Antony Holland Explained

Antony Holland
Honorific Suffix:CM
Birth Date:1920 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Tiverton, Devon, England
Death Place:Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

Antony Holland (28 March 1920 – 29 July 2015) was an English actor, playwright and theatre director who until his death in 2015 lived on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada.[1] [2]

History

Holland completed his drama training at the Labour Stage in London. Shortly after, he was called into His Majesty's Armed Forces as a signalman at the onset of the Second World War. While training at the coastal town of South Shields, he put on a play in a local abandoned theatre. Holland continued to mount productions in his spare time throughout the course of the war. He was granted the officers' lounge for rehearsals and cast approximately 100 men in a wide variety of roles, including parts that required playing women. His plays continued through the North African Campaign, crossed the desert, and made it to Cairo where he would mount productions at the Khedivial Opera House. So successful were his plays that the military requisitioned stage materials for more elaborate productions. Holland was transferred into military intelligence where he served out the remainder of the war.

In 1946, Laurence Olivier founded the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School where Holland was vice principal for nearly a decade. Holland moved to Vancouver in 1957 and remained in British Columbia until his death in July 2015. In 1965, he founded a theatre arts program at the King Edward Campus of Vancouver Community College. The school relocated to Langara College and formally took on the name of Studio 58. Holland retired as artistic director in 1985, and returned to professional acting, directing and writing. Shortly after moving to Gabriola Island, he established a new theatre company at the Gabriola Theatre Centre.[3]

Select credits

YearTitleRoleNotes
1971McCabe & Mrs. Miller Hollander
1982The Grey Fox Judge
1983The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Reverend Hopkins
1987Housekeeping Mr. Wallace
1988Backfire Judge Hardin
1988The Accused Plea Bargain Lawyer
1989Cousins Wedding Priest
1989We're No Angels Doctor
1989MacGyverVincent Battaglia1 episode
1989-1991 Doctor Light Voice, 33 episodes
1990Narrow Margin Elderly Man
1990-1991The New Adventures of He-Man Master Sebrian Voice, 65 episodes
1991Bingo Circus Vet
1991K2 Priest
1992Impolite Jimmy
1995Last of the Dogmen Doc Carvey
2004Kingdom Hospital Lenny Stillmach 5 episodes
200412 days of christmas eve Hank Carter
2002King Lear King Lear Studio 58
2006Arts Club Theatre Company Morrie Tuesday with Morrie
2006EurekaIrvin Horatio Thatcher1 episode
2008The Merchant of Venice Studio 58[4]
2009Battlestar Galactica Julius Baltar 1 episode
2011SupernaturalWestborough1 episode

Honours

Notes and References

  1. News: Antony Holland on acting. The Vancouver Province. 16 June 2006. 2009-11-24.
  2. Web site: Local theatre legend Antony Holland dies at 95. 30 July 2015 . The Straight. 30 July 2015.
  3. News: Holland nominated for Jessie Award for Best Lead Actor. The Gabriola Sounder. Bruce Mason. 28 May 2007. 2009-11-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20091214234614/http://www.webdesigncircle.com/fullstory/EElpZkVuyEJVthFgpm.shtml. 14 December 2009. dead.
  4. Web site: Studio 58/Langara College presents The Merchant of Venice. The Georgia Strait. November 2008. 2009-11-24.
  5. Web site: Our 2009-2010 Third Street Theatre Series . Presentation House Theatre . 2009 . 2009-11-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090625122739/http://www.phtheatre.org/media.html . 25 June 2009 .
  6. Web site: Antony Holland Presents Shakespeare . Eco Films . 2005 . 2009-11-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080918021932/http://www.ecofilms.bc.ca/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=88 . 18 September 2008 .
  7. Web site: Archived News . . 2009 . 2009-11-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100814044223/http://www.langara.bc.ca/studio58/archived-news.html . 14 August 2010 .
  8. News: Order of Canada Appointments. 30 June 2014. 1 July 2014.