Hal Holbrook

Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021), widely known as Hal Holbrook, was a multi-faceted American actor with a career spanning over six decades. He carved his niche in the industry with a one-man stage show he developed - Mark Twain Tonight! during his study at Denison University in 1954. This portrayal of Twain won him the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1966 and set the stage for his film debut in Sidney Lumet's The Group in 1966. Holbrook garnered international acclaim for his role as Deep Throat in the 1976 film All the President's Men. His depiction of Abraham Lincoln in the television miniseries Lincoln (1974 and 1985) further cemented his legacy. He also had significant roles in Julia and Capricorn One (1977), The Fog (1980), Creepshow (1982), Wall Street (1987), The Firm (1993), Hercules (1997), and Men of Honor (2000). His role as Ron Franz in Sean Penn's Into the Wild (2007) fetched him Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. In 2003, Holbrook was honored with the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush.

Holbrook was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Aileen (née Davenport) Holbrook, a vaudeville dancer, and Harold Rowe Holbrook Sr. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, Holbrook and his two older sisters were raised by their paternal grandparents. He served in the United States Army during World War II from 1942 through 1946, during which he often performed in theater productions. His first solo performance as Twain was at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954, which gave him his first national exposure when Ed Sullivan featured him on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 12, 1956. His years working in the industry amount to over 2,100 performances spanning six decades, making him a stalwart in American entertainment.