
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)

Sons of Anarchy
2008
as Nate Madock

The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self

ER
1994
as Walter Perkins

The West Wing
1999
as Albie Duncan

Great Performances
1971
as Self - Host

Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter

American Experience
1988
as Narrator (voice)

The Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self

The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest

The Outer Limits
1995
as Justice Oliver Harbison

The F.B.I.
1965
as Christopher Simes

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

Dinah!
1974
as Self
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957
as Self

Designing Women
1986
as Reese Watson

Hope & Faith
2003
as Edward Shanowski

Rectify
2013
as Rutherford Gaines
CBS Playhouse
1966
as Tom Wingfield

Good Morning, Miami
2002
as Jim Templeton

Monday Mornings
2013
as Dr. Arvin Wayne

The Event
2010
as James Dempsey / James Dempsey (voice)

Evening Shade
1990
as Evan Evans

The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
as Mitch Collins

The Bold Ones: The Senator
1970
as Senator Hays Stowe

George Washington
1984
as John Adams

Celebrity
1984
as Calvin Sledge

Lincoln
1974
as Abraham Lincoln

Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
1997
as Narrator (voice)

Dress Gray
1986
as Gen. Charles Hedges

The Fortunate Pilgrim
1988
as Dr. Andrew McKay

The Third Twin
1997
as Pete

Founding Fathers
2000
as Benjamin Franklin (voice)

The Awakening Land
1978
as Portius Wheeler - The Solitary

Mark Twain
2002
as self

Emma: Queen of the South Seas
1988
as Jonas Coe
Appointment With Destiny
1971
as Narrator

The Seventh Day
2005
as Host
Movies (117)

Hercules
1997
as Amphitryon (voice)

Men of Honor
2000
as 'Mr. Pappy'

Midway
1976
as Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort

Into the Wild
2007
as Ronald "Ron" Franz

Lincoln
2012
as Preston Blair

The Firm
1993
as Oliver Lambert

The Majestic
2001
as Congressman Doyle

Shade
2003
as The Professor

The Fog
1980
as Father Malone

Planes: Fire & Rescue
2014
as Mayday (voice)

Magnum Force
1973
as Lieutenant Briggs

Wall Street
1987
as Lou Mannheim

All the President's Men
1976
as Deep Throat

Killshot
2008
as Papa

The Bachelor
1999
as O'Dell

Creepshow
1982
as Henry Northrup (segment "The Crate")

Capricorn One
1977
as Dr. James Kelloway

Cats Don't Dance
1997
as Cranston (voice)

Day One
1989
as Gen. George Marshall

Water for Elephants
2011
as Old Jacob

Promised Land
2012
as Frank Yates

Fletch Lives
1989
as Hamilton "Ham" Johnson

The Brotherhood
1968
as Man at the Table (uncredited)

Haven
2001
as Harold L. Ickes

Pueblo
1973
as Capt. Lloyd Bucher

The Group
1966
as Gus Leroy

Blackway
2015
as Whizzer

Flying Lessons
2010
as Harry Pleasant

Julia
1977
as Alan

Rituals
1977
as Harry

Hush
1998
as Dr. Franklin Hill

Beauty
1998
as Alexander Miller

The Star Chamber
1983
as Benjamin Caulfield

Judas Kiss
1998
as Senator Rupert Hornbeck

The Florentine
1999
as Smitty

Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
1994
as Wild Bill McKenzie

Carried Away
1996
as Doctor Evans

Good Day for It
2011
as Hec

Waking the Dead
2000
as Isaac Green
The Street Lawyer
2003
as Arthur Jacobs

A Killing in a Small Town
1990
as Dr. Beardsley

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
1973
as Elder (voice)

The Legend of the Golden Gun
1979
as J.R. Swackhammer

Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel
1988
as Self

The Unholy
1988
as Archbishop Mosely

Eye of God
1997
as Sheriff Rogers

When Hell Was in Session
1979
as Cmdr. Jeremiah A. Denton

They Only Kill Their Masters
1972
as Dr. Warren G. Watkins

Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story
2013
as Self

Goodbye, Raggedy Ann
1971
as Harlan Webb

Rusty: A Dog's Tale
1998
as Boyd Callahan

Operation Delta Force
1997
as Admiral Henshaw

All the Winters that Have Been
1997
as Uncle Ren Corvin

A Clear and Present Danger
1970
as Hays Stowe

Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
1995
as Wild Bill McKenzie

Savannah
2013
as Judge Harden

Girls Nite Out
1982
as Jim MacVey

The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry
2008
as Self

The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus
2000
as Ak - Master Woodsman of the World (voice)

That Certain Summer
1972
as Doug Salter

A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry
2008
as Self

The Killing of Randy Webster
1981
as John Webster

That Evening Sun
2009
as Abner Meecham

Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle
1994
as William McKenzie

Under Siege
1986
as President Maxwell Monroe

Plaza Suite
1987
as Sam Nash

Mark Twain
2002
as Self (uncredited)

Innocent Victims
1996
as Bob Hennis

Purpose
2002
as Tom Walker

The Business End: Violence in Cinema
2008
as Self

Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
2002
as Narrator (voice)

Wild in the Streets
1968
as Senator Fergus

Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
1992
as Narrator (voice)

Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey
2014
as Self

My Own Country
1998
as Lloyd Flanders

Murder by Natural Causes
1979
as Arthur Sinclair

The Evolution of Clint Eastwood
2008
as Self

She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal
1995
as Adm. Kelso

The Designing Women Reunion
2003

The Girl from Petrovka
1974
as Joe

The Kidnapping of the President
1980
as President Adam Scott

The People Next Door
1970
as David Hoffman

Sorry, Wrong Number
1989
as Jim Coltrane

Tartuffe
1978
as Self - Host

92 Grosvenor Street
1985
Jane Goodall and the World of Animal Behavior: The Wild Dogs of Africa
1973
as Narrator

Natural Enemies
1979
as Paul Steward

The Great White Hope
1970
as Cameron

Suddenly Single
1971
as Larry Hackett

The Three Wishes of Billy Grier
1984
as Grandpa Grier

I'll Be Home for Christmas
1988
as Joseph Bundy

The Whole World Is Watching
1969
as Chancellor Graham

Stormchasers
1995
as Narrator

Bonds of Love
1993
as Jim Smith

Dirty Harry: The Original
2001
as Self - Actor

The Time of Your Life
1976
as Self - Host

The Glass Menagerie
1966
as her son
All Star Party for Clint Eastwood
1986
as Self (uncredited)

Off the Minnesota Strip
1980
as Bud Johansen

Our Town
1977
as Stage manager

Walking to the Waterline
1998
as Man on the Beach
Travis Logan, D.A.
1971
as Matthew Sand
America Remembers John F. Kennedy
1983
as Host

Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)

Mark Twain Tonight!
1967
as Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)

Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)

The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today
1973
as Self

The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City
1970
as Mitch Collins

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

The Legend of the Three Trees
2001
as Narrator

Trail of Hope
1997
as Narrator

Interpreting Twain
2018
as Self

Battleships
1999
as Narrator

Lost in Middle America (and What Happened Next)
1999
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)
- Men of Honor (2000) — as 'Mr. Pappy'
- Midway (1976) — as Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort
- Into the Wild (2007) — as Ronald "Ron" Franz
- Lincoln (2012) — as Preston Blair
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.