Actor Hal Holbrook, Known For Playing Mark Twain, Dies At 95

Hal Holbrook, known for his long-running one-man show Mark Twain Tonight, died at the age of 95. He passed in his Beverly Hills home.

Holbrook played many roles in his long career but he received global acclaim for his one-man show based on the writings of Mark Twain. The play debuted in 1954 and ran for 63 years before retiring it in 2017. Holbrook would often rewrite the show’s material over the years to match with contemporary ideas and issues. “The show has definitely become more topical over the years,” said Holbrook in a 2001 interview. “I read the newspapers and I get upset or angry or hysterical about home hypocrisy, cruelty, lying or idiocy and so I go back to my notes.”

Holbrook won a Tony in 1967 for best performance by a lead actor in a play. He also received an Emmy nomination for best actor that same year for the TV broadcast of the play. Holbrook was nominated for his first Oscar in 2008 for the film Into The Wild. At the age of 82, Holbrook was the oldest Oscar nominee in the best supporting actor category at the time. “After 65 years or so [of acting], to be nominated for an Academy Award is a great gift,” he told CNN at the time.

Holbrook was born in Cleveland, Ohio but was raised by his grandparents in Massachusetts after his parents abandoned him and his siblings. He was sent to boarding school at the age of seven and after graduating, he served four years in the Army during World War II. After the war, he moved to New York to study acting. His career took off in 1956 when he performed as Twain on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Holbrook’s acting credits include movies and shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, Sons of Anarchy, Designing Women, All The President’s Men and Lincoln.

President George W. Bush awarded Holbrook the National Humanities Medal in 2003.