Twain expert’s iconic film roles
Hal Holbrook Actor BORN FEBRUARY 17, 1925 – DIED JANUARY 23, 2021, AGED 95
HAL Holbrook would want to be known for his encyclopedic knowledge of US writer Mark Twain but will be remembered for his portrayal of Deep Throat in All The President’s Men.
Standing in the shadows of a car park briefing a journalist, Holbrook gave life to a hazy character whose leaks brought down President Richard Nixon and exposed theWatergate burglary.
Surprisingly, Holbrook, an instantly recognisable face to seasoned filmgoers, received only one Oscar nomination for a supporting role as a grandfatherly figure in Sean Penn’s 2007 film Into The Wild.
However he seemed most happy when on stage in an enthralling one-man show about his literary hero Mark Twain. Standing there in a white linen suit, he was mesmerising as he read from the writer’s works.
Dressed as Twain, complete with walrus moustache and unruly wig, he met President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the White House in 1959 during a Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
In his spare time he sought out people who had met Twain and took copious notes of their memories, some of which were incorporated into his shows.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, his mother Aileen was a vaudeville dancer who would leave him and his sisters in the care of grandparents while she was performing.
In the Second World War he was stationed in Newfoundland, where he relaxed by performing with amateur theatre groups. His first film appearance was in 1966 with Candice Bergen in The Group and he played a corrupt police officer in Magnum Force in 1973.
In Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln he played the politician Francis Preston Blair. He won five Emmys in a long and distinguished career.
His wife Dixie died in 2010.