Hal Holbrook became Mark Twain in 1954. That's when he had the idea to build a theatrical experience out of a portrayal of the man some would call America's greatest writer. He developed the material in nightclubs and in appearances at schools and in 1957, raised the funds to debut it in an off-Broadway theater in New York. The impact was big, very big. Ed Sullivan saw him and soon, Holbrook was doing Twain on Sullivan's popular Sunday night TV program.
Audiences flocked to see him…and Holbrook probably could have done Mark Twain Tonight! eight performances a week for the rest of his career but he was too good an actor to limit himself to one role. He doled out his Twaining cautiously, always making time to do other things…but he kept doing Twain in limited engagements. A 1967 prime-time TV telecast of his show was one of the highest-rated programs of its year. He won award after award (some of them for non-Twain work) but also revolutionized an important theatrical form: The one-man show.
There had been one-man shows before Mr. Holbrook began portraying Samuel Clemens but after, there was an explosion of them. His was the success story that inspired countless others. At times, it seemed like every actor in America was looking for some famous theatrical figure to replicate on stage. My friend Frank Ferrante, oft-mentioned on this site for his touring performances as Groucho Marx, freely acknowledges the debt he owes to Hal Holbrook.
Frank was with me last night when I finally saw Mark Twain Tonight!, an experience that had somehow eluded me all my life. Holbrook hasn't made it easy to see him the last decade or so. He only does it now and then for a night or two at out-of-the-way theatres. It doesn't get advertised much because once it's scheduled, it sells out immediately. I only heard that it was at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center last night because Frank told me last March. I bought tickets, told a few friends and none of them got tix because just a few days later, there were no more. As it turned out, I knew about a third of the audience anyway.
It was, of course, a wonderful evening and many of those I spoke to there had seen it many times before. Holbrook has no firm script. He has many hours of material and at each performance, he does whatever portions of his repertoire he feels like doing. Front and center last night was much political commentary that Twain wrote in a previous century but which still applies…a lot of jokes about idiots in Congress and so on. I guess those will forever be timeless and applicable.
Samuel Clemens lived to the age of 74 so Holbrook hasn't quite been Mark Twain as many years as he was. On the other hand, Holbrook got a later start and is now 89. The audience last night in Santa Clarita was acutely aware that we were witnessing theatrical history and that an 89 year old man was displaying amazing energy and ability. There was a chair on the stage but Holbrook never sat in it during either of the hour-long acts.
Instead, he paced back and forth, discoursing on this, that, the other thing and something else. There was much about religion, including wondering aloud if God made man because he was disappointed in monkeys. In Act Two, he announced he'd favor us with a passage from Huckleberry Finn, picked up a book on stage and then proceeded to "read" from it without ever glancing at the text.
After the show, he received — still in costume and make-up — a small group of friends and admirers backstage. As memorable as his on-stage performance was, I think my favorite moments were back there, seeing him embrace the actor James Karen (an old friend) and watching him meet Frank Ferrante (a new one). Frank had sent a letter to Mr. Holbrook, asking if they could meet after the performance. Frank wanted to acknowledge his admiration and debt…and Holbrook said he was deeply touched by the letter and would keep it forever.
I suspect that when Mr. Holbrook started this franchise, the experience was an outpouring of love from the audience to Mark Twain. These days, and certainly last night, it's Hal Holbrook they're loving, first and foremost. Boy, I'm glad I got to see it. Backstage, I asked him to please keep doing it long enough for me to see it seven or eight more times. He chuckled and said, "Yeah, right."
Here's a little sample. This is from his 1967 special but it's very much like what I saw except that he's a shade gruffer now and doesn't smoke the cigars…