Hal Holbrook Biography 

American actor Hal Holbrook has been wowing audiences and critics for over six decades, and in that time, he is most known for his work in Mark Twain Tonight!, That Certain Summer, and Lincoln. Most recently, his name has popped up again for his Academy Award nomination for Into the Wild.

Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr, known popularly as Hal Holbrook, was born February 17, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. His parents were vaudeville dancer Aildeen Davenport and Harold Rowe Holbrook Sr. Holbrook was subsequently raised in South Weymouth, Massachusetts.

He obtained his education from both Culver Academies and Denison University, and it was here that he developed his final project on Mark Twain which subsequently led to his one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight. For this endeavor, Holbrook secured a Tony and a Drama Desk Award.

World events, however, interrupted his pursuit of acting as he served in World War II with the Army. He was stationed in Newfoundland where he diverted his attention from war by appearing in theater.

When he returned, Holbrook made his onscreen debut in 1954 with The Brighter Day, but it wasn’t until 1967 that his success Mark Twain Tonight! hit the airwaves. In that year, Holbrook earned his first Emmy nomination.

His second Emmy nomination came just a few years later for 1969’s The Whole World Is Watching opposite Burl Ives. But 1971 would trump even that accomplishment, because he earned two Emmy nominations in that year. One was for A Clear and Present Danger, and the second was for The Bold Ones: The Senator. He took home his first Emmy for the latter.

Establishing himself as a formidable contender in the acting arena, Holbrook once again earned an Emmy nomination. This time around it was for 1973’s That Certain Summer in which he portrayed a man struggling to accept and help his son accept his homosexuality. Holbrook shared the screen with Martin Sheen and Hope Lange.

At the next Emmy Awards, it was barely a surprise when Holbrook yet again earned two nominations. He won Best Lead Actor in a Drama for Pueblo as well as a specially devised category, Actor of the Year.

For his turn in Lincoln, Holbrook took the 1976 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. After a slew of smaller roles, his name was called yet again at the 1978 Emmys for The Awakening Land and Our Town.

In 1977, Holbrook partook in the Oscar darling Julia beside Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jason Robards. And although he continued to work steadily, Holbrook was content to take smaller roles such as his work in Wall Street opposite Charlie Sheen.

In the late 90s and early millennium, Holbrook also took work in more commercial ventures like The Bachelor with Chris O Donnell and Renee Zellweger, Men of Honor beside Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr, The Majestic with Jim Carrey, and many others.

Most recently, he appeared in the Sean Penn directed biography Into the Wild with Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, and Jena Malone. For his role as Ron Franz, Holbrook has earned his first Academy Award nomination.

In his personal life, Holbrook has been married three times. He had two children with his first wife, Ruby Holbrook, before divorcing after twenty years together.

His second marriage to Carol Eve Rossen lasted thirteen years, and they had one child together. Most recently, he married Dixie Carter on May 27, 1984.

Hal are Dixie currently still together.