written for a wide range of publications on both sides of the Atlantic. Named Young Journalist of the Year in 1972, he was on the staff of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
(1973-79), commended in the British Press Awards in 1976 as News Reporter of the Year for his work in Northern Ireland, and winning Columnist of the Year in 1977. He was Washington Correspondent and US editor of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, 1979-81, Assistant Editor of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 1981-2, Executive Editor, Today
Today (UK newspaper)
Today was a national newspaper in the United Kingdom, which was published between 1986 and 1995.-History:Today, with the American newspaper USA Today as inspiration, launched on Tuesday, 4 March 1986, with the front page headline, "Second Spy Inside GCHQ". At 18 pence, it was a middle-market...
, 1985-6, and chief classical music critic of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
from 2002-2008.
He has also made frequent appearances on television, presenting such documentaries as Charles at Forty (ITV, 1988), Anthony Holden on Poker (BBC2, 1991) and Who Killed Tchaikovsky? (Omnibus, BBC1, 1993). In the mid-1980s he presented a weekly BBC Radio 4 chat show, In the Air.
At the start of his career in journalism, as a graduate trainee on Thomson Regional Newspapers’ Hemel Hempstead Evening Post-Echo
Hemel Hempstead Evening Post-Echo
The Evening Post-Echo was a British newspaper published in Hemel Hempstead and launched in 1967.This newspaper was notable for three reasons:...
, Holden covered the trial in St Albans of the psychopathic poisoner, Graham Young. His 1974 book on the case, The St. Albans Poisoner, was filmed in 1995 as The Young Poisoner’s Handbook, starring Hugh O'Conor
Hugh O'Conor
Hugh O'Conor is an Irish actor. His first film appearance was opposite Liam Neeson in the 1985 movie Lamb. Currently, he has two upcoming projects: Finding Fate and Operation H²O.-Biography:...
and Antony Sher
Antony Sher
Sir Antony Sher, KBE is a double Olivier Award winning South African-born British actor, writer, theatre director and painter.- Early years :...
.
In 1999-2000 he was an inaugural Fellow of the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
When he was a Whitbread Prize judge in 2000 he said it would have been a "national humiliation" if Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The book was published on 8 July 1999. The novel won the 1999 Whitbread Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was short-listed for other...
had won, ahead of Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
's translation of Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
. He had threatened to resign if that happened. The novelist Robert Harris
Robert Harris (novelist)
Robert Dennis Harris is an English novelist. He is a former journalist and BBC television reporter.-Early life:Born in Nottingham, Harris spent his childhood in a small rented house on a Nottingham council estate. His ambition to become a writer arose at an early age, from visits to the local...
derided this threat as "pompous."
Holden was a member of the Board of Governors of the South Bank Centre
South Bank Centre
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, UK, on the South Bank of the River Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge. It comprises three main buildings , and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracts more than three million visitors annually...
2002-8, during the landmark renovation programme under the chairmanship of Lord Hollick.
Since 2006 he has been a Trustee of Shakespeare North Trust.
Holden's papers are collected at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
's Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center
Mugar Memorial Library
The Mugar Memorial Library is the primary library for study, teaching, and research in the humanities and social sciences for Boston University and Boston University Academy. It was opened in 1966. Stephen P. Mugar, an Armenian immigrant who was successful in the grocery business, provided the...
.
Poker
Holden is a keen pokerPoker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player, and spent a year playing professionally while researching his 1990 book Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player
Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player
Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player ISBN 0743294815 is a book by Anthony Holden. The book details a year Holden spent playing poker around the world, attempting to make a living, or at least a profit, from the endeavor....
(ISBN 0743294815), which has been praised by poker enthusiasts from David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
and Salman Rushdie to Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
and is frequently described as a 'cult classic'. The book covers his experiences between the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
tournaments
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
in 1988
1988 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Final table:-Other High Finishes:NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry....
and 1989
1989 World Series of Poker
The 1989 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe. The 1989 Main Event was won by 24-year-old Phil Hellmuth, defeating defending champion Johnny Chan, and also breaking the record for the youngest player to win the WSOP Main Event . Had Johnny Chan won, he would have tied Johnny...
.
In 2007, Holden published Bigger Deal: A Year Inside the Poker Boom (ISBN 0743294823), a journal of his second stint as a professional player, between the 2005
2005 World Series of Poker
The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or television history at the time was awarded to the...
and 2006
2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29...
WSOP events.
In 2000 he won TV’s first Celebrity Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker is the pioneering television show that helped pave the way for the explosion of interest in poker in the 2000's. With it's ground breaking use of "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards, the show became a cult hit on Channel 4 UK when it first...
on Channel 4, beating Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez is an English poet, writer and critic who publishes under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez....
, Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
, Victoria Coren
Victoria Coren
Victoria Elizabeth Coren is a British writer, presenter and champion poker player. Coren writes weekly columns for The Observer and The Guardian newspapers and hosts the BBC Four television quiz show Only Connect....
, Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
, Patrick Marber
Patrick Marber
Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter.-Early life and education:...
and Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
. In 2005 he appeared on the chat show Heads Up with Richard Herring
Heads Up with Richard Herring
Heads Up with Richard Herring or HUWRH, was a British celebrity chat show written by and starring Richard Herring, who is best known as one half of comedy duo Lee and Herring, the stars of BBC Two shows Fist of Fun and This Morning With Richard Not Judy...
to discuss his life, career and his love of poker. In 2006 he represented England in TV’s World Cup of Poker, staged by PokerStars
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
, for whom he was a sponsored player 2006-2008.
In 2009 he was elected the first President of the International Federation of Poker (IFP)
International Federation of Poker
The International Federation of Poker is a non-profit organization incorporated as a legal entity pursuant to articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. IFP's stated purpose is to "serve as the global governing body for poker".-History:IFP was founded...
at its founding congress in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland. He is also President of the UK Poker Federation.
Ephemera
Holden is a dedicated ArsenalArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
fan and has a season ticket to the Emirates. His maternal grandfather was Ivan Sharpe
Ivan Sharpe
Ivan Gordon Sharpe was an English amateur association football player. Although an amateur himself, he played for several professional clubs, including Watford, Derby County— with whom he won the Football League First Division in 1911–12–and later Leeds United...
, the England international footballer and Olympic gold medallist who later became a celebrated sports writer.
Holden has a violent dislike of macaroni cheese after being forced to eat it at school.
Works
- Aeschylus' Agamemon (1969) translator and editor
- Greek Pastoral Poetry (1973) translator and editor
- The Greek Anthology (1973) contributor
- The St Albans Poisoner: The Life And Crimes Of Graham Young (1974, reissued 1995 as The Young Poisoner's HandbookThe Young Poisoner's HandbookThe Young Poisoner's Handbook is a 1995 British-German-French-produced black comedy film based on the life of Graham Young, more commonly known as "The Teacup Murderer". It was directed by Benjamin Ross and written by Ross and Jeff Rawle...
) - Charles: Prince of Wales (1979) as Prince Charles (US)
- Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince and Princess of Wales (1981)
- A Week In The Life Of The Royal Family (1983)
- Great Royal Front Pages: A Scrapbook of Historic Royal Events from Queen Victoria to Baby Prince William (1983)
- Anthony Holden's Royal Quiz (1983)
- Of Presidents, Prime Ministers And Princes (1984)
- Queen Mother (1985)
- Don Giovanni: The Translation (1987) with Amanda Holden
- Laurence Olivier: A Biography (1988, reissued 2007)
- Charles: A Biography (1988) as King Charles III (US)
- The Last Paragraph. The Journalism of David BlundyDavid BlundyDavid Blundy , was a British journalist and war correspondent. Son of an antiques dealer who had a shop at the Elephant and Castle, he was educated at the City of London School and Bristol University...
(1990) editor - Big Deal: A Year as a Professional Poker Player (1990)
- The Queen Mother: A 90th Birthday Tribute (1990)
- A Princely Marriage: Charles & Diana, the First Ten Years (1991)
- Behind The Oscar: The Secret History of the Academy Awards (1993)
- H.M. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother In Private (1993)
- The Tarnished Crown (1993), Viking Publishers, ISBN 0-670-84624-4.
- Tchaikovsky (1995)
- Diana: Her Life and Legacy (1997)
- Charles at Fifty (1998)
- William Shakespeare: His Life and Work (1999)
- Liber Amicorum for Frank Kermode (1999) editor with Ursula Owen
- The Mind Has Mountains: a.alvarez@lxx (1999) editor with Frank KermodeFrank KermodeSir John Frank Kermode was a highly regarded British literary critic best known for his seminal critical work The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction, published in 1967 ....
- The Drama of Love, Life and Death in Shakespeare (2000)
- Shakespeare: An Illustrated Biography (2002)
- Wit in the Dungeon (2005) biography of Leigh HuntLeigh HuntJames Henry Leigh Hunt , best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist, poet and writer.-Early life:Leigh Hunt was born at Southgate, London, where his parents had settled after leaving the USA...
- Lorenzo Da Ponte, The Man Who Wrote Mozart (2006)
- Olivier (2007, Max Press)
- Bigger Deal: A Year on the New Poker Circuit (2007)
- Holden on Hold'Em (2008)