Ron Holgate | |
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| Born | Ronald Holgate (1937-05-26)May 26, 1937 (age 88) Aberdeen, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1960s–2000s |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Collins (m. 1966–1977; divorced) Anny DeGange (m. 1989–present) |
Ronald Holgate (born May 26, 1937,Aberdeen, South Dakota) is an Americanactor andopera singer. He won theTony Award for Best Supporting Actor asRichard Henry Lee in the originalBroadway production of1776, a role he reprised in 1972 for the film1776.
The son of a school superintendent and a drama teacher, raised in South Dakota, Holgate originally intended to become a classical actor and studied drama withAlvina 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 National Council Auditions, finishing behindTeresa Stratas; he went on to tour with Goldovsky'sNew England Opera Theater.[1] In 1960 he attended theMusic Academy of the West summer conservatory.[2]
By the early 1960s, however, Holgate had gone back to theater, only resuming a regular opera career in the 1970s. Roles like the narcissistic Miles Gloriosus inA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (which he originated in the show's Broadway premiere) led to him developing a reputation for whatFrank Rich called his portrayal of "vain ladies' men."[3]
Until 2005, he worked regularly on andOff-Broadway, in regional theatre, and in over a dozen national and international tours. As an opera singer, Holgate played leading roles inLa Boheme,Don Giovanni, and the world premiere ofPhilip Marshall, among many others. He had an active career as a concert singer, which included performances atCarnegie Hall and a Broadway revue with his first wife,Dorothy Collins (1926–1994). He and Collins were married from 1966-77. He was featured in the first concert devoted toStephen Sondheim's work.
Holgate appeared asRichard Henry Lee in1776. Although he had only one song, "The Lees of Old Virginia", and a scant few lines of additional dialogue, he earned that season'sTony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical.[4]
CriticWalter Kerr commented that "there is simply no stopping Mr. Holgate as he explodes with the sheer happiness of having come to exist."[5] (Holgate and fellow1776 performerWilliam Daniels were nominated in the same, supporting category. Daniels turned down the nomination, because he felt that his role asJohn Adams was clearly the lead.[6])
Holgate created the role of the vain opera star Tito Morelli inLend Me a Tenor. He wasBuffalo Bill Cody in the 1999 revised edition ofAnnie Get Your Gun starringBernadette Peters andTom Wopat, and in the early 2000s he toured as Caldwell B. Cladwell in the first national tour of the musicalUrinetown. Later in 1999, he played Harrison Howell in the Broadway revival ofKiss Me, Kate; as an inside joke, when he made his initial appearance, the orchestra played the intro to "The Lees of Old Virginia," which roused hearty laughter from audience members who remembered his signature role.[citation needed]
Holgate has few film and television credits. He played Lee again in the film1776, and was featured in the straight-to-videoMen of Means. He has acted occasionally in daytimesoap operas, includingAnother World,Guiding Light, andOne Life to Live.[7]
Holgate was married to singerDorothy Collins from 1966 to 1977, to Anny DeGange from 1989 to the present, and has three daughters, Melissa, Chloe, and Lily.
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