Well said. And I can't remember any point in our lifetime when "the natural
friend[s] of human rights and human liberties" were more urgently needed.

On Wed, Feb 3, 2021, 2:08 PM Shelley Fisher Fishkin <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> John, your students who had the chance to meet him were, indeed,
> incredibly fortunate;  those who encountered him (and will encounter him in
> the future) via video  were (and will be)  fortunate, as well.  A brilliant
> actor, and a truly extraordinary Mark Twain scholar, Hal Holbrook Z"L
> brought unparalleled insight and understanding to the author who became his
> guiding star. We are all so blessed that Mark Twain found Hal Holbrook and
> that Hal Holbrook found Mark Twain. Holbrook allowed Twain to speak to
> 20th-century and 21st-century audiences with humor and wit, to be sure, but
> with dazzling eloquence and power, as well. No other author has had such a
> kindred spirit shape his legacy in such remarkable ways during the century
> after his death. My heart goes out to his family. It was a privilege to be
> his friend. May his memory be a blessing--and an inspiration. An
> inspiration to all of us to continue Twain's - and Holbrook's project of
> "the deriding of shams, the exposure of pretentious falsities, the laughing
> of stupid superstitions out of existence" -- and remembering "that whoso is
> by instinct engaged in this sort of warfare is the natural enemy of
> royalties, nobilities, privileges and all kindred swindles, and the natural
> friend of human rights and human liberties." That's how Twain put it when
> he got an honorary degree from Yale. Those are the values that animated the
> Twain that Holbrook gave us for more than six decades. The gratitude that
> overwhelms me as a I think about this helps soothe some of the sadness I
> feel at the thought that he is gone.
> 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://english.stanford.edu/people/shelley-fisher-fishkin
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 2, 2021, at 5:39 AM, John R. Pascal <[log in to unmask]<mailto:
> [log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/theater/hal-holbrook-dead.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage
> <
> https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/theater/hal-holbrook-dead.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage
> >
>
> Thank God six classes of The Writings of Mark Twain got to know him.  One
> class got to meet him.
> Future classes will continue to study and appreciate him.
>
> John R. Pascal, M.B.A., M.A.
> Teacher of 9th, 11th Grade English Honors, & The Writings of Mark Twain
> Honors
> Seton Hall Preparatory School
> Contributing Author to Mark Twain and Youth
>