R.I.P. Hal Holbrook

[fabrisse]

I was lucky enough to see him twice as Mark Twain. He had a huge list of pieces and only used a handful each night, so no two performances were identical. Both performances were great and his approach to a one man show stuck with me. I enjoyed "Give 'em Hell, Harry" and "Will Rogers, U.S.A" -- both performed by James Whitmore -- and the many other one person shows that filled the DC theaters in the early 1970s. I've been lucky enough to see Robert Vaughn as FDR and James Earl Jones as Paul Robeson. But "Mark Twain Tonight" was the only one that changed from performance to performance.

Hal Holbrook was, I think, somewhat underrated as a performer in TV and movies. On stage, and especially as Twain, he was in a class by himself.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/feb/02/hal-holbrook-dies-aged-95-deep-throat-all-the-presidents-men-mark-twain