Hal Holbrook
Encyclopedia
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. (born February 17, 1925) is an American
actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln
in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator
and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild
, for which he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award. He has also done a one-man show as Mark Twain
since 1954.
, the son of Aileen Davenport Holbrook, a vaudeville
dancer, and Harold Rowe Holbrook, Sr. He was raised in South Weymouth, Massachusetts
. He graduated from the Culver Academies
and Denison University
, where an honors project about Mark Twain
led him to develop the one-man show for which he is best known, a series of performances called Mark Twain Tonight
(for which he won both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award
). Holbrook served in the U.S. Army in World War II
and was stationed in Newfoundland
, where he performed in theatre productions such as the play Madam Precious.
in Pennsylvania in 1954. Ed Sullivan
saw him and gave Holbrook his first national exposure on his February 12, 1956 show
. Holbrook was also a member of the Valley Players (1941–1962), a summer stock theater company based in Holyoke, Massachusetts
which performed at Mountain Park Casino Playhouse at Mountain Park. He was a member of the cast for several years and performed Mark Twain Tonight as the 1957 season opener. The State Department
even sent him on a European tour, which included pioneering appearances behind the Iron Curtain
. In 1959 Holbrook first played the role Off-Broadway
. Columbia Records
recorded an LP
of excerpts from the show.
Holbrook did a special production for the New York World's Fair (1964, 1965)
for the Bell Telephone Pavilion. Jo Mielziner conceived of an innovative audio-visual ride experience and utilized Hal's acting talents on 65 different action screens for "The Ride Of Communications" with the movie itself known as "From Drumbeats to Telstar".
In 1967, Mark Twain Tonight was presented on television by CBS
and Xerox
, and Holbrook received an Emmy for his performance. Holbrook's Twain first played on Broadway in 1966, and again in 1977 and 2005; Holbrook was 80 years old during his most recent Broadway run, older (for the first time) than the character he was portraying. Holbrook won a Tony Award
for the performance in 1966. Mark Twain Tonight has repeatedly toured the country in what has amounted to over 2000 performances. He has portrayed Twain longer than Samuel Langhorne Clemens did.
In 1964, Holbrook played the role of the Major in the original production of Arthur Miller
's Incident at Vichy
. In 1968 he was one of the replacements for Richard Kiley in the original Broadway
production of Man of La Mancha
, although he had limited singing ability.
Holbrook co-starred with Martin Sheen
in the controversial and acclaimed 1972 television movie
That Certain Summer
said to be the first television movie to portray homosexuality in a sympathetic, non-judgmental light. In 1976 Holbrook won acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln
in a series of television specials based on Carl Sandburg
's acclaimed biography. He has also starred in many films and TV programs. He won an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series in the 1970 TV series, "The Bold Ones: The Senator". In 1979 he starred, with Katharine Ross
, Barry Bostwick
, and Richard Anderson
in the made-for-TV movie, "Murder by Natural Causes".
Early in his career Holbrook worked on stage and in a television soap opera, The Brighter Day
. He is also famous for his role as the enigmatic Deep Throat (whose identity was unknown at the time) in the film All the President's Men
. Holbrook appeared as a featured guest star in a 2006 episode of the HBO series The Sopranos
and the NCIS
episode "Escaped".
Holbrook has appeared in at least seven movies in which he is part of a conspiracy: The Fog
, Fletch Lives
, Magnum Force
, The Star Chamber
, Capricorn One
, All the President's Men
, and The Firm.
Holbrook was the narrator on the Ken Burns' documentary Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
in 1997.
Holbrook appeared on Fisher Investments' infomercials.
In 2000 Holbrook appeared in Men of Honor
where he portrayed a racist and hypocritical officer who endlessly tries to fail an African-American diver trainee.
He appeared in Sean Penn
's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild
(2007
) and received an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
at the 80th Academy Awards
. This renders Holbrook, at age 82, the oldest nominee in Academy Award history in the Best Supporting Actor category. On December 20, 2007, Holbrook was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in the film. In late August 2007 through mid-September he starred as the narrator in the Hartford Stage
production of Thornton Wilder
's Our Town
.
Holbrook appeared with wife Dixie Carter
in That Evening Sun
, filmed in East Tennessee in the summer of 2008. The film was produced by Dogwood Entertainment (a subsidiary of DoubleJay Creative) and is based on a short story by William Gay
. That Evening Sun premiered in March 2009 at South By Southwest
, where it received the Audience Award for Narrative Feature and a special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast. Joe Leydon
of Variety
hailed Hollbrook's performance in the film as a "career-highlight star turn as an irascible octogenarian farmer who will not go gentle into that good night." That Evening Sun also was screened at the 2009 Nashville Film Festival
, where Holbrook was honored with a special Lifetime Achievement Award, and the film itself received another Audience Award. On April 22, 2010 Holbrook signed on to portray Katey Sagal
's character's father on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy
for a four-episode arc in their third season. He also had a multi-episode arc on The Event, an American television series, airing on NBC
in the 2010-2011 season.
Holbrook's latest film was Water for Elephants
(2011).
on May 27, 1984. They remained married until her death on April 10, 2010.
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Online Film Critics Society Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Primetime Emmy Awards
(1967) Nominated - Mark Twain Tonight!
(1971) Nominated - A Clear and Present Danger
(1973) Nominated - That Certain Summer
(1974) Won - Pueblo
(1976) Won - Sandburg's Lincoln
(1978) Nominated - The Awakening Land
(1969) Nominated - The Whole World is Watching
(1978) Nominated - Our Town
(1971) Won - The Bold Ones: The Senator
(1988) Nominated - Portrait of America (segment: New York City)
(1989) Won - Portrait of America (segment: Alaska)
(1974) Won - Pueblo
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator
The Bold Ones: The Senator
The Bold Ones: The Senator is an American political television drama series that aired on NBC from 1970 through 1971, lasting for nine episodes . The series stars Hal Holbrook as Senator Hays Stowe.The Senator was part of The Bold Ones, a rotating series of dramas that also included The New...
and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild
Into the Wild (film)
Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
, for which he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award. He has also done a one-man show as Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
since 1954.
Early life
Holbrook was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, the son of Aileen Davenport Holbrook, a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
dancer, and Harold Rowe Holbrook, Sr. He was raised in South Weymouth, Massachusetts
Weymouth, Massachusetts
The Town of Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, Weymouth had a total population of 53,743. Despite its city status, it is formally known as the Town of Weymouth...
. He graduated from the Culver Academies
Culver Academies
The Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school and summer camp in the United States. The Culver Academies is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy for boys, Culver Girls Academy , and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps . Collectively known as Culver Academies located...
and Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
, where an honors project about Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
led him to develop the one-man show for which he is best known, a series of performances called Mark Twain Tonight
Mark Twain Tonight
Mark Twain Tonight! Is a one-man play devised by Hal Holbrook, in which he depicts Mark Twain giving a dramatic recitation selected from several of his writings, with an emphasis on the comic ones...
(for which he won both a Tony and a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
). Holbrook served in the U.S. Army in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was stationed in Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
, where he performed in theatre productions such as the play Madam Precious.
Career
According to Playbill, Holbrook's first solo performance as Twain was at Lock Haven State Teachers CollegeLock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, commonly abbreviated LHU, is a state university in Lock Haven, in central Pennsylvania located along the Susquehanna River, and is roughly from the major towns of Williamsport and State College. Lock Haven University is one of the fourteen members of the...
in Pennsylvania in 1954. Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
saw him and gave Holbrook his first national exposure on his February 12, 1956 show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
. Holbrook was also a member of the Valley Players (1941–1962), a summer stock theater company based in Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...
which performed at Mountain Park Casino Playhouse at Mountain Park. He was a member of the cast for several years and performed Mark Twain Tonight as the 1957 season opener. The State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
even sent him on a European tour, which included pioneering appearances behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. In 1959 Holbrook first played the role Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
. Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
recorded an LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
of excerpts from the show.
Holbrook did a special production for the New York World's Fair (1964, 1965)
1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe";...
for the Bell Telephone Pavilion. Jo Mielziner conceived of an innovative audio-visual ride experience and utilized Hal's acting talents on 65 different action screens for "The Ride Of Communications" with the movie itself known as "From Drumbeats to Telstar".
In 1967, Mark Twain Tonight was presented on television by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
, and Holbrook received an Emmy for his performance. Holbrook's Twain first played on Broadway in 1966, and again in 1977 and 2005; Holbrook was 80 years old during his most recent Broadway run, older (for the first time) than the character he was portraying. Holbrook won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for the performance in 1966. Mark Twain Tonight has repeatedly toured the country in what has amounted to over 2000 performances. He has portrayed Twain longer than Samuel Langhorne Clemens did.
In 1964, Holbrook played the role of the Major in the original production of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's Incident at Vichy
Incident At Vichy
Incident at Vichy is a 1964 play by American dramatist Arthur Miller focusing upon the subjects of human nature, guilt, fear, and complicity using Vichy France for the setting. Miller, a Jew himself, wrote the one act play about a group of detainees waiting for inspection by German officers during...
. In 1968 he was one of the replacements for Richard Kiley in the original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
, although he had limited singing ability.
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
in the controversial and acclaimed 1972 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
That Certain Summer
That Certain Summer
That Certain Summer is a 1972 American television movie directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link was the first to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Produced by Universal Television, it was broadcast as an ABC Movie of the Week on November 1, 1972...
said to be the first television movie to portray homosexuality in a sympathetic, non-judgmental light. In 1976 Holbrook won acclaim for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in a series of television specials based on Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
's acclaimed biography. He has also starred in many films and TV programs. He won an Emmy for Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series in the 1970 TV series, "The Bold Ones: The Senator". In 1979 he starred, with Katharine Ross
Katharine Ross
Katharine Juliet Ross is an American film and stage actress. Trained at the San Francisco Workshop, she is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and her role...
, Barry Bostwick
Barry Bostwick
Barry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City...
, and Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson
Richard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
in the made-for-TV movie, "Murder by Natural Causes".
Early in his career Holbrook worked on stage and in a television soap opera, The Brighter Day
The Brighter Day
The Brighter Day is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954 to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954-1956...
. He is also famous for his role as the enigmatic Deep Throat (whose identity was unknown at the time) in the film All the President's Men
All the President's Men (film)
All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post...
. Holbrook appeared as a featured guest star in a 2006 episode of the HBO series The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
and the NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
episode "Escaped".
Holbrook has appeared in at least seven movies in which he is part of a conspiracy: The Fog
The Fog
The Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
, Fletch Lives
Fletch Lives
Fletch Lives is a 1989 comedy film starring Chevy Chase. It was directed by Michael Ritchie with a screenplay by Leon Capetanos based on the character created by Gregory Mcdonald. Fletch Lives was released by Universal Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Fletch.- Plot :Chevy Chase once again...
, Magnum Force
Magnum Force
Magnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
, The Star Chamber
The Star Chamber
The Star Chamber is a 1983 American thriller film written by Roderick Taylor and directed by Peter Hyams. It stars Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook...
, Capricorn One
Capricorn One
Capricorn One is a 1977 science fiction thriller movie about a Mars landing hoax. It was written and directed by Peter Hyams and produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It stars James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O. J...
, All the President's Men
All the President's Men (film)
All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post...
, and The Firm.
Holbrook was the narrator on the Ken Burns' documentary Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery is a 1997 documentary film directed by Ken Burns. Its subject is the Lewis and Clark Expedition.-Actors and historians:...
in 1997.
Holbrook appeared on Fisher Investments' infomercials.
In 2000 Holbrook appeared in Men of Honor
Men of Honor
Men of Honor is a 2000 drama film, starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr. The film was directed by George Tillman, Jr...
where he portrayed a racist and hypocritical officer who endlessly tries to fail an African-American diver trainee.
He appeared in Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild
Into the Wild (film)
Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
(2007
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
) and received an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
at the 80th Academy Awards
80th Academy Awards
The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
. This renders Holbrook, at age 82, the oldest nominee in Academy Award history in the Best Supporting Actor category. On December 20, 2007, Holbrook was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in the film. In late August 2007 through mid-September he starred as the narrator in the Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage, located in Hartford, Connecticut, is one of the leading resident theatres in the United States, known internationally for entertaining and enlightening audiences with a wide range of the best of world drama, from classics to provocative new plays and musicals and neglected works...
production of Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
's Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
.
Holbrook appeared with wife Dixie Carter
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
in That Evening Sun
That Evening Sun (film)
That Evening Sun is a 2009 film based on a 2002 short story I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down by William Gay. The movie, produced by Dogwood Entertainment, stars Hal Holbrook as Abner Meecham and is directed by Scott Teems who also wrote the screenplay...
, filmed in East Tennessee in the summer of 2008. The film was produced by Dogwood Entertainment (a subsidiary of DoubleJay Creative) and is based on a short story by William Gay
William Gay (author)
William Gay is an American writer of novels and short stories.-Life and career:Gay was born in Hohenwald, Tennessee, which he still calls home. After high school, Gay joined the United States Navy and served during the Vietnam War...
. That Evening Sun premiered in March 2009 at South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
, where it received the Audience Award for Narrative Feature and a special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast. Joe Leydon
Joe Leydon
Joseph Patrick Michael "Joe" Leydon is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for Variety and a contributing writer for MovieMaker Magazine, he is the author of Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See and a contributing critic for Leonard Maltin's Movie...
of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
hailed Hollbrook's performance in the film as a "career-highlight star turn as an irascible octogenarian farmer who will not go gentle into that good night." That Evening Sun also was screened at the 2009 Nashville Film Festival
Nashville Film Festival
The Nashville Film Festival , held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2009, Nashville Film Festival received close to 2000 submissions from 86 countries, programmed nearly 260 films and had an attendance...
, where Holbrook was honored with a special Lifetime Achievement Award, and the film itself received another Audience Award. On April 22, 2010 Holbrook signed on to portray Katey Sagal
Katey Sagal
Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married.....
's character's father on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
for a four-episode arc in their third season. He also had a multi-episode arc on The Event, an American television series, airing on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the 2010-2011 season.
Holbrook's latest film was Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants (film)
Water for Elephants is a 2011 American romantic drama film based on Sara Gruen's novel of the same name, directed by Francis Lawrence, from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese...
(2011).
Personal life
Holbrook has been married three times, and has three children. He married Ruby Holbrook on September 22, 1945, and they had two children, Victoria Holbrook and David Holbrook. They divorced in 1965, and on December 28, 1966 he married Carol Eve Rossen. They had one child, Eve Holbrook, and they divorced on June 14, 1983. He married Dixie CarterDixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
on May 27, 1984. They remained married until her death on April 10, 2010.
Filmography
- The GroupThe Group (film)The Group is a 1966 ensemble film directed by Sidney Lumet based on the novel of the same name by Mary McCarthy about a group of female graduates from a Connecticut College-like college during the early 1930s....
(1966) - Wild in the StreetsWild in the StreetsWild in the Streets is a 1968 film featuring Christopher Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Shelley Winters. It was produced by American International Pictures and based on a short story by writer Robert Thom...
(1968) - They Only Kill Their MastersThey Only Kill Their MastersThey Only Kill Their Masters is a 1972 mystery movie starring James Garner and Katharine Ross, with a supporting cast featuring Hal Holbrook, June Allyson, Tom Ewell, Peter Lawford, Edmond O'Brien, and Arthur O'Connell...
(1972) - Jonathan Livingston SeagullJonathan Livingston SeagullJonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection...
(1973) (voice) - Magnum ForceMagnum ForceMagnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
(1973) - All the President's MenAll the President's Men (film)All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post...
(1976) - MidwayMidway (film)Midway is a 1976 war film directed by Jack Smight and produced byWalter Mirisch from a screenplay by Donald S. Sanford. The music score was by John Williams and the cinematography by Harry Stradling, Jr...
(1976) - Julia (1977)
- Rituals (1977)
- Capricorn OneCapricorn OneCapricorn One is a 1977 science fiction thriller movie about a Mars landing hoax. It was written and directed by Peter Hyams and produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It stars James Brolin, Sam Waterston and O. J...
(1978) - The Awakening LandThe Awakening LandThe Awakening Land is 1978 television miniseries based on Conrad Richter's trilogy of novels: The Trees; The Fields; and The Town...
(1978) (TV) - The FogThe FogThe Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
(1979) - When Hell Was in SessionWhen Hell was in SessionWhen Hell was in Session is a memoir by Jeremiah Denton, recounting his experiences as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. A United States Naval Aviator, Denton was shot down and captured, spending the next seven years and seven months as a POW. The book was later made into a television movie...
(1979) (TV) - Murder by Natural Causes (1979) (TV)
- The Legend of the Golden GunThe Legend of the Golden GunThe Legend of the Golden Gun is a 1979 Made-for-TV Western film, starring Jeff Osterhage, Hal Holbrook, Carl Franklin, and Robert Davi-Plot Summary:...
(1979) (TV) - The Kidnapping of the PresidentThe Kidnapping of the PresidentThe Kidnapping of the President is a 1980 political thriller film made by Presidential Films and Sefel Films and distributed by Crown International Pictures. It was produced and directed by George Mendeluk and co-produced by John Ryan from a screenplay by Richard Murphy and Charles Templeton,...
(1980) - The Killing of Randy Webster (1981) (TV)
- CreepshowCreepshowCreepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
(1982) - The Star ChamberThe Star ChamberThe Star Chamber is a 1983 American thriller film written by Roderick Taylor and directed by Peter Hyams. It stars Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook...
(1983) - Girls Night Out (1983)
- North and South Book INorth and South (TV miniseries)North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North...
(1985) (TV) - Dress Gray (TV miniseries) (1986) (TV)
- North and South Book IINorth and South (TV miniseries)North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North...
(1986) (TV) - Wall Street (1987)
- The UnholyThe UnholyThe Unholy is a 1988 horror film directed by Camilo Vila and starring Ben Cross, Nicole Fortier, and Ned Beatty. It also features Trevor Howard in his final role.-Plot:...
(1988) - Fletch LivesFletch LivesFletch Lives is a 1989 comedy film starring Chevy Chase. It was directed by Michael Ritchie with a screenplay by Leon Capetanos based on the character created by Gregory Mcdonald. Fletch Lives was released by Universal Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Fletch.- Plot :Chevy Chase once again...
(1989)
- Evening ShadeEvening ShadeEvening Shade was an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from 1990 to 1994. The series starred Burt Reynolds as Wood Newton, an ex-professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who returns to rural Evening Shade, Arkansas to coach a high school football team with a long...
(1990–1994) (TV Series) - The Firm (1993)
- Innocent Victims (1996)
- Eye of GodEye of God (film)Eye of God is a 1997 crime film directed by Tim Blake Nelson. It stars Mary Kay Place and Nick Stahl. Nelson won best director in the American Independent Award for the Seattle International Film Festival in 1997 and Bronze Award in the 1997 Tokyo International Film Festival...
(1997) - Cats Don't DanceCats Don't DanceCats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated musical comedy film, notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Entertainment's feature animation unit . The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment...
(1997) (voice) - HerculesHercules (1997 film)Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...
(1997) (voice) - Hush (1998)
- Walking to the WaterlineWalking to the WaterlineWalking to the Waterline is a 1998 American drama film written and directed by Matt Mulhern. The film premiered at the Florida Film Festival on June 13, 1998 but never was released theatrically in the United States.-Plot:...
(1998) - The Bachelor (1999)
- Waking the DeadWaking the Dead (film)Waking the Dead is a 2000 American drama film directed by Keith Gordon. The screenplay by Robert Dillon is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Scott Spencer.-Plot:...
(2000) - Men of HonorMen of HonorMen of Honor is a 2000 drama film, starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr. The film was directed by George Tillman, Jr...
(2000) - The Majestic (2001)
- The West WingThe West Wing (TV series)The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
(2001, 2002) - The Seventh Day documentary about persecution of sabbath keepers by the church (2002)
- Country Music: The Spirit of AmericaCountry Music: The Spirit of AmericaCountry Music: The Spirit of America is a documentary film, in the IMAX format, written and co-produced by Tom Neff and co-directed by Neff, Steven Goldmann and Keith Melton. Randy Scruggs was also a producer on the film and wrote the music score...
(2003, IMAXIMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
) - ShadeShade (film)Shade is a 2003 neo-noir crime drama starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx, Roger Guenveur Smith, Melanie Griffith and Sylvester Stallone...
(2003) - The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
(2006) - NCISNCIS (TV series)NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
(2006) - Into the WildInto the Wild (film)Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
(2007) - ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(2008) - That Evening SunThat Evening Sun (film)That Evening Sun is a 2009 film based on a 2002 short story I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down by William Gay. The movie, produced by Dogwood Entertainment, stars Hal Holbrook as Abner Meecham and is directed by Scott Teems who also wrote the screenplay...
(2009) - Sons of AnarchySons of AnarchySons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
(2010) - The EventThe Event (TV series)The Event is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. The show was created by Nick Wauters, and premiered on NBC on September 20, 2010...
(2010) - Water for ElephantsWater for Elephants (film)Water for Elephants is a 2011 American romantic drama film based on Sara Gruen's novel of the same name, directed by Francis Lawrence, from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese...
(2011)
Awards
Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
- (2008) Nominated - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting RoleAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
/ Into the WildInto the Wild (film)Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
The Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, commonly called the Critics' Choice Awards, are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Nominees are selected by written ballots in a week-long voting period, and are announced in...
- (2008) Nominated - Best Supporting Actor / Into the WildInto the Wild (film)Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- (2007) Nominated - Best Supporting ActorChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorThe Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...
/ Into the WildInto the Wild (film)Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
Online Film Critics Society Awards
- (2008) Nominated - Best Supporting ActorOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorThe Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best supporting actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
/ Into the WildInto the Wild (film)Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
- (2008) Nominated - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role / Into the WildInto the Wild (film)Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
Primetime Emmy Awards
- Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.-1950s:*1952: Thomas Mitchell*1953: no award*1954: Robert Cummings – 12 Angry Men*1955: Lloyd Nolan – Caine Mutiny Court Marshal...
-
(1967) Nominated - Mark Twain Tonight!
(1971) Nominated - A Clear and Present Danger
A Clear and Present Danger
"A Clear and Present Danger" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes and forty-eighth episode overall. It aired on February 2, 2009. The episode is the beginning of Volume 4: Fugitives. It marks the first time a season of Heroes has contained...
(1973) Nominated - That Certain Summer
That Certain Summer
That Certain Summer is a 1972 American television movie directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link was the first to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Produced by Universal Television, it was broadcast as an ABC Movie of the Week on November 1, 1972...
(1974) Won - Pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
(1976) Won - Sandburg's Lincoln
(1978) Nominated - The Awakening Land
The Awakening Land
The Awakening Land is 1978 television miniseries based on Conrad Richter's trilogy of novels: The Trees; The Fields; and The Town...
(1969) Nominated - The Whole World is Watching
- Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama or Comedy Special
(1978) Nominated - Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
- Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama SeriesThis is a list of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners.-1950s:*1956: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best*1957: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best...
(1971) Won - The Bold Ones: The Senator
The Bold Ones: The Senator
The Bold Ones: The Senator is an American political television drama series that aired on NBC from 1970 through 1971, lasting for nine episodes . The series stars Hal Holbrook as Senator Hays Stowe.The Senator was part of The Bold Ones, a rotating series of dramas that also included The New...
- Outstanding Informational Series
(1988) Nominated - Portrait of America (segment: New York City)
- Outstanding Performance in Informational Programing
(1989) Won - Portrait of America (segment: Alaska)
- Actor of the YearPrimetime Emmy Award for Actor of the YearThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Awards Actor of the Year. This now retired category was introduced in 1974, and subsequently absorbed into the Best Actor, Supporting Actor, and Guest Actor categories.*1974 Alan Alda - M*A*S*H...
(Retired category)
(1974) Won - Pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
Further reading
- Holbrook, Hal. (1959). Mark Twain Tonight! An Actor's Portrait. New York: Ives Washburn.
- Young, Jordan R. (1989). Acting Solo: The Art of One-Person Shows. Beverly Hills: Past Times Publishing Co.
External links
- The Seventh Day, a 2002 5-DVD set documentary on the history of the Sabbath. Produced by LLT Productions.
- 2004 Story on Holbrook from NOW
- Biography and 2004 story about his return to Broadway from PlaybillPlaybillPlaybill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...
- State of Mississippi Resolution