Anthony Holland

As an actor, director and teacher, Antony Holland was a mainstay of the Vancouver theatrical scene after he arrived in the late 1950s from his native England, where he had been Vice-Principal of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In 1965 he founded Studio 58 at Langara College and for 20 years was instrumental in shaping its direction and growth. He taught acting, voice, and fencing and had been a stage and theatre manager and play director. In theatre, film and TV, he played opposite stars like Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis. Movie and TV shows  included “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” “Danger Bay”, “Legends of the Fall” and “21 Jump Street.”

Antony won many awards for his work including the Canadian Actors’ Equity Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Union of BC Performers’ Award for Excellence. His performance of King Lear in Vancouver in 2001 was considered a major triumph, and in 2004 his performance of Morrie in “Tuesdays with Morrie” for Western Edge Theatre Company was described as his modern masterpiece. He ran his own theatre studio on Gabriola Island.

Antony was a veteran of WWII, having served with the British 8th Army for 4 ½ years in Egypt. He originally trained as a tank radio operator with the 7th Armoured Division, but was later transferred to British Intelligence and was involved in counter-espionage under M.I.5.  Antony Holland died at age 95 on July 30, 2015.