# Ron Holgate > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ron_Holgate > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ron_Holgate.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Holgate > Source revision: 1354432813 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American actor and opera singer|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox person | name = Ron Holgate | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Ronald Holgate | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1937|5|26}} | birth_place = [Aberdeen, South Dakota](/source/Aberdeen%2C_South_Dakota), U.S. | occupation = Actor, singer | spouse = [Dorothy Collins](/source/Dorothy_Collins) (m. 1966–1977; divorced)
Anny DeGange (m. 1989–present) | years_active = 1960s–2000s }} '''Ronald Holgate''' (born May 26, 1937, [Aberdeen, South Dakota](/source/Aberdeen%2C_South_Dakota)) is an American [actor](/source/actor) and [opera singer](/source/opera_singer). He won the [Tony Award](/source/Tony_Award) for Best Supporting Actor as [Richard Henry Lee](/source/Richard_Henry_Lee) in the original [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) production of ''[1776](/source/1776_(musical))'', a role he reprised in 1972 for the film ''[1776](/source/1776_(film))''. ==Early life== 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 with [Alvina Krause](/source/Alvina_Krause) at [Northwestern University](/source/Northwestern_University). While there, however, he was discovered by [Boris Goldovsky](/source/Boris_Goldovsky), and went on to study [opera](/source/opera) at both [Tanglewood](/source/Tanglewood) and the [New England Conservatory](/source/New_England_Conservatory). In 1959, Holgate, a bass-baritone, won second prize in the [Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions](/source/Metropolitan_Opera_National_Council_Auditions), finishing behind [Teresa Stratas](/source/Teresa_Stratas); he went on to tour with Goldovsky's [New England Opera Theater](/source/New_England_Opera_Theater).Kevin Kelly, "'Flukey Kind of Thing...'", ''[Boston Globe](/source/Boston_Globe)'', December 16, 1990, pg. B21; accessed 2007-12-24. In 1960 he attended the [Music Academy of the West](/source/Music_Academy_of_the_West) summer conservatory.{{cite web| title=Alumni Roster| url=http://www.musicacademy.org/school/alumni/alumni-roster/voice| website=musicacademy.org| access-date=28 January 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605021001/http://www.musicacademy.org/school/alumni/alumni-roster/voice| archive-date=5 June 2012| url-status=dead}} ==Career== 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 in ''[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum](/source/A_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 what [Frank Rich](/source/Frank_Rich) called his portrayal of "vain ladies' men."Frank Rich, "When One Tenor Is Much Like Another", ''[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)'', March 3, 1989, pg. C3; accessed 2007-12-24. Until 2005, he worked regularly on and [Off-Broadway](/source/Off-Broadway), in regional theatre, and in over a dozen national and international tours. As an opera singer, Holgate played leading roles in ''[La Boheme](/source/La_Boheme)'', ''[Don Giovanni](/source/Don_Giovanni)'', and the world premiere of ''Philip Marshall'', among many others. He had an active career as a concert singer, which included performances at [Carnegie Hall](/source/Carnegie_Hall) and a Broadway revue with his first wife, [Dorothy Collins](/source/Dorothy_Collins) (1926–1994). He and Collins were married from 1966-77. He was featured in the first concert devoted to [Stephen Sondheim](/source/Stephen_Sondheim)'s work. Holgate appeared as [Richard Henry Lee](/source/Richard_Henry_Lee) in ''[1776](/source/1776_(musical))''. 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](/source/Tony_Award) as Best Featured Actor in a Musical.[http://sanfrancisco.broadwayworld.com/tonyawardsyear.cfm?year=1969 "Tony Awards, 1969"] broadwayworld.com, accessed June 26, 2011. Critic [Walter Kerr](/source/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](/source/New_York_Times)'', March 23, 1969, pg. D1. Accessed 2007-12-24. (Holgate and fellow ''1776'' performer [William Daniels](/source/William_Daniels) were nominated in the same, supporting category. Daniels turned down the nomination, because he felt that his role as [John Adams](/source/John_Adams) was clearly the lead.Mandelbaum, Ken. "Tony Moments to Remember (And a Few to Forget)", ''New York Times'', June 2, 1996, pg. H10) Holgate created the role of the vain opera star Tito Morelli in ''[Lend Me a Tenor](/source/Lend_Me_a_Tenor)''. He was [Buffalo Bill Cody](/source/Buffalo_Bill_Cody) in the 1999 revised edition of [Annie Get Your Gun](/source/Annie_Get_Your_Gun_(musical)) starring [Bernadette Peters](/source/Bernadette_Peters) and [Tom Wopat](/source/Tom_Wopat), and in the early 2000s he toured as Caldwell B. Cladwell in the first national tour of the musical ''[Urinetown](/source/Urinetown)''. Later in 1999, he played Harrison Howell in the Broadway revival of [Kiss Me, Kate](/source/Kiss_Me%2C_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|date=November 2017}} Holgate has few film and television credits. He played Lee again in the film ''[1776](/source/1776_(film))'', and was featured in the straight-to-video ''Men of Means''. He has acted occasionally in daytime [soap operas](/source/soap_operas), including ''[Another World](/source/Another_World_(TV_series))'', ''[Guiding Light](/source/Guiding_Light)'', and ''[One Life to Live](/source/One_Life_to_Live)''.{{Cite web |title=Ron Holgate {{!}} Actor, Soundtrack |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0390469/ |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}} ==Personal life== Holgate was married to singer [Dorothy Collins](/source/Dorothy_Collins) from 1966 to 1977, to Anny DeGange from 1989 to the present, and has three daughters, Melissa, Chloe, and Lily. ==Stage productions== ;Broadway * ''[Milk and Honey](/source/Milk_and_Honey_(musical))'': chorus * ''[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum](/source/A_Funny_Thing_Happened_on_the_Way_to_the_Forum)'': Miles Gloriosus * ''[Sweet Charity](/source/Sweet_Charity)'': Vittorio Vidal (one-week vacation replacement for [James Luisi](/source/James_Luisi)) * ''[1776](/source/1776_(musical))'': Richard Henry Lee * ''[Saturday Sunday Monday](/source/Saturday_Sunday_Monday)'': Luigi Ianniello * ''[The Grand Tour](/source/The_Grand_Tour_(musical))'': Colonel Tadeusz Boleslav Stjerbinsky * ''[Musical Chairs](/source/Musical_Chairs_(musical))'': Joe Preston * ''[42nd Street](/source/42nd_Street_(musical))'': Julian Marsh (replacement) * ''[Lend Me a Tenor](/source/Lend_Me_a_Tenor)'': Tito Merelli (also [West End](/source/West_End_theatre) production) * ''[Guys and Dolls](/source/Guys_and_Dolls_(musical))'': Big Jule (replacement) * ''[Annie Get Your Gun](/source/Annie_Get_Your_Gun_(musical))'': "Buffalo Bill" * ''[Kiss Me, Kate](/source/Kiss_Me%2C_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 Arkin * ''Heroes'' ==Awards and nominations== *1959 Frederick K. Weyerhauser Scholarship, Metropolitan Opera Auditions *1974 New Jersey Drama Critic's Circle Award: ''[A Little Night Music](/source/A_Little_Night_Music)'' *1969 Tony Award: winner, ''1776'': Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical *1979 Tony Award: nominee, ''The Grand Tour'' *1992 Detroit Drama Critic's Circle Award: ''[Man of La Mancha](/source/Man_of_La_Mancha)'' *2005 [IRNE Award](/source/IRNE_Award) (Independent Reviewers of New England): ''[Urinetown](/source/Urinetown)'' ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * "Holgate, Ron". ''The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television'' (ed. Thomas S. Hischak. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008; {{ISBN|0-19-533533-3}} ==External links== * {{IBDB name}} * {{IMDb name|390469}} * [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/106995.html Interview at Playbill.com] {{TonyAward MusicalFeaturedActor 1947-1975}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Holgate, Ronald}} Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:American male musical theatre actors Category:American opera singers Category:Tony Award winners Category:People from Aberdeen, South Dakota Category:Singers from South Dakota Category:Winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Category:Male actors from South Dakota Category:Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Category:Music Academy of the West alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ron Holgate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Holgate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Holgate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.