Biography
A versatile leading man and supporting player whose folksy, avuncular nature often disguised his true acting firepower, Hal Holbrook was best known to audiences for his portrayal of American humorist Mark Twain in his Tony Award-winning one-man show "Mark Twain Tonight!" which he performed some 2,000 times between 1959 and 2005. Stage provided Holbrook his best showcases, but he was frequently praised for his television work, most notably in …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
2012 | Played a schoolteacher going against oil barons in "Promised Land," directed by Gus Van Sant | |
2012 | Cast opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" | |
2011 | Portrayed an Older Jacob Jankowski in the film adaptation of Sara Gruen's novel "Water for Elephants" | |
2010 | Appeared in multi-episode arc on NBC drama "The Event" | |
2010 | Landed recurring role as Katey Sagal's character's father on FX's "Sons of Anarchy" | |
2008 | Starred opposite his wife Dixie Carter in "That Evening Sun" | |
2007 | Cast in Sean Penn's adaptation of the non-fiction book "Into the Wild," starring Emile Hirsch; earned SAG and Oscar nominations for Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role | |
2004 | Cast in the action thriller "Shade" with Stuart Townsend and Gabriel Byrne | |
2001 | Starred opposite Rick Stear in David Mamet's stage play "A Life in the Theatre" at the Pasadena Playhouse | |
2001 | Portrayed Harold Ickes in the CBS miniseries "Haven" | |
2000 | Offered effective supporting role as the mentor of an ambitious young political candidate in "Waking the Dead" | |
1999 | Cast as a U.S. Senator in "The Judas Kiss"; aired on Cinemax in lieu of a theatrical release | |
1997 | Played the sheriff in the independent drama "Eye of God" | |
1990 | Played Evan Evans on popular CBS sitcom "Evening Shade" | |
1986 | Landed recurring role on CBS sitcom "Designing Women," playing the boyfriend of Julia Sugarbaker (Holbrook's wife Dixie Carter); also directed several episodes | |
1985 | Again played Lincoln in the ABC miniseries "North and South" (1985) and "North and South, Book II" (1986) | |
1974 | Played Abraham Lincoln in multi-seasonal miniseries "Sandburg's Lincoln" (NBC) | |
1974 | Hosted "Theater in America" the PBS drama series featuring performances of theatrical plays | |
1970 | Played the title role of Hays Stowe on NBC drama series "The Bold Ones: Senator" | |
1966 | Returned to television to play the role of Tom in "CBS Playhouse" adaptation of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" | |
1966 | Made film debut in "The Group" | |
1966 | Opened his one-man show "Mark Twain Tonight!" on Broadway | |
1961 | Broadway debut, "Do You Know the Milky Way?" | |
1959 | Made off-Broadway debut in title role of "Mark Twain Tonight!" | |
| Moved to New York in late 1950s | ||
| Assembled the one-man show "Mark Twain Tonight!" | ||
1954 | Acted on the daytime serial TV drama "The Brighter Day" (CBS) | |
1953 | TV acting debut, "Hollywood Screen Test" | |
| Stage directing debut, "The Winslow Boy" at Denison University | ||
| Toured in summer stock | ||
1946 | Made radio debut on the "Army Engineer Show" for ABC | |
1943 | Served as a private in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | |
1942 | Made stage debut in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at the Cain Park Theatre, Cleveland, OH | |
| Attended high school at a military academy | ||
| Raised by grandparents in South Weymouth, MA | ||
Awards
2012 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in Lincoln |
2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in Into the Wild |
2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Into the Wild |
2007 | Academy Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in Into the Wild |
2007 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor in Into the Wild |
2007 | Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in Into the Wild |
1978 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In a Limited Series in The Awakening Land |
1976 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In a Limited Series in Sandburg's Lincoln |
1969 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance By an Actor In in The Whole World Is Watching |
1967 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance By an Actor In a Leading Role in Mark Twain Tonight! |
1966 | Tony Award for Actor (Dramatic) |