Ram John Holder

Ram John Holder entered the world in Guyana in 1934 and launched his professional life as a folksinger based in New York. After settling in London during 1962, he took up musical duties at Pearl Connor's Negro Theatre Workshop before shifting into acting, a move that proved astute. Prestigious London venues soon featured his work, among them the Royal National Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. His screen debut arrived with a role in John Boorman's Leo the Last in 1969, where he also supplied the vocals, followed by appearances in Horace Ove's Pressure in 1975, a poet's cameo in the 1985 film My Beautiful Laundrette, and Sankofa Film’s The Passion of Remembrance in 1986. On television he portrayed Porkpie in the long-running sitcom Desmond's from 1989 to 1994 and led the short-lived spin-off series Porkpie; he later joined the cast of EastEnders in 2006. That same year he performed in the Manchester revival of August Wilson's Ma Rainy’s Black Bottom at the Royal Exchange Theatre. Throughout his career Holder continued releasing music, issuing the albums Black London Blues in 1969, Bootleg Blues in 1971, You Simply Are... in 1975, and Ram Blues & Soul, along with assorted singles and numerous soundtrack contributions.