Hal Holbrook

File:HolbrookAsTwain.jpg

Holbrook as Mark Twain, 1957

Harold Rowe Holbrook, Jr. (born February 17, 1925) is an American actor.

Early life

Holbrook was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Harold Rowe Holbrook and Aileen Davenport, and was mostly raised in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. He graduated from Denison University, where an honors project about Mark Twain led him to develop the one-man show he is best known for, a series of performances called Mark Twain Tonight.

Career

According to Playbill, Holbrook’s first solo performance as Twain was at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954. Ed Sullivan saw him and gave Holbrook his first national exposure on his February 12, 1956 show. The State Department even sent him on a European tour, which included pioneering appearances behind the Iron Curtain.

Holbrook's Twain appeared on Broadway in 1966, and returned in 1977 and 2005; Holbrook was 80 during his most recent Broadway run, older (for the first time) than the character he was portraying.

Mark Twain Tonight has repeatedly toured across the country in what as of 2005 has amounted to over 2000 performances.

In 1976, Holbrook won further acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in a series of television specials based on Carl Sandburg's acclaimed biography. He has also starred in many films and TV programs.

Early in his career he worked on stage and in a television soap opera, The Brighter Day. Holbrook is also famous for his role as the enigmatic Deep Throat (whose identity was unknown at the time) in the film All the President's Men.

In 1979, he starred as Jeremiah Denton in the NBC television movie "When Hell was in Session".

In 2006, Holbrook appeared as a featured guest star on the HBO series, The Sopranos (His character on the show spouts metaphysical theory and reminds people of Kurt Vonnegut.)

Private life

Holbrook is married to actress Dixie Carter and had a recurring role as Carter's boyfriend in her series Designing Women, until his character was killed off to provide new storylines for Carter's character.

Trivia

Holbrook has appeared in at least 6 movies where he is part of a conspiracy: Fletch Lives, Magnum Force, The Star Chamber, Capricorn One, All the President's Men, and The Firm.

Filmography

• The Group (1966): Film Debut
• Wild in the Streets (1968)
• Magnum Force (1973)
• All the President's Men (1976)
• Midway (1976)
• Capricorn One (1978)
• The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
• Creepshow (1982)
• The Star Chamber (1983)
• Wall Street (1987)
• The Unholy (1988)
• Fletch Lives (1989)
• The Firm (1993)
• Eye of God (1997)
• Cats Don't Dance (1997) (voice)
• Hush (1998)
• Men of Honor (2000)
• The Majestic (2001)
• The West Wing (2001, 2002)
• The Sopranos (TV) (2006)

External links and sources

• Hal Holbrook at IMDb.
• Hal Holbrook at the Internet Broadway Database.
• Hal Holbrook profile, NNDB.
• Biography and story about his return to Broadway from Playbill.
• 2004 Story on Holbrook from NOW.