If you ever do come anywhere near Harrisburg or Wilkes-Barre, please let us
know.

Carl

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alan Kitty
Sent: Sunday, December 4, 2016 7:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Brief Movie Review

Carl - I was Princeton-based when I traveled thru 22 states, performing in
t= heaters, clubs, and schools. Originally from Harrisburg (where I started
doi= ng Twain in 1979). I'm now in Sarasota. I do a series of unique shows
here. O= ne is improvisational and interactive. One is a series of imaginary
intervie= ws and debates between MT and his contemporaries. A third is a
one-man show t= hat runs 45-90 minutes depending on the age of the audience.
I'm also workin= g on several adaptations for the stage.=20

And I have given numerous after dinner speeches for corporate audiences
link= ing Twain's perspective to the client topic. It isn't very scholarly
(althou= gh it is an accurate reflection of MT's view on the subject matter)
but it r= econnects people to Twain in ways they had never imagined.

I've done a dozen shows around PA and would do so again if I find the
impetu= s and funding.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 4, 2016, at 5:26 PM, Carl J. Chimi <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>=20
> Well, when I first saw Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain, in person as 
>distinct  from on TV) I was 19, and had already been reading anything I 
>could find b=
y
> or about Mark Twain for over a decade.  I sort of knew he was 
> presenting a=

> Mark Twain much older than the lecturing Mark Twain ever was, but it 
> didn'=
t
> matter.  There was Mark Twain on stage, and I was so excited I almost 
> crie=
d
> with happiness.  And at 19 you couldn't make me cry in almost any 
> other wa=
y.
> Holbrook entirely demanded and deserved the suspension of disbelief.  
> Same=

> thing the other times I saw him (all in the 70s, I think).
>=20
> Where do you perform, Alan?  I'd be very interested to attend one of 
>your  presentations.  Ever anywhere near Pennsylvania?
>=20
> Carl
>=20
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alan 
>Kitty
> Sent: Sunday, December 4, 2016 5:16 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Brief Movie Review
>=20
> Agree completely. Had I the chops in my 30s and 40s, I would have 
>loved to=

> p=3D ortray him as he was when he did tour. I would encourage someone 
> in t=
he
> next=3D  generation to do just that - but it may take another 50 years 
> aft=
er
> Hal han=3D gs up his white suit to dislodge the now firmly entrenched 
> imag=
e of
> Twain he=3D  has planted in the mind and eye of our generation.=3D20
>=20
> A new approach may be needed. Every time I travel, a number of young 
>peopl=
e
> w=3D ho see me before a performance ask if I am Colonel Sanders.=3D20
>=20
> Sent from my iPhone
>=20
>> On Dec 4, 2016, at 4:45 PM, Carl J. Chimi <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> =3D20
>> ,,,,,,,,,,,Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought that Hal=20 
>> Holbrook's=3D
>=20
>> Mark Twain, while one of the most wonderful stage creations of my=20 
>> lifetime=3D
> ,
>> smacked of "fictional".  (I leave out "uncomfortably 
>> inappropriate"=20 becaus=3D
> e
>> I don't think that phrase remotely applies to Holbrook's presentation.
>> =3D20
>> But Holbrook has consistently presented a Mark Twain on stage who,=20 
>> unless I=3D
>=20
>> am badly mistaken, is quite a bit older than any Mark Twain Samuel=20 
>> Clemens=3D
>=20
>> ever presented on a stage for a paying audience.  Holbrook 
>> presents=20 the fiction that - once again, unless I am mistaken - the 
>> much older,=20 white suited Mark Twain ever lectured for pay.  I 
>> don't think he did. =20=

>> I think h=3D
> e
>> was pretty much out of the lecture business years before he ever=20 
>> adopted t=3D
> he
>> white suit and before he took on the appearance of age that  
>> Holbrook=20 has  always presented.=3D20
>> =3D20
>> Personally, I've always wished for a Mark Twain who is not the=20 
>> white-haire=3D
> d
>> old philosopher, but rather the guy in his 30s and 40s who was=20 
>> learning to=3D
>=20
>> enthrall and captivate audiences with his stories, manners, and 
>> killer =20=

>> instincts.  I've always found the young Mark Twain much more=20 
>> interesting  than the old Mark Twain.
>> =3D20
>> That's not a slam against Hal Holbrook, whose creation is a 
>> masterful=20 piec=3D
> e
>> of theater I've enjoyed in person at least three times since 1972 or so.
>> And it's not a slam against Kilmer, whose Twain (from what I've 
>> seen=20 of it=3D
>=20
>> on YouTube) probably needs to age and mature as an act of theater. 
>> =20 But bo=3D
> th
>> are "fictional" in that they present a Mark Twain who never really was.
>> =3D20
>> But it's theater!  So what am I talking about?  It's like not=20 
>> expecting an=3D
>=20
>> autobiography to be fictional.
>> =3D20
>> Regards,
>> =3D20
>> Carl=3D20
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alan=20 
>> Kitty
>> Sent: Sunday, December 4, 2016 3:17 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Brief Movie Review
>> =3D20
>> With due respect for your autobiography-based knowledge of 
>> Holbrook,=20 which=3D
>=20
>> i=3D3D s inarguable, you are comparing different art forms. I do 
>> not=20 make th=3D
> e
>> asser=3D3D tion based on an autobiography; rather from 50 years of 
>> stage=20=

>> and=3D
>=20
>> on-camera e=3D3D xperience. I am also in agreement with the 
>> assessment=20=

>> that Kilmer's less-tha=3D3D n a decade of experience as Twain does 
>> not=20=

>> hold a can=3D
> dle
>> to Holbrook - and I=3D3D  can only go back to his 1967 tour de force 
>> -=20=

>> on st=3D
> age
>> and film. By then, th=3D3D e latter had already amassed a lengthy 
>> stage=20=

>> reco=3D
> rd
>> as Twain (and others).=3D3D20=3D3D
>> =3D20
>> =3D20
>> I don't know Kilmer's stage credits. I do know that his Christian=20 
>> Science  pi=3D3D ece would be colored by his affiliation. I also 
>> enjoyed=20=

>> Kilmer's var=3D
> ied
>> film=3D3D  roles. ( I've watched Tombstone several times only because 
>> of=20=

>> his=3D
> Doc
>> Holli=3D3D day. The rest is so bad from so many perspectives, It's=20 
>> continuit=3D
> y is
>> so bad=3D3D , it's like finding Waldo.)
>> =3D20
>> Now I'm going out on a limb here by suggesting that Holbrook won't=20 
>> live  fore=3D3D ver, and Kilmer has said he wants to be the Twain of 
>> his=20=

>> generatio=3D
> n.
>> He has a=3D3D  long way to go, but he seems committed. I have had=20 
>> similar  thoughts about m=3D3D y own Twain work, as have 
>> others.=3D3D20
>> =3D20
>> I think the important thing is that Twain's work continues to be=20 
>> passed  alon=3D3D g to new generations in as many ways as the world 
>> will=20=

>> tolerate. E=3D
> ven
>> portra=3D3D yals of Twain as troubadour have a place - although 
>> many=20 would  consider that=3D3D  an uncomfortably inappropriate
fictional one.
>> =3D20
>> Think of it as more work for scholars to sort out -- a twisted form 
>> of=20=

>> job=3D
>=20
>> s=3D3D
>> ecurity.=3D3D20
>> =3D20
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> =3D20
>>> On Dec 4, 2016, at 1:33 PM, Clay Shannon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>> =3D3D20
>>> I'm reading Holbrook's autobiography now; thus, I differ with 
>>> that=3D20=20=

>>> asserti=3D3D
>> o=3D3D3D
>>> n, because Holbrook had years of stage experience before=20
>>> "becoming"=3D20 Mark T=3D3D
>> w=3D3D3D
>>> ain.
>>> If anything, Kilmer is a cub in comparison to Mr. 
>>> H.=3D3D3DC2=3D3D3DA0-=20=

>>> B.=3D20=3D
>=20
>>> Clay Sh=3D3D
>> annon
>>> =3D3D20
>>>    From: Alan Kitty <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Sent: Sunday, December 4, 2016 9:24 AM
>>> Subject: Re: Brief Movie Review
>>> =3D3D3D20
>>> ... or it is an early interpretation of Twain's reported slow=20
>>> drawl=3D20 delive=3D3D
>> r=3D3D3D
>>> y=3D3D3D3D
>>> .
>>> I submit that Holbrook might have had a similar interpretation 
>>> in=3D20=20=

>>> 1954. IH=3D3D
>> e=3D3D3D
>>> M=3D3D3D3D
>>> AY NOT HAVE BEEN AS GOOD, since Kilmer's film experience when 
>>> he=3D20=20=

>>> started d=3D3D
>> o=3D3D3D
>>> i=3D3D3D3D
>>> ng Twain was deep and Holbrook's was not  AK  Sent from my iPhone
>>> =3D3D20
>>>> On Dec 2, 2016, at 3:19 PM, Scott Holmes 
>>>> <[log in to unmask]>=20 wrote:=3D
>=20
>>>> =3D3D3D3D20
>>>> For whatever it's worth, Kilmer was a great Doc Holliday, in 
>>>> an=3D20=20=

>>>> otherwise ridiculous movie.=3D3D3DC2=3D3D3DA0 I've seen a couple 
>>>> of=20 clips of=3D
> =3D20
>>>> Kilm=3D3D
>> er a=3D3D3D
>>> s
>>>> Twain and they all seemed to represent Twain as a drunkard.
>>> =3D3D20
>>> =3D3D20
>>> =3D3D3D20