Ram John Holder
Encyclopedia
Ram John Holder is a British
actor
. He began his performing career as a folk singer
in New York
. In 1962 he came to London
and worked with Pearl Connor's Negro Theatre Workshop initially as a musician
, and later as an actor. His theatre career saw him perform on the major stages in London such as the Royal National Theatre
, the Donmar Warehouse
and Bristol Old Vic
.
John Boorman
cast him as the black preacher
in the 1969 comedy film
, Leo the Last
, about race relations that was set in a Notting Hill
slum
in West London. He also sang the songs in the film. He again played a preacher in the Horace Ové
directed film Pressure in 1975, made a cameo performance in My Beautiful Laundrette
(1985) as a poet
, and appeared in the Sankofa Film and Video's debut feature The Passion of Remembrance in 1986.
Holder played the role of Porkpie in the situation comedy
Desmond's
, which was written by Trix Worrell
, and broadcast on Channel 4
from 1989 until 1994. He later had his own short-lived spin-off series Porkpie
.
Holder has appeared in several television productions and joined the cast of EastEnders
in late September 2006, playing Cedric Lucas. His last stage performance to date was as Slow Drag in the 2006 revival of August Wilson
's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester
Holder is a talented musician, who has recorded a number of albums; Black London Blues (1969), Bootleg Blues (1971), You Simply Are... (1975) and Ram Blues & Soul. He has also released various singles and contributed to soundtrack
s for film and television, including three songs for the film adaptation of Take a Girl Like You.
He has also appeared as "Flying Freddy Mersa" in episodes of the BBC Television
children's programme The Story of Tracy Beaker
. In May 2008 Holder appeared in an episode of the BBC
drama The Invisibles
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He began his performing career as a folk singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1962 he came to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and worked with Pearl Connor's Negro Theatre Workshop initially as a musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, and later as an actor. His theatre career saw him perform on the major stages in London such as the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
and Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
.
John Boorman
John Boorman
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Zardoz, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.-Early life:Boorman was born in Shepperton, Surrey,...
cast him as the black preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
in the 1969 comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, Leo the Last
Leo the Last
Leo the Last is a 1970 film directed by John Boorman, based on the play The Prince by George Tabori, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Billie Whitelaw.-Plot:...
, about race relations that was set in a Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
in West London. He also sang the songs in the film. He again played a preacher in the Horace Ové
Horace Ove
Horace Ové Horace Ové Horace Ové (born 1939, Trinidad, is a British filmmaker, painter and writer and one of the leading black independent film-makers to emerge in Britain since the post-war period....
directed film Pressure in 1975, made a cameo performance in My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The story is set in London during the period when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as shown through the complex—and often comical—relationships...
(1985) as a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and appeared in the Sankofa Film and Video's debut feature The Passion of Remembrance in 1986.
Holder played the role of Porkpie in the situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Desmond's
Desmond's
Desmond's is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989...
, which was written by Trix Worrell
Trix Worrell
Trix Worrell writer, composer and director, was born in St. Lucia in the West Indies in 1960, and came to England at the age of five. As a teenager he worked with the Albany Theatre in South London, where he wrote and directed his first play, School's Out, in 1980...
, and broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
from 1989 until 1994. He later had his own short-lived spin-off series Porkpie
Porkpie (TV series)
Porkpie was a British sitcom on Channel 4 television starring Ram John Holder as Augustus 'Porkpie' Grant. It was a spinoff from Desmond's...
.
Holder has appeared in several television productions and joined the cast of EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
in late September 2006, playing Cedric Lucas. His last stage performance to date was as Slow Drag in the 2006 revival of August Wilson
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play - one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright - that chronicles the twentieth century African American experience...
at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Holder is a talented musician, who has recorded a number of albums; Black London Blues (1969), Bootleg Blues (1971), You Simply Are... (1975) and Ram Blues & Soul. He has also released various singles and contributed to soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s for film and television, including three songs for the film adaptation of Take a Girl Like You.
He has also appeared as "Flying Freddy Mersa" in episodes of the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
children's programme The Story of Tracy Beaker
The Story of Tracy Beaker
The Story of Tracy Beaker is a British children's book first published in 1991, written by Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.-Background:...
. In May 2008 Holder appeared in an episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama The Invisibles
The Invisibles (TV series)
The Invisibles is a British 2008 comedy drama series created and written by William Ivory for the BBC. It was produced by Company Pictures, shot in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.-Premise:...
.
See also
- Desmond'sDesmond'sDesmond's is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989...
- Down to Earth (UK TV series)Down to Earth (UK TV series)Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by...
- List of Black Britons
- List of characters from EastEnders
- Porkpie (TV series)Porkpie (TV series)Porkpie was a British sitcom on Channel 4 television starring Ram John Holder as Augustus 'Porkpie' Grant. It was a spinoff from Desmond's...
External links
- British Film Institute Screenonline biography
- Guyanese in the United Kingdom (2001)
- Talawa Theatre Company
- TV.com database record