Dear Mr. Miller,What a truly wonderful memory to have and to share. And so typical of Hal. Every time someone shares that kind of story, and it's hardly an uncommon occurrence, my first thought is, "Yup, that's Hal, all right." His warmth was as great as it was genuine.Much appreciated,Mark

    On Thursday, February 18, 2021, 2:27:16 PM EST, Shelley Fisher Fishkin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:  
 
 Dear Mr. Miller, 
The experience you recount is testimony to Holbrook’s generosity and responsiveness. Thank you for sharing your memories with us!
All the best,
Shelley Fisher Fishkin

> On Feb 18, 2021, at 11:11 AM, Warren Miller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Dear Prof. Dawidziak, Prof. Fishkin, Prof. Harris, Prof. Seybold, and other
> valued colleagues--
> 
> By way of introduction, I am not a Twain scholar. I was an academic for
> four years in the mid-1980s, but my field was strategic management, not
> literature. However, I feel enormously fortunate to be part of the Mark
> Twain Forum because I have learned so much from this remarkable and learned
> group..
> 
> Segue: I had the good fortune to have attended Culver Military Academy in
> Indiana on a scholarship, 1958-61. Mr. Holbrook was also a Culver graduate,
> Class of 1942. More than three decades after I graduated from
> Culver--sometime in the mid-1990s--he brought 'Mark Twain Tonight!' to
> Tulsa, where my beloved bride and I were living at the time. I wrote him a
> note, said I was also a 'Culver Man' (as we were called in those days), and
> asked if he would include Twain's 'The War Prayer' (link *is here
> <https://warprayer.org/>*) in his performance. I then gave it to the head
> usher with the request that he deliver it to Mr. Holbrook. I said that I
> thought that Mr. Holbrook would be delighted to get my note.
> 
> Sure enough, midway through Act II, Mr. Holbook did 'The War Prayer.' I was
> awestruck and so appreciative. About ten days later, I got a handwritten
> note from him saying that he had done it specifically for me and that he
> hoped I had enjoyed it. I hurriedly replied and said that I had indeed
> enjoyed it and thanked him profusely.
> 
> I am so sad that he is no longer with us. Mr. Holbrook was a giant of an
> actor for whose talents and contributions to American culture and to our
> country's history we should all be grateful.
> 
> Thank you for letting me weigh in and to be part of your wonderful Forum.
> 
> Best regards--
> 
> Warren Miller, CPA, CFA
> Beckmill Research, LLC
> Lexington, Virginia
> 
> On Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 1:05 PM MARK DAWIDZIAK <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> 
>> And thank you to Matt and the Center for Mark Twain Studies for
>> suggesting this remembrance and giving it a home where it can be shared
>> with the extended family. Sharing memories of Hal certainly helps some, as
>> does the realization that so many of us got to tell him how much he meant .
>> . . and he got to return the favor by regularly acknowledging and
>> celebrating how much Twain scholarship meant to him. We all lost a
>> cherished and wonderful friend.
>> 
>>    On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, 3:03:53 PM EST, Harris, Susan Kumin <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>> What a wonderful essay!  Thank you!  --susan harris
>> 
>> 
>> Susan K. Harris
>> 
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Shelley Fisher
>> Fishkin <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 9:52 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: Dawidziak on Holbrook
>> 
>> “Thank you, Mark” seems a reductive expression of gratitude for this
>> eloquent and moving tribute. It is such a gift that you were able to convey
>> the appreciation of so many of us at that conference in Elmira when Hal was
>> present, enabling him  to hear how much he meant to us, and how much he had
>> changed our lives. You were a wonderful friend to him and he appreciated
>> you. You have also been a great friend to Mark Twain—and all of us. And we
>> appreciate you, too!
>> Shelley
>> 
>> 
>> ===============================
>> Shelley Fisher Fishkin
>> Joseph S. Atha Professor of Humanities; Professor of English, and
>> Director of American Studies, Stanford University
>> Mail: Department of English, Bldg. 460, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford
>> University, Stanford, CA 94305-2087
>> 
>> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish.stanford.edu%2Fpeople%2Fshelley-fisher-fishkin&data=04%7C01%7Cskh5%40KU.EDU%7C551e24678bce42862b4008d8cd136603%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637484830490202986%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=yq%2FIp%2FqvsMBA%2FmToo9vp2Qc8OjH%2FdrnYQr02Bi%2BQANA%3D&reserved=0
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Feb 9, 2021, at 6:52 AM, Matthew Seybold <[log in to unmask]<mailto:
>> [log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>> 
>> I have read number Holbrook obituaries this past week, as I expect many of
>> you have. None has come close to being as comprehensive, much less as
>> personally touching, as Mark Dawidziak's:
>> 
>> 
>> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmarktwainstudies.com%2Fhal-holbrook-an-appreciation-an-obituary-a-remembrance-a-friendship%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cskh5%40KU.EDU%7C551e24678bce42862b4008d8cd136603%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637484830490212982%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=L0WfMo1Oaoglo8LqlXEJP%2BUGDTBdpNimWQvZParpNlg%3D&reserved=0
>> 
>> --
>> Matt Seybold
>> Assistant Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies
>> Elmira College
>> Editor, MarkTwainStudies.org
>> MattSeybold.com
>> 
>>