Hal Holbrook
Known for Acting · 166 credits
- Born
- 1925-02-17
- Died
- 2021-01-23
- Place of birth
- Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- Also known as
- Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook · Harold Rowe 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
TV Shows (49)
Grey's Anatomy
2005
as Lewis Clatch
NCIS
2003
as Mickey Stokes
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
Bones
2005
as Red Hudmore
Hawaii Five-0
2010
as Leonard Patterson
The Sopranos
1999
as John Schwinn
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self (uncredited)
ER
1994
as Walter Perkins
Sons of Anarchy
2008
as Nate Madock
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self
The West Wing
1999
as Albie Duncan
Great Performances
1971
as Self - Host
American Experience
1988
as Narrator (voice)
The Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
The F.B.I.
1965
as Christopher Simes
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
The Outer Limits
1995
as Justice Oliver Harbison
Becker
1998
as Mr. Humphries
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
The Name of the Game
1968
as John Adrian
Family Law
1999
as Judge Richard Lloyd
North and South
1985
as Abraham Lincoln
The Oscars
1953
as Self
Designing Women
1986
as Reese Watson
Dinah!
1974
as Self
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957
as Self
Hope & Faith
2003
as Edward Shanowski
Rectify
2013
as Rutherford Gaines
Evening Shade
1990
as Evan Evans
Good Morning, Miami
2002
as Jim Templeton
The Event
2010
as James Dempsey (voice)
CBS Playhouse
1966
as Tom Wingfield
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Mitch Collins
Monday Mornings
2013
as Dr. Arvin Wayne
The Bold Ones: The Senator
1970
as Senator Hays Stowe
George Washington
1984
as John Adams
Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
1997
as Narrator (voice)
Celebrity
1984
as Calvin Sledge
Dress Gray
1986
as Gen. Charles Hedges
The Fortunate Pilgrim
1988
as Dr. Andrew McKay
Lincoln
1974
as Abraham Lincoln
The Third Twin
1997
as Pete
The Awakening Land
1978
as Portius Wheeler - The Solitary
Founding Fathers
2000
as Benjamin Franklin (voice)
Mark Twain
2002
as self
Emma: Queen of the South Seas
1988
as Jonas Coe
The Seventh Day
2005
as Host
Appointment With Destiny
1971
as Narrator
Movies (117)
Hercules
1997
as Amphitryon (voice)
Midway
1976
as Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort
The Firm
1993
as Oliver Lambert
Men of Honor
2000
as 'Mr. Pappy'
Into the Wild
2007
as Ronald "Ron" Franz
Lincoln
2012
as Preston Blair
The Fog
1980
as Father Malone
The Majestic
2001
as Congressman Doyle
Planes: Fire & Rescue
2014
as Mayday (voice)
All the President's Men
1976
as Deep Throat
Wall Street
1987
as Lou Mannheim
Shade
2003
as The Professor
Magnum Force
1973
as Lieutenant Briggs
Killshot
2008
as Papa
The Bachelor
1999
as O'Dell
Creepshow
1982
as Henry Northrup (segment "The Crate")
Water for Elephants
2011
as Old Jacob
Capricorn One
1977
as Dr. James Kelloway
Blackway
2015
as Whizzer
Promised Land
2012
as Frank Yates
Cats Don't Dance
1997
as Cranston (voice)
The Group
1966
as Gus Leroy
Beauty
1998
as Alexander Miller
Haven
2001
as Harold L. Ickes
Julia
1977
as Alan
Waking the Dead
2000
as Isaac Green
Hush
1998
as Dr. Franklin Hill
The Star Chamber
1983
as Benjamin Caulfield
Fletch Lives
1989
as Hamilton "Ham" Johnson
Good Day for It
2011
as Hec
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
1994
as Wild Bill McKenzie
Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel
1988
as Self
Eye of God
1997
as Sheriff Rogers
The Legend of the Golden Gun
1979
as J.R. Swackhammer
Girls Nite Out
1982
as Jim MacVey
When Hell Was in Session
1979
as Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton
Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story
2013
as Self
Pueblo
1973
as Capt. Lloyd Bucher
Carried Away
1996
as Doctor Evans
The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry
2008
as Self
The Brotherhood
1968
as Man at the Table (uncredited)
They Only Kill Their Masters
1972
as Dr. Warren G. Watkins
Judas Kiss
1998
as Senator Rupert Hornbeck
Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
1995
as Wild Bill McKenzie
A Killing in a Small Town
1990
as Dr. Beardsley
The Florentine
1999
as Smitty
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
1973
as Elder (voice)
The Killing of Randy Webster
1981
as John Webster
A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry
2008
as Self
The Street Lawyer
2003
as Arthur Jacobs
Savannah
2013
as Judge Harden
Day One
1989
as Gen. George Marshall
The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus
2000
as Ak - Master Woodsman of the World (voice)
The Business End: Violence in Cinema
2008
as Self
Rituals
1977
as Harry
A Clear and Present Danger
1970
as Hays Stowe
Flying Lessons
2010
as Harry Pleasant
My Own Country
1998
as Lloyd Flanders
She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal
1995
as Adm. Kelso
Operation Delta Force
1997
as Admiral Henshaw
The Unholy
1988
as Archbishop Mosely
Rusty: A Dog's Tale
1998
as Boyd Callahan
That Evening Sun
2009
as Abner Meecham
The Girl from Petrovka
1974
as Joe
Under Siege
1986
as President Maxwell Monroe
Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle
1994
as William McKenzie
The People Next Door
1970
as David Hoffman
The Evolution of Clint Eastwood
2008
as Self
I'll Be Home for Christmas
1988
as Joseph Bundy
Innocent Victims
1996
as Bob Hennis
Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
2002
as Narrator (voice)
Purpose
2002
as Tom Walker
The Great White Hope
1970
as Cameron
Dirty Harry: The Original
2001
as Self - Actor
The Whole World Is Watching
1969
as Chancellor Graham
Wild in the Streets
1968
as Senator Fergus
The Designing Women Reunion
2003
The Kidnapping of the President
1980
as President Adam Scott
Mark Twain
2002
as Self (uncredited)
Bonds of Love
1993
as Jim Smith
All the Winters that Have Been
1997
as Uncle Ren Corvin
The Three Wishes of Billy Grier
1984
as Grandpa Grier
92 Grosvenor Street
1985
Tartuffe
1978
as Self - Host
Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
2014
as Self
Murder by Natural Causes
1979
as Arthur Sinclair
Stormchasers
1995
as Narrator
Travis Logan, D.A.
1971
as Matthew Sand
The Time of Your Life
1976
as Self - Host
Natural Enemies
1979
as Paul Steward
Goodbye, Raggedy Ann
1971
as Harlan Webb
Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
1992
as Narrator (voice)
Walking to the Waterline
1998
as Man on the Beach
Plaza Suite
1987
as Sam Nash
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)
That Certain Summer
1972
as Doug Salter
Suddenly Single
1971
as Larry Hackett
The Glass Menagerie
1966
as her son
Off the Minnesota Strip
1980
as Bud Johansen
Sorry, Wrong Number
1989
as Jim Coltrane
Our Town
1977
as Stage manager
The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City
1970
as Mitch Collins
Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)
All Star Party for Clint Eastwood
1986
as Self (uncredited)
The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today
1973
as Self
Mark Twain Tonight!
1967
as Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Jane Goodall and the World of Animal Behavior: The Wild Dogs of Africa
1973
as Narrator
An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story
2017
as Reinhold Niebuhr (voice)
The Battle of The Alamo
1996
as Voice
Butch Cassidy and the Outlaw Trail
2003
as Narrator
Interpreting Twain
2018
as Self
Trail of Hope
1997
as Narrator
America Remembers John F. Kennedy
1983
as Host
Lost in Middle America (and What Happened Next)
1999
as Narrator
Battleships
1999
as Narrator
The Legend of the Three Trees
2001
as Narrator
Hazardous Waste: The Search for Solutions
1983
as Narrator (voice)
About Hal Holbrook
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… With 166 credits spanning from 1948 to 2018, Hal Holbrook has appeared in 117 films and 49 TV shows.
Fans searching for Hal Holbrook movies, Hal Holbrook filmography, or the latest projects starring Hal Holbrook can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Hal Holbrook Movies
- Hercules (1997) — as Amphitryon (voice)
- Midway (1976) — as Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort
- The Firm (1993) — as Oliver Lambert
- Men of Honor (2000) — as 'Mr. Pappy'
- Into the Wild (2007) — as Ronald "Ron" Franz
Where to Watch Hal Holbrook Films
Most Hal Holbrook movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Hal Holbrook, check our movies catalogue and browse page.