- Ron Holgate
Infobox actor
name = Ron Holgate
imagesize = 180px
caption =
birthname = Ronald Holgate
birthdate = Birth date and age|1937|5|26
birthplace =Aberdeen, South Dakota , USA
occupation =Singer ,actor
spouse =Dorothy Collins (1966-1977)
Anny DeGange (1989-present)
yearsactive =
website =
academyawards =
tonyawards = Best Featured Actor in a Musical
awards =Ronald Holgate is an American
actor andopera singer , perhaps best known asRichard Henry Lee in the original Broadway production of "1776".Biography
Early life
The son of a school superintendent and a drama teacher, Holgate originally intended to become a classical actor and studied drama with
Alvina Krause atNorthwestern University . While there, however, he was discovered byBoris Goldovsky , and went on to studyopera at bothTanglewood and theNew England Conservatory . In 1959, Holgate, a bass-baritone, won second prize in theMetropolitan Opera auditions, finishing afterTeresa Stratas ; he went on to tour with Goldovsky'sNew England Opera Theater . [Kevin Kelly, "'Flukey Kind of Thing...'" "Boston Globe " 16 Dec. 1990: B21; accessed 2007-12-24.]Career
By the early 1960s, however, Holgate had gone back to theater, only resuming a regular opera career in the 1970s. Roles like Miles Gloriosus in "
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum " led to him developing a reputation for whatFrank Rich called "vain ladies' men." [Frank Rich, "When One Tenor Is Much Like Another," "New York Times " 3 March 1989: C3; accessed 2007-12-24.] Until 2005, he worked regularly on and off-Broadway, in regional theater, and in over a dozen national and international tours. As an opera singer, Holgate played leading roles in "La Boheme ", "Don Giovanni ", and the world premiere of "Philip Marshall ", among many others; he also had an active career as a concert singer, which included performances atCarnegie Hall and a Broadway revue with his first wife,Dorothy Collins . He was featured in the first concert devoted toStephen Sondheim 's work.Holgate's most famous role is Richard Henry Lee in "1776". Although he had only one song, "The Lees of Old Virginia," and a scant few lines of additional dialogue, he earned that season's
Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Walter Kerr commented that "there is simply no stopping Mr. Holgate as he explodes with the sheer happiness of having come to exist." [Walter Kerr, "'1776,' And All's Well," "New York Times " 23 March 1969: D1+; accessed 2007-12-24.] (Notoriously, he and "1776" leading manWilliam Daniels were nominated in the same category; Daniels turned down the nomination.)First and foremost a stage actor, Holgate rarely appears on film or television. He played Lee again in the film version of "1776" and was featured in the straight-to-video "Men of Means". He has acted occasionally in daytime
soap operas , including "Another World", "Guiding Light ", and "One Life to Live ".Now primarily directing instead of performing, Holgate has recently been working with the
New York State Theatre Institute andSyracuse Opera . He co-authored the Civil War musical "" with actor Jack Kyrieleison.Stage productions
;Broadway
* "Milk and Honey ": chorus
* "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ": Miles Gloriosus
* "Sweet Charity ": Vittorio Vidal (one-week vacation replacement forJames Luisi )
* "1776": Richard Henry Lee
* "Saturday Sunday Monday ": Luigi Ianniello
* "The Grand Tour": Colonel Tadeusz Boleslav Stjerbinsky
* "Musical Chairs": Joe Preston
* "42nd Street": Julian Marsh (replacement)
* "Lend Me a Tenor ": Tito Merelli (also West End production)
* "Guys and Dolls ": Big Jule (replacement)
* "Annie Get Your Gun ": Col. Wm. F. Cody
* "Kiss Me, Kate ": Harrison Howell;Off-Broadway
* "Hobo": Jonah
* "Hooray! It's a Glorious Day...and all that": Carl Strong
* "Blue Plate Special": Larry Finney
* "The Sounds of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Part II"
* "Milk and Honey": Phil ArkinAwards and nominations
*1959 Frederick K. Weyerhauser Scholarship, Metropolitan Opera Auditions
*1974 New Jersey Drama Critic's Circle Award: "A Little Night Music "
*1969 Tony Award: winner, "1776"
*1979 Tony Award: nominee, "The Grand Tour"
*1992 Detroit Drama Critic's Circle Award: "Man of La Mancha "
*2005 Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award: "Urinetown "References
External links
*
*
* [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/106995.html Interview at Playbill.com]
* [http://www.hudsonstage.com/index.php?s=gal Holgate in "Where's Annie?"]
* [http://www.aberdeen.k12.sd.us/Foundation/ron.holgate.htm Aberdeen Central High School Hall of Fame]
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