Hello all,

Several years ago, I published an account of seeing Hal perform and then
meeting him at the Elmira Conference. The post contains audio of Hal
speaking at the conference and then his discussion of meeting Clara that he
recounted (in darkness lit only with cigar flames) on the site of the Mark
Twain study.  For many who were there, I would assume this is a highlight
of our professional careers.

https://humorinamerica.wordpress.com/2021/02/02/the-passing-of-hal-holbrook/

I hope you enjoy.

Tracy Wuster

On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 10:51 AM Martin Baker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I had the great fortune of seeing Hal in Mark Twain Tonight 3 times and
> once met him backstage. I did see the subtle changes he made to his act
> depending on the reaction to certain jokes.  He even signed the poster for
> the show that just happened to be on a table. I had tickets for his 90th
> birthday show in Hartford but unfortunately there was a snowstorm and I
> couldn't make it up from Pennsylvania.
>
> I remember reading that he did have a chance to meet Clara in her older
> years to try to get a sense of how accurate his impression was.  Thanks Hal
> for keeping Twain's legacy alive.
>
> Marty Baker
> Mark Twain Circle
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 9:50 AM David Matuszak <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > I had the pleasure of seeing Hal’s Twain show twice: about 25 years ago
> at
> > the historic Bridges Auditorium at the Claremont Colleges and then again
> > few years ago at the historic and refurbished Fox Theater in Riverside,
> CA.
> >
> > Hal invited me backstage during that show where I asked him his opinion
> > about Twain’s reluctance to speak about his surfing attempt in the
> Sandwich
> > Islands. I was finishing up a section I wrote about Twain for my epic
> (1550
> > page) study of surfing history and culture, San Onofre: Memories of a
> > Legendary Surfing Beach. Hal was puzzled too, as was everyone on this
> forum
> > who responded to my request for feedback. Other than Twain’s mention of
> > surfing in Roughing It, he rarely mentioned the experience. Perhaps as
> more
> > small town newspapers around the country digitize their archive, other
> > instances of him mentioning surfing during his lectures will surface.
> >
> > I’ll always fondly remember my short visit with Hal backstage, his
> > gentleness and generosity to share his time with me. In terms of one-man
> > shows, the best I ever saw were his Twain performances and James
> Whitmore’s
> > Will Rogers show that I had the pleasure of seeing at the newly restored
> > and grand re-opening of the California Theater in San Bernardino, CA.
> > Ironically, Will Rogers made his last performance there before his
> fateful
> > flight. Both Holbrook and Whitmore stand alone in their long-running
> > one-man shows of two American icons.
> >
> > RIP, Hal,
> > David Matuszak, author
> > San Onofre: Memories of a Legendary Surfing Beach
> > Pacific Sunset Publishing
> > 30320 Live Oak Canyon Rd.
> > Redlands, CA 92373-0668
> >
> > http://pacificsunset.com/?page_id=15 <
> http://pacificsunset.com/?page_id=15
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > On Feb 2, 2021, at 6:10 AM, L Oggel <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > >
> > > Thanks, John. Sorry to have this news. We all met him, more than once
> at
> > > Elmira conferences.
> > >
> > > Terry
> > >
> > > <
> >
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon
> > >
> > > Virus-free.
> > > www.avast.com
> > > <
> >
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link
> > >
> > > <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
> > >
> > > On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 8:45 AM John R. Pascal <[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
> >
> >
>