When I saw Antony Holland’s spellbinding performance as the coach in That Championship Season at the Arts Club Theatre in January 1974, I recognized that here was an actor at the height of his powers. It wasn’t until decades later, however, that I realized he was only midway through a 70-year theatrical career that continued almost until his death in 2015 at age 95.
Known primarily for his tour de force portrayals of Shylock and King Lear, Antony’s other compelling roles ranged from Danny, a charming, psychopathic killer in Night Must Fall, which he performed in England and Egypt, to his final starring role in Tuesdays with Morrie. Holland was 91 years old at the end of the long Tuesdays with Morrie run with co-star Warren Kimmel. He was proud of being “the oldest regularly working actor performing leading roles in North America—beating Mickey Rooney by exactly six months.”1
Largely self-taught, Holland lacked the educational advantages of his British contemporaries John Gielgud, Lawrence Olivier, and Alec Guinness; nevertheless, he directed soldiers, prisoners, college students, and ordinary citizens with no training in about 100 plays ranging from comedies to tragedies and everything in between, as well as acting in another 100 plays. Holland won numerous accolades for his acting and directing, including three Jessie Richardson Theatre awards, four Lifetime Achievement awards, and an Order of Canada commendation in 2014.
Katherine Shaw, his successor as artistic director of Studio 58, said that Holland “had great actor instincts and always found the heart and humour in his characters. He was very natural on stage and had a tremendous command of the English language. He had a tremendous ability, for instance, to make the words of Shakespeare sound like his own.”
