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