Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook | |
---|---|
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | |
Died | January 23, 2021 | (aged 95)
Resting place | McLemoresville Cemetery, Tennessee |
Education | Denison University HB Studio |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1948–2017 |
Spouses | Ruby Elaine Johnston
(m. 1945; div. 1965)Carol Eve Rossen
(m. 1966; div. 1983) |
Awards | See Awards and nominations |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1942–46 |
Rank | Staff sergeant |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called Mark Twain Tonight! while studying at Denison University. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1966 for his portrayal of Twain.[1] He continued to perform his signature role for over 60 years, only retiring the show in 2017 due to his failing health. Throughout his career, he also won five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on television and was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in film.[2]
Holbrook made his film debut in Sidney Lumet's The Group (1966). He later gained international fame for his performance as Deep Throat in the 1976 film All the President's Men. He played Abraham Lincoln in the 1973 miniseries Lincoln and 1985 miniseries North and South. He also appeared in such films as Julia and Capricorn One (1977), The Fog (1980), Creepshow (1982), Wall Street (1987), The Firm (1993), Hercules (1997), and Men of Honor (2000).[3][4]
Holbrook's role as Ron Franz in
In 2003, Holbrook was honored with the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush.[8]
Early life
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. was born on February 17, 1925, in
Holbrook and his two older sisters were abandoned by their parents when he was two years old.
From 1942 through 1946, Holbrook served in the United States Army in World War II, achieving the rank of staff sergeant; he was stationed in Newfoundland,[13] where he performed in theater productions such as the play Lady Precious Stream.[10]
Career
Mark Twain Tonight!
Holbrook's first solo performance as Twain was at
In 1959, Holbrook first played the role off-Broadway.[14] Columbia Records recorded an LP of excerpts from the show.[3]
Holbrook performed in a special production for the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair for the Bell Telephone Pavilion. Jo Mielziner created an innovative audio-visual ride experience and used Holbrook's acting talents on 65 different action screens for "The Ride of Communications" with the movie itself known as From Drumbeats to Telstar.[16]
In 1967, Mark Twain Tonight! was presented on television by
Success
In 1964, Holbrook played the role of the Major in the original production of Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy.[19] In 1968, he was one of the replacements for Richard Kiley in the original Broadway production of Man of La Mancha, although he had limited singing ability.[19] In 1966, Holbrook starred opposite Shirley Booth in the acclaimed CBS Playhouse production of The Glass Menagerie.[20]
Holbrook co-starred with
In 1976, Holbrook won acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in a series of television specials based on Carl Sandburg's acclaimed biography.[3] He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the 1970 series The Bold Ones: The Senator.[10] He was 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.[25][26] In 1979, he starred with Katharine Ross, Barry Bostwick, and Richard Anderson in the made-for-TV movie Murder by Natural Causes.[27] He appeared in other various mini-series, including George Washington (1984) and Dress Gray (1986), and continued performing in theatrical productions, such as King Lear.[28] Holbrook was the narrator on the Ken Burns documentary Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery in 1997.[10]
From 1986 to 1989, Holbrook had a recurring role as Reese Watson on Designing Women, opposite his wife Dixie Carter.[29] Over a short period between 1988 and 1990, Holbrook directed four episodes of the series.[3] Holbrook also had a major role on the sitcom Evening Shade throughout its entire run.[30] Early on in his career, Holbrook worked onstage and in a television soap opera, The Brighter Day.[3]
In 1999, Holbrook was inducted into the
He appeared as the host in the documentary The Seventh Day: Revelations From The Lost Pages of History (2005).[34]
Later career
He appeared in
Holbrook appeared with wife Dixie Carter in That Evening Sun, filmed in East Tennessee in the summer of 2008.
Holbrook appeared as a featured guest star in a 2006 episode of the HBO series The Sopranos and the NCIS episode "Escaped".[3] On April 22, 2010, Holbrook signed on to portray Katey Sagal's character's father on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy for a four-episode arc in their third season, as well as appearing in additional fifth episode in the final season.[36] He also had a multiple-episode arc on The Event, an American television series on NBC, appearing in the 2010–2011 season.[37]
In 2011, Holbrook appeared in
In 2016, Holbrook was cast as Red Hudmore and appeared in the
In September 2017, after six decades of playing the role of Mark Twain, Holbrook announced his retirement from Mark Twain Tonight![18] Holbrook indicated that he would like to continue working on movies and television.[18]
Personal life
Holbrook was married three times and had three children. He married a Newfoundlander, Ruby Elaine Johnston, in 1945 and they had two children.[3] They divorced in 1965. In 1966, he married Carol Eve Rossen.[44] They had one child and they divorced in 1983.[3]
Holbrook married actress and singer Dixie Carter in 1984 and the couple remained married until Carter's death from endometrial cancer on April 10, 2010.[45] Holbrook appeared as a recurring character on Carter's TV series, Designing Women.[29]
Holbrook said of his home in
In October 2016, Holbrook wrote a letter to The New York Times defending actor director Nate Parker over his alleged 1999 rape of a woman and Parker's controversial film The Birth of a Nation.[48] He urged others to "move on" from Parker's past and to view the film, which was "an exceptional piece of artistry and a vital portrait of our American experience".[48]
Political views
Holbrook occasionally criticized the politicization of religion.
In 2016, he castigated then-Republican candidate Donald Trump for not having "the maturity to run the country".[14] Holbrook praised Senator Bernie Sanders as the only politician who does not "say what they think might get them elected" and praised his honesty.[51]
Death
Holbrook died at his home in Beverly Hills on January 23, 2021, at age 95; no cause was given.[52] He was buried in McLemoresville Cemetery in McLemoresville, Tennessee, alongside his wife, Dixie Carter.[53]
Legacy
In 2003, President George W. Bush honored Holbrook with a National Humanities Medal for "charming audiences with the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain as Twain's outlook never fails to give Holbrook a good show to put on".[8]
The local community of McLemoresville, hometown of his wife Dixie Carter, constructed the Dixie Theatre for Performing Arts in nearby Huntingdon, Tennessee, which features the Hal Holbrook Auditorium.[46] Upon his retirement from his Mark Twain persona, the HuffPost wrote that Holbrook was "the man who has done more to keep Mark Twain on people's minds than anyone else".[54]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Year | Title | Accolade | Results | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | Mark Twain Tonight! | Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Performance (shared with Jane McArthur) | Won | [55] |
Obie Award | Special Citation
|
[56] | ||
Outer Critics Circle Award
|
[57] | |||
1966 | Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play | Won | [58] | |
1967 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama
|
Nominated | [2] | |
1969 | The Bold Ones: The Lawyers – (Pilot Episode: "The Whole World Is Watching") | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | ||
1971 | The Bold Ones: The Senator – (Pilot Episode: "A Clear and Present Danger") | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
| ||
The Bold Ones: The Senator | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series | Won | ||
1973 | That Certain Summer | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | |
1974 | Pueblo | Primetime Emmy Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama | Won | |
Primetime Emmy Award for Actor of the Year (Special Award)
| ||||
1976 | Sandburg's Lincoln | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series
|
Won | |
1978 | The Awakening Land | Nominated | ||
Our Town | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special
| |||
1988 | Portrait of America – (Episode: "New York City") | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Informational Programming | ||
1989 | Portrait of America – (Episode: "Alaska") | Won | ||
2003 | National Humanities Medal | Presented by President George W. Bush | Awarded
|
[8] |
2007 | Into the Wild | Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | [59] |
2008 | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | [60] | ||
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor | [61] | |||
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor | [62] | |||
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | [63] |
References
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- ^ a b "Hal Holbrook". Emmys. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
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- ^ a b c d e "That Evening Sun". Variety. Archived from the original on August 16, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
- ^ a b "Hal Holbrook is always up for challenging fare". LA Times.com. December 16, 2012. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
- ^ a b "First-Look Photo: Anthony Hopkins in 'Go With Me' – Berlin". Yahoo! TV. February 6, 2015. Archived from the original on February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
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...has played Twain going on 57 years, longer than Samuel Langhorne Clemens did.
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- ^ "Hal Holbrook List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ "Murder by Natural Causes". Dramatic Publishing. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ "REVIEW/THEATER; Hal Holbrook in a 'Lear' Of Druids and Wimps". The New York Times. November 16, 1990. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ a b Holbrook, Hal (August 15, 2018). "Hal Holbrook on working with his wife Dixie Carter on "Designing Women"". FoundationInterviews. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2019 – via YouTube.
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Further reading
- Holbrook, Hal (1959). Mark Twain Tonight: An Actor's Portrait. New York: Ives Washburn. ISBN 978-0-886902-72-8.
- Young, Jordan R. (1989). Acting solo: the art of one-man shows. Beverly Hills: Moonstone Press. ISBN 978-0-940410-85-5.
- Holbrook, Hal (2011). Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-1-4299-6901-7.
External links
- Hal Holbrook at IMDb
- Hal Holbrook at the Internet Broadway Database
- Hal Holbrook at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Hal Holbrook discography at Discogs
- Hal Holbrook Papers at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Hal Holbrook at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
- Hal Holbrook at Find a Grave