The Late Great Hal Holbrook

Hal Holbrook, well known for his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight, died on January 23 2021 at the age of 95.

Hal Holbrook was born on February 17 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. He and his older sisters were abandoned by their parents when he was two years old. They were raised by their paternal grandparents. The Holbrook children and their grandparents initially lived in Weymouth, Massachusetts and later in Lakewood, Ohio. Hal Holbrook attended Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana. He graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. At Denison University he did an honours project about Mark Twain. It would lead him to later develop his one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight. He trained in acting at HB Studio in New York City.

During World War II Hal Holbrook served in the United States Army, attaining the rank of staff sergeant. While in the Army he performed in various stage productions. He received an honourable discharge in 1946.

It was at Lock Haven State Teachers College in 1954 that Hal Holbrook first performed as Mark Twain. The performance came to the attention of Ed Sullivan, who featured him in the February 12 1956 episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. He also appeared on Tonight! in 1956 and Tonight Starring Jack Paar in 1958. Hal Holbrook made his television debut in 1954 in a recurring role on the soap opera The Brighter Day. During the Fifties he also appeared on the show Mr. Citizen.

In the Sixties Hal Holbrook made his debut on Broadway in Do You Know the Milky Way?. He appeared in the productions After the Fall, Marco Millions, Incident at Vichy, Man of La Mancha, his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight, The Apple Tree, I Never Sang for My Father,and  Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?. He made his film debut in The Group in 1966. He appeared in the movies Wild in the Streets (1968), The Brotherhood (1968), The People Next Door (1970), and The Great White Hope (1970). On television he played the lead on the TV show The Senator, part of the wheel series The Bold Ones. He guest starred on the shows Coronet Blue, The F.B.I., The Name of the Game, and The Wonderful World of Disney. He appeared in a television production of The Glass Menagerie and A Clear and Present Danger.

In the Seventies he played Abraham Lincoln in the television mini-series Lincoln. He appeared in such TV movies as Travis Logan D.A.; Goodbye, Raggedy Ann; That Certain Summer; Pueblo; 33 Hours in the Life of God; Our Town; Murder by Natural Causes; The Legend of the Golden Gun; When Hell Was in Session; and Off the Minnesota Strip. He appeared on the  TV shows Great Performances and Omnibus and the mini-series The Awakening Land. He appeared in the movies They Only Kill Their Masters (1972), Magnum Force (1973), The Girl from Petrovka (1974), All the President's Men (1976), Midway (1976), Rituals (1977), Julia (1977), Capricorn One (1977), Natural Enemies (1979), The Fog (1980), and The Kidnapping of the President (1980). On Broadway he appeared in a revival of Mark Twain Tonight.

In the Eighties Hal Holbrook played John Adams in the television mini-series George Washington, Abraham Lincoln in the mini-series North and South, Abraham Lincoln in the mini-series North and South: Book II, Dr. Andrew McKaig in the mini-series The Fortunate Pilgrim, and Jonas Coe in the mini-series Emma: Queen of the South Seas. He had a recurring role on the TV series Designing Women and in 1990 he began his regular role as Evan Evans on Evening Shade. He appeared in the TV movies The Killing of Randy Webster; The Three Wishes of Billy Grier; Behind Enemy Lines; Under Siege; Plaza Suite; Day One; Sorry, Wrong Number; and A Killing in a Small Town. He appeared in the movies Creepshow (1982), Girls Nite Out (1982), The Star Chamber (1983), Wall Street (1987), The Unholy (1988), and Fletch Lives (1989).

In the Nineties he continued to appear on the TV show Evening Shade. He guest starred on the shows The Outer Limits and Family Law. He appeared in the TV movies A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor, A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Jealous Jokester, She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal, Innocent Victims, Operation Delta Force, All the Winters That Have Been, The Third Twin, Beauty, My Own Country, and A Place Apart. On Broadway he appeared in An American Daughter. He appeared in the movies The Firm (1993), Carried Away (1997), Eye of God (1997), Hush (1998), Walking to the Waterline (1998), Judas Kiss (1998), Rusty: A Dog's Tale (1998), The Florentine (1999), The Bachelor (1999), Waking the Dead (2000), and Men of Honor (2000). He provided voices for the animated movies Cats Don't Dance (1997) and Hercules (1997).

In the Naughts Mr. Holbrook guest starred on the TV shows Becker; The West Wing; Good Morning, Miami; Hope & Faith; The Sopranos; NCIS; and ER. He had a regular role on the series The Event. He appeared on Broadway in Mark Twain Tonight. He appeared in the movies The Majestic (2001), Purpose (2002), Shade (2003), Into the Wild (2007), Killshot (2008), and That Evening Sun (2009), Flying Lessons (2010). 

In the Teens Hal Holbrook had a recurring role on the TV show Sons of Anarchy. He appeared on the TV shows Monday Mornings, Rectify, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Hawaii Five-0. He appeared in the movies Good Day for It (2011), Water for Elephants (2011), Lincoln (2012), Promised Land (2012), Savannah (2013), and Go With Me (2015).

Hal Holbrook had the amazing ability to transform himself entirely to any character he played. It for this reason that while he was best known for playing Mark Twain, he was cast as multiple historical figures. He played Abraham Lincoln more than once. Lloyd Bucher, the captain of the U.S.S. Pueblo, in the TV movie Pueblo. Commander Joseph Rochefort in Midway,  Jeremiah Denton in When Hell Was in Session, and John Adams in George Washington. Each time Mr. Holbrook was entirely convincing as the historical figure he was playing. Of course, Mr. Holbrook's talent extended beyond playing historical figures. Over the years he was nominated or won multiple Emmy Awards for everything from The Bold Ones: The Senator to Our Town. Hal Holbrook was definitely one of the most talented actors to emerge in the mid-20th Century.