Hal Holbrook

Born: 1925-02-17 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Died: 2021-01-23

Known For: Acting

Biography

Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and writer. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show he developed, Mark Twain Tonight!, performing as Mark Twain, while studying at Denison University. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1966 for his portrayal of Twain. He would continue 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. 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 1976 miniseries Lincoln and 1985 miniseries North and South. He also appeared in such films as Julia (1977), The Fog (1980), Creepshow (1982), Wall Street (1987), The Firm (1993), Hercules (1997), and Men of Honor (2000). Holbrook's role as Ron Franz in Sean Penn's Into the Wild (2007) earned him both Academy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. In 2009, Holbrook received critical acclaim for his performance as recently retired farmer Abner Meecham in the independent film That Evening Sun. He also portrayed Francis Preston Blair in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (2012). In 2003, Holbrook was honored with the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush. Description above from the Wikipedia article Hal Holbrook, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

2018

Interpreting Twain as Self

2017

An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story as Reinhold Niebuhr (voice)

2015

Blackway as Whizzer

2014

Planes: Fire & Rescue as Mayday (voice)
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey as Self

2013

Rectify as Rutherford Gaines
Monday Mornings as Dr. Arvin Wayne
Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story as Self
Savannah as Judge Harden

2012

Lincoln as Preston Blair
Promised Land as Frank Yates

2011

Water for Elephants as Old Jacob
Good Day for It as Hec

2010

Hawaii Five-0 as Leonard Patterson
The Event as James Dempsey
Flying Lessons as Harry Pleasant

2009

That Evening Sun as Abner Meecham

2008

Sons of Anarchy as Nate Madock
Killshot as Papa
The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry as Self
The Evolution of Clint Eastwood as Self
A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry as Self
The Business End: Violence in Cinema as Self

2007

Into the Wild as Ronald "Ron" Franz

2006

Telling the Truth About Lies: The Making of "All the President's Men" ... (Other)
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat as Self - Narrator (voice)
Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire as Self - Narrator (voice)

2005

Grey's Anatomy as Lewis Clatch
Bones as Red Hudmore
The Seventh Day as Host

2003

NCIS as Mickey Stokes
Hope & Faith as Edward Shanowski
Shade as The Professor
The Street Lawyer as Arthur Jacobs
The Designing Women Reunion
Butch Cassidy and the Outlaw Trail as Narrator

2002

Good Morning, Miami as Jim Templeton
Mark Twain as self
Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' as Narrator (voice)
Mark Twain as Self (uncredited)
Purpose as Tom Walker

2001

The Majestic as Congressman Doyle
Haven as Harold L. Ickes
Dirty Harry: The Original as Self - Actor
The Legend of the Three Trees as Narrator

2000

Men of Honor as 'Mr. Pappy'
Founding Fathers as Benjamin Franklin (voice)
Waking the Dead as Isaac Green
The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus as Ak - Master Woodsman of the World (voice)

1999

The Sopranos as John Schwinn
The West Wing as Albie Duncan
Family Law as Judge Richard Lloyd
The Bachelor as O'Dell
The Florentine as Smitty
Lost in Middle America (and What Happened Next) as Narrator
Battleships as Narrator

1998

Becker as Mr. Humphries
Hush as Dr. Franklin Hill
Judas Kiss as Senator Rupert Hornbeck
Rusty: A Dog's Tale as Boyd Callahan
My Own Country as Lloyd Flanders
Beauty as Alexander Miller
Walking to the Waterline as Man on the Beach

1997

Hercules as Amphitryon (voice)
The Third Twin as Pete
Cats Don't Dance as Cranston (voice)
Operation Delta Force as Admiral Henshaw
Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery as Narrator (voice)
Eye of God as Sheriff Rogers
All the Winters that Have Been as Uncle Ren Corvin
Trail of Hope as Narrator

1993

The Firm as Oliver Lambert
Bonds of Love as Jim Smith

1992

Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' as Narrator (voice)

1990

Evening Shade as Evan Evans
A Killing in a Small Town as Dr. Beardsley

1989

Fletch Lives as Hamilton "Ham" Johnson
Day One as Gen. George Marshall
Sorry, Wrong Number as Jim Coltrane

1988

American Experience as Narrator (voice)
The Fortunate Pilgrim as Dr. Andrew McKay
Emma: Queen of the South Seas as Jonas Coe
The Unholy as Archbishop Mosely
Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel as Self
I'll Be Home for Christmas as Joseph Bundy

1987

Wall Street as Lou Mannheim
Plaza Suite as Sam Nash

1986

Designing Women as Reese Watson
Dress Gray as Gen. Charles Hedges
All Star Party for Clint Eastwood as Self
Under Siege as President Maxwell Monroe

1985

North and South as Abraham Lincoln
92 Grosvenor Street

1984

George Washington as John Adams
Celebrity as Calvin Sledge
The Three Wishes of Billy Grier as Grandpa Grier

1983

The Star Chamber as Benjamin Caulfield
America Remembers John F. Kennedy as Host
Hazardous Waste: The Search for Solutions as Narrator (voice)

1982

Creepshow as Henry Northrup (segment "The Crate")
Girls Nite Out as Jim MacVey

1981

The Killing of Randy Webster as John Webster

1980

The Fog as Father Malone
The Kidnapping of the President as President Adam Scott
Off the Minnesota Strip as Bud Johansen

1979

The Legend of the Golden Gun as J.R. Swackhammer
Natural Enemies as Paul Steward
When Hell Was in Session as Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton
Murder by Natural Causes as Arthur Sinclair

1978

The Awakening Land as Portius Wheeler - The Solitary
Tartuffe as Self - Host

1977

Capricorn One as Dr. James Kelloway
Julia as Alan
Rituals as Harry
Our Town as Stage manager

1976

Midway as Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort
All the President's Men as Deep Throat
The Time of Your Life as Self - Host

1975

Saturday Night Live as Self (uncredited)

1974

Dinah! as Self
Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln
The Girl from Petrovka as Joe

1973

Magnum Force as Lieutenant Briggs
Jonathan Livingston Seagull as Elder (voice)
Pueblo as Capt. Lloyd Bucher
The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today as Self
Jane Goodall and the World of Animal Behavior: The Wild Dogs of Africa as Narrator

1972

They Only Kill Their Masters as Dr. Warren G. Watkins
That Certain Summer as Doug Salter

1971

Great Performances as Self - Host
Appointment With Destiny as Narrator
Travis Logan, D.A. as Matthew Sand
Goodbye, Raggedy Ann as Harlan Webb
Suddenly Single as Larry Hackett

1970

The Bold Ones: The Senator as Senator Hays Stowe
The Great White Hope as Cameron
The People Next Door as David Hoffman
The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City as Mitch Collins
A Clear and Present Danger as Hays Stowe

1969

The Whole World Is Watching as Chancellor Graham

1968

The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest
The Name of the Game as John Adrian
The Brotherhood as Man at the Table (uncredited)
Wild in the Streets as Senator Fergus

1967

Mark Twain Tonight! as Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)

1966

CBS Playhouse as Tom Wingfield
The Group as Gus Leroy
The Glass Menagerie as her son

1965

The F.B.I. as Christopher Simes

1962

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
The Merv Griffin Show as Self

1961

The Mike Douglas Show as Self

1957

Tonight Starring Jack Paar as Self

1956

Tony Awards as Self - Presenter

1954

The Wonderful World of Disney as Mitch Collins

1953

The Oscars as Self

1948

The Ed Sullivan Show as Self