Hal Holbrook, veteran actor who portrayed Mark Twain, dies at 95Hal Holbrook, a legendary Emmy and Tony Award winning actor, died January 23 at his California home, his daughter Victoria told CNN on Tuesday.
He was 95.
Holbrook portrayed iconic author Mark Twain in one-man shows for more than six decades, winning a Tony Award for best actor in 1966 for his role in "Mark Twain Tonight!" which he also directed.
He performed the show across the country and in Europe, becoming synonymous with the famed humorist.
Born in Cleveland to a vaudeville performer mother and shoe salesman father, Holbrook and his siblings were raised by his grandparents in South Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Sent to boarding school as a youngster, and later military school, he found solace in the costumes and characters he portrayed in drama club.
Holbrook first got the idea to do the Twain show after portraying the author as part of an honors project as a drama major at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
While serving in the Army during WWII, he performed in amateur theater productions, including "Madam Precious" while stationed in Newfoundland.
