Actor ‘approached perfection’ with Twain performances
Award-winning character actor took on theatre, TV and movies
NEW YORK—Hal Holbrook, the awardwinning character actor who toured the world for more than 50 years as Mark Twain in a one-man show and uttered the immortal advice “Follow the money” in the classic political thriller “All the President’s Men,” has died. He was 95.
Holbrook died on Jan. 23 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Actors across the spectrum mourned Holbrook’s passing, including 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 theatre, television and movies, winning five Emmys and a Tony.
His more than two dozen film credits ranged from Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” to Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street.” He was a steady presence on TV as well, having appeared on such shows as “The West Wing,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Bones.”
But his most famous movie role 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 account by Woodward and fellow Post reporter Carl Bernstein about their investigation of Richard Nixon’s administration and the Watergate scandal that led to his resignation.
Holbrook played the mysterious informant “Deep Throat” (later revealed to be FBI official Mark Felt) who provided key information to Woodward. The most famous tip, uttered from the shadows of a parking garage — “Follow the money” — became an instant catchphrase but was never said in real life. The line was invented by screenwriter William Goldman.
“Follow the money” may have been his most famous film words, but Twain was his defining role.
The association began in 1954 when an instructor at Ohio’s Denison University gave Holbrook the role as part of a thesis assignment.
Holbrook and his first wife, Ruby Johnson, later created a two-person show, playing characters from Shakespeare to Twain. After their daughter, Victoria, was born, he started working on a one-man Twain show while working on the soap opera “The Brighter Day.”
Holbrook, raised in Cleveland, was 29 when he first performed as Twain (who was portrayed as 70) and eventually developed the role into a two-act, one-man show called “Mark Twain Tonight!,” taking it to schools, nightclubs and theatres. He took it to Broadway three times — 1966, 1977 and 2005 — and won a Tony Award as Best Dramatic Actor for the 1966 version.
Holbrook would tour as Twain — with the writer’s familiar white suit and white hair — whenever he wasn’t busy with other acting jobs. He would update the show to fit the times and performed the role by his account some 2,200 times. He hung up the white suit in 2017.
“He did a ton of work over the years, never less than first-rate, but the Twain performances approached perfection, and they will stay with me forever,” tweeted Michael McKean.
When he wasn’t portraying Twain, Holbrook showed impressive versatility. He was Burt Reynolds’ crotchety fatherin-law in the 1990s TV series “Evening Shade.” He appeared as Abraham Lincoln in two different miniseries on the 16th president and won one of his Emmys for the title role in the 1970-71 TV series “The Senator.”
Other notable stage credits included “After the Fall,” “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” and “I Never Sang for My Father.”