Hal Holbrook facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hal Holbrook
Holbrook in 1977
Born	Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (1925-02-17)February 17, 1925 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	January 23, 2021(2021-01-23) (aged 95) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	McLemoresville Cemetery, Tennessee
Education	Denison University HB Studio
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1948–2017
Spouse(s)	Ruby Elaine Johnston ​ ​ (m. 1945; div. 1965)​ Carol Eve Rossen ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1983)​ Dixie Carter ​ ​ (m. 1984; died 2010)​
Awards	See Awards and nominations
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	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 was best known for his amazing one-man show called Mark Twain Tonight! In this show, he played the famous writer Mark Twain. Holbrook performed this show for over 60 years, starting in 1954 and retiring in 2017.

He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1966 for his role as Mark Twain. He also won five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on television. Holbrook appeared in many movies and TV shows. Some of his famous film roles include Deep Throat in All the President's Men (1976) and Abraham Lincoln in the 2012 film Lincoln. He was even nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the movie Into the Wild (2007).

Early life and beginnings

Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. was born on February 17, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother, Aileen Holbrook, was a vaudeville dancer, which means she performed on stage in variety shows.

When Holbrook was two years old, his parents left him and his two older sisters. Their grandparents raised them, first in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and later in Lakewood, Ohio. Holbrook went to Culver Military Academy and then to Denison University. At college, he worked on a special project about Mark Twain. This project led him to create his famous one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight!. He also studied acting in New York City.

From 1942 to 1946, Holbrook served in the United States Army during World War II. He reached the rank of staff sergeant. While in the army, he performed in plays.

Career highlights

Playing Mark Twain

Holbrook first performed his Mark Twain show in Pennsylvania in 1954. A famous TV host, Ed Sullivan, saw him and invited 31-year-old Holbrook to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. This was his first time performing for a national audience.

Holbrook performed Mark Twain Tonight! off-Broadway in 1959. The U.S. government even sent him on a tour to Europe, including countries behind the Iron Curtain (a term for the Soviet Union and its allies during the Cold War).

Holbrook in The Brighter Day Scene, August 1954

In 1967, his Mark Twain Tonight! show was shown on television, and Holbrook won an Emmy Award for his performance. The show also played on Broadway in 1966, 1977, and 2005. Holbrook won a Tony Award for the show in 1966. He performed Mark Twain Tonight! over 2,100 times across the country before he retired the show in 2017.

Film and television roles

Holbrook appeared in many movies and TV shows throughout his career. In 1973, he played Lieutenant Neil Briggs in the movie Magnum Force, starring Clint Eastwood.

In 1976, Holbrook played Abraham Lincoln in a TV series based on a famous biography. He won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1970 series The Bold Ones: The Senator. He was also well-known for playing the mysterious Deep Throat in the film All the President's Men.

Holbrook performing as Twain at the University of Houston

From 1986 to 1989, Holbrook had a role as Reese Watson on the TV show Designing Women. He acted alongside his wife, Dixie Carter, on this show. He also directed four episodes of the series. Holbrook also had a big role on the sitcom Evening Shade.

In 1999, Holbrook was honored by being added to the American Theatre Hall of Fame. A year later, he appeared in the movie Men of Honor. He also played Albie Duncan in two episodes of The West Wing.

Later career and retirement

In 2007, Holbrook appeared in Sean Penn's movie Into the Wild. For this role, he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. At 82 years old, he was the oldest nominee in that category at the time.

Holbrook in 2007

Holbrook also acted with his wife, Dixie Carter, in the movie That Evening Sun (2009). Critics praised his performance in this film. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Nashville Film Festival.

He appeared in a 2006 episode of the HBO series The Sopranos and an episode of NCIS. In 2010, Holbrook played Katey Sagal's character's father on the TV series Sons of Anarchy.

In 2011, Holbrook was in the movie Water for Elephants. In 2012, director Steven Spielberg cast Holbrook to play Francis Preston Blair in the movie Lincoln. He also appeared in Promised Land (2012) and lent his voice to the animated film Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014).

In 2014, a documentary called Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey was made about his long career playing Mark Twain. In 2017, after six decades, Holbrook announced he was retiring from his Mark Twain Tonight! show. He said he still wanted to work on movies and television.

Personal life

Holbrook was married three times and had three children. He married Ruby Elaine Johnston in 1945, and they had two children. They divorced in 1965. In 1966, he married Carol Eve Rossen, and they had one child before divorcing in 1983.

Holbrook and Carter at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards, September 17, 1989

In 1984, Holbrook married actress and singer Dixie Carter. They stayed married until Carter passed away in 2010. Holbrook often appeared on Carter's TV show, Designing Women.

Holbrook felt a special connection to his home in McLemoresville, Tennessee. He said it felt like the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut. He also had a home in Beverly Hills, California. In 2011, Holbrook wrote a book about his life called Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain.

Death

Holbrook passed away at his home in Beverly Hills on January 23, 2021, at the age of 95. He was buried in McLemoresville Cemetery in Tennessee, next to his wife, Dixie Carter.

Legacy

In 2003, President George W. Bush honored Holbrook with a National Humanities Medal. This award recognized him for "charming audiences with the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain."

The community of McLemoresville, Tennessee, where his wife Dixie Carter was from, built the Dixie Theatre for Performing Arts. This theater has an auditorium named after Hal Holbrook. When he retired from playing Mark Twain, many people said he had done more than anyone else to keep Mark Twain's memory alive.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Images for kids

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  President George W. Bush awarding Holbrook with the National Humanities Medal in the Oval Office in November 2003 alongside First Lady Laura Bush

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  President George W. Bush and Laura Bush pose for a photo with Holbrook (center), a recipient of the National Humanities Medal in the Oval Office on November 14, 2003.

See also

In Spanish: Hal Holbrook para niños