Holland, Anthony

Anthony Holland (1928-1988) was an actor, playwright, artist, and art teacher. He was born James Gardiner Holland in Brooklyn, New York, on March 3, 1928. The family moved to Chicago, where Anthony Holland attended high school and the University of Chicago. He was an honors student in the humanities department, earned a Master's degree in art history, and taught art classes at the University of Chicago. While attending an art history convention in Philadelphia, Anthony Holland made up his mind to switch careers and become an actor.

Holland's early interest in art and movement informed his work as an actor. In an interview with the Los Angeles Herald Examiner (June 15, 1980), Holland described his technique as "more like dance," and "imagery acting-the use of the whole body." His upbringing in a diverse, multi-ethnic neighborhood infused his writings and performances with wordplay and vocal accents. His play, Shoe Palace Murray, co-written with William Hoffman in 1976, is a take-off on the life of his own father who was a shoe salesman to Broadway actors. The play was produced by the American Conservatory Theatre in 1978 and revived in an Off-Off Broadway production in 2005.

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