Hal Holbrook
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.
Known For
Deep Throat
All the President's Men
Voice
The Battle of The Alamo
Father Malone
The Fog
Lieutenant Briggs
Magnum Force
Lou Mannheim
Wall Street
O'Dell
The Bachelor
Congressman Doyle
The Majestic
Ronald "Ron" Franz
Into the Wild
Narrator
Stormchasers
Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort
Midway
Man at the Table (uncredited)
The Brotherhood
Dr. James Kelloway
Capricorn One
Amphitryon (voice)
Hercules
Benjamin Caulfield
The Star Chamber
Abner Meecham
That Evening Sun
Alan
Julia
Doctor Evans
Carried Away
Hamilton "Ham" Johnson
Fletch Lives
Senator Fergus
Wild in the Streets
Oliver Lambert
The Firm
Senator Rupert Hornbeck
Judas Kiss
Isaac Green
Waking the Dead
Hec
Good Day for It
Narrator
Trail of Hope
Dr. Warren G. Watkins
They Only Kill Their Masters
Gen. George Marshall
Day One
Sheriff Rogers
Eye of God
Papa
Killshot
Joe
The Girl from Petrovka
Henry Northrup (segment "The Crate")
Creepshow
Chancellor Graham
The Whole World Is Watching
Harry
Rituals
Dr. Franklin Hill
Hush
Harry Pleasant
Flying Lessons
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Mark Twain Tonight!
Tom Walker
Purpose
Preston Blair
Lincoln
Arthur Jacobs
The Street Lawyer
Old Jacob
Water for Elephants
Archbishop Mosely
The Unholy
Jim MacVey
Girls Nite Out
John Webster
The Killing of Randy Webster
Paul Steward
Natural Enemies
David Hoffman
The People Next Door
Boyd Callahan
Rusty: A Dog's Tale
President Adam Scott
The Kidnapping of the President
Smitty
The Florentine
Self - Narrator (voice)
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat
Doug Salter
That Certain Summer
Self - Narrator (voice)
Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
Harold L. Ickes
Haven
Self (uncredited)
Mark Twain
Lloyd Flanders
My Own Country
Frank Yates
Promised Land
Ak - Master Woodsman of the World (voice)
The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus
Stage manager
Our Town
Bud Johansen
Off the Minnesota Strip
Judge Harden
Savannah
Self
Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story
Wild Bill McKenzie
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
Wild Bill McKenzie
Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
Larry Hackett
Suddenly Single
William McKenzie
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle
Arthur Sinclair
Murder by Natural Causes
Capt. Lloyd Bucher
Pueblo
Narrator
The Legend of the Three Trees
Self
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
Jim Coltrane
Sorry, Wrong Number
Self - Host
The Time of Your Life
Mayday (voice)
Planes: Fire & Rescue
'Mr. Pappy'
Men of Honor
Admiral Henshaw
Operation Delta Force
Gus Leroy
The Group
Cameron
The Great White Hope
J.R. Swackhammer
The Legend of the Golden Gun
Jim Smith
Bonds of Love
Joseph Bundy
I'll Be Home for Christmas
President Maxwell Monroe
Under Siege
Grandpa Grier
The Three Wishes of Billy Grier
Whizzer
Blackway
Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton
When Hell Was in Session
Harlan Webb
Goodbye, Raggedy Ann
Self
Interpreting Twain
her son
The Glass Menagerie
The Designing Women Reunion
Narrator
Lost in Middle America (and What Happened Next)
The Professor
Shade
Self
Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel
Self - Host
Tartuffe
Dr. Beardsley
A Killing in a Small Town
Uncle Ren Corvin
All the Winters that Have Been
Matthew Sand
Travis Logan, D.A.
Cranston (voice)
Cats Don't Dance
92 Grosvenor Street
Reinhold Niebuhr (voice)
An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story
Sam Nash
Plaza Suite
Self
The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry
Mitch Collins
The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City
Self
A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry
Self - Actor
Dirty Harry: The Original
Self
The Business End: Violence in Cinema
Self
The Evolution of Clint Eastwood
Narrator (voice)
Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
Narrator
Battleships
Elder (voice)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Alexander Miller
Beauty
Adm. Kelso
She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal
Hays Stowe
A Clear and Present Danger
Host
America Remembers John F. Kennedy
Self
The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today
Man on the Beach
Walking to the Waterline
Narrator (voice)
Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
Bob Hennis
Innocent Victims
Self
All Star Party for Clint Eastwood
Narrator
Butch Cassidy and the Outlaw Trail
Narrator (voice)
Hazardous Waste: The Search for Solutions
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
116
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-02-17
Place of Birth
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Also Known As
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook