Hal Holbrook, the award-winning actor who has toured the world for more than 50 years as Mark Twain in an individual show and spoke the immortal advice “Watch the money” in the classic political thriller “All the President’s Men”, deceased. He was 95 years old.
Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP
Holbrook died Jan. 23 at his home in Beverly Hills, California, his publicist Steve Rohr told CBS News on Tuesday.
Actors across the board lamented Holbrook’s passing, inclusive Bradley Whitford, who called him an “incredible actor” and Viola Davis, WHO wrote “RIP to the always wonderful Hal Holbrook.”
Holbrook pursued a busy career in theater, television and film, winning five Emmys and a Tony. His more than two dozen films ranged from Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” to Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street.” He also had a constant presence on television, after appearing on shows such as “West Wing”, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Bones”.
But his most famous role in the film was as a key source for Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward (played by Robert Redford) in the 1976 adaptation of “All the President’s Men,” the bestselling story of Woodward and fellow reporter Carl Bernstein about the investigation. about the Richard Nixon Administration and the Watergate scandal that led to his resignation.
Holbrook played the mysterious informant “Deep Throat” (later revealed to be an FBI official Mark Felt) who provided key information to Woodward. The most famous piece of advice, uttered from the shadows of a parking garage – “Watch the money” – became an instant hit, but it was never told in real life. The line was invented by screenwriter William Goldman.
“Watch the Money” could have been his most famous words in the film, but Twain was his decisive role. The association began in 1954, when an instructor at Denison University in Ohio gave Holbrook the role as part of a dissertation.
Holbrook and his first wife, Ruby Johnson, later created a show for two, playing characters from Shakespeare to Twain. After their daughter, Victoria, was born, he began working on a one-man show, Twain, while working on the soap opera “The Brightest Day.”
Holbrook, who grew up in Cleveland, was 29 when he first played Twain (who was played as 70) and eventually developed the role in a two-act show called “Mark Twain Tonight! , ”Taking him to schools, nightclubs and theaters. He took him to Broadway three times – 1966, 1977 and 2005 – and won a Tony Award for Best Dramatic Actor for the 1966 version.
“The truth is, it’s been a wonderful company,” Holbrook told The Plain Dealer in 2017. “It would be an understatement to say I like it. He never ceases to amaze me. Even after all these years, I’m still “Amazed by his understanding of human character. Much of what he had to say more than 100 years ago is right about today’s money.”
In 1959, after years of perfecting his material in small towns, Holbrook made his Twain debut at an off-Broadway theater in New York, to be praised by critics. “Mr. Holbrook’s material is noisy, his ability to support an audience through acting is brilliant,” The New York Times said. The New Yorker called it “a dazzling display of virtuosity.”
Holbrook would tour as Twain – in the writer’s white suit and white hair – whenever he wasn’t busy with other acting jobs. He will update the show to suit the time and has performed the role according to his account about 2,200 times. He closed the white suit in 2017.
“He’s done a lot of work over the years, never less than spring, but the Twain shows have come close to perfection and will stay with me forever.” posted on Twitter Michael McKean.
He was meticulous in his preparations, it took up to 3 1/2 hours to put on his makeup and insisted on oversized stage furniture so that, at 6 feet tall, it would not look larger than 5 feet-8. 1/2 -It was Twain. He read books by the author about it as well, and researched newspaper files for interviews with Twain and stories about his conference tours.
During a performance on the open stage at Wolf Trap near Vienna, Virginia, lightning flashed and thunder erupted just as Holbrook reached the humidor for a cigar. He headed back. There was a laugh. Holbrook looked over his glasses at the audience. When he could be heard again, he spoke, “He did not speak to you.”
Over the years, Holbrook has taken “Mark Twain Tonight!” in many foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia. Its audience included Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Carter.
When not portraying Twain, Holbrook showed impressive versatility. He was the cruel father-in-law of Burt Reynolds in the 1990 TV series “Evening Shade”. He appeared as Abraham Lincoln in two different 16-president miniseries and won one of his Emmys for his lead role in the 1970-71 TV series “The Senator.”
Other notable stage credits included “After the Fall,” “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” and “I Never Sung for My Father.” In 2008, at the age of 82, he received his first Oscar nomination for the role of a lone widower who befriends the young wanderer Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) in the film “Into the Wild” by director Sean Penn.
In 1980, he met actress Dixie Carter when they both starred in the TV movie “The Killing of Randy Webster”. Although attracted to each other, each suffered two failed marriages and were cautious at first. They finally married in 1984, two years before Carter landed the role of Julia Sugarbaker in the feature-length TV series “Designing Women.” Holbrook appeared in the show regularly in the late 1980s as her boyfriend, Reese Watson. He died in 2010.
Holbrook had two children, Victoria and David, with his first wife and a daughter, Evie, from his second marriage to actress Carol Rossen. He was the stepfather of Mary Dixie Carter and Ginna Carter.
