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

O'Dell

The Bachelor

Lou Mannheim

Wall Street

Congressman Doyle

The Majestic

Ronald "Ron" Franz

Into the Wild

Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort

Midway

Narrator

Stormchasers

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

Joe

The Girl from Petrovka

Papa

Killshot

Henry Northrup (segment "The Crate")

Creepshow

Chancellor Graham

The Whole World Is Watching

Harry

Rituals

Dr. Franklin Hill

Hush

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 (archive footage)

Pressure and the Press: The Making of 'All the President's Men'

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

Himself - 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

Tom Wingfield

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 Evolution of Clint Eastwood

Self

The Business End: Violence in Cinema

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

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

114

Gender

Male

Birthday

1925-02-17

Place of Birth

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Also Known As

Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook