I remember seeing Hal Holbrook's live one man show about Mark Twain in both Charleston and in Tampa. It was the kind of performance where you forgot it was Holbrook, so believable he was as Twain. And I remember spotting him at Chicago's Midway Airport several years ago as he sat quietly by himself with a book waiting for his flight. Holbrook acted in "All the President's Men," "Into the Wild," "The Firm," and both Steven Spielberg's and Carl Sandburg's productions of "Lincoln." He won an Emmy award for his performance in Sandburg's "Lincoln," and four other Emmy awards for his film and television work.
But Holbrook is best know for his portrayal of the great American writer, Mark Twain in "Mark Twain Tonight." He would stand and sit on stage in a white linen suit, smoking cigars, and offering his comments on the human situation with his insightful comedy. Holbrook started to play Twain in 1952 when he was 29. It took a lot of make up to transform himself into the 70 year old Twain. Holbrook noted that as time passed, it took less and less make up to make himself look 70. In 1959, Holbrook met President Eisenhower in full Twain make up. Holbrook was 34 in this photo.
And anyone who ever say his one man Mark Twain Tonight would agree that Holbrook wasn't just playing Mark Twain. He Was Mark Twain. “After watching and listening to him for five minutes,” Arthur Gelb wrote in The New York Times, “it is impossible to doubt that he is Mark Twain." Holbrook won a Tony award in 1966 for Mark Twain Tonight and retired the role after touring around the world with it for six decades.
Holbrook was married three times, and his last wife was Dixie Carter from Designing Women. They were married from 1984-2010 when Carter died.
Hal Holbrook died on January 23, but it was only announced publicly on Feb. 2, 2021.