For those who have not yet read Kevin Mac Donnell's excellent piece about Hal in the Mark Twain Journal, by all means, track it down. It's a marvelous tribute to someone who deserved every wonderful thing said about him.
On Monday, January 24, 2022, 05:01:26 PM EST, John Peter Zavez <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
And Uber man doesn't have quite the gravitas it had in Friedrich's day........
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Wolfgang Hochbruck
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2022 1:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hal Holbrook
....Nietzsche wasn't nearly as funny as Twain -- and then he went completely bonkers, which is a real show-stopper under all circumstances. One of my friends and colleagues here is the chief editor of Nietzsche's complete works, and he hasn't heard of anyone ever doing a Nietzsche impression.
Come to think of it, Holbrook went on tour as Twain longer than Twain did himself, didn't he? Quite amazing.
best
w
On Mon, 24 Jan 2022 17:19:44 +0000
Mac Donnell Rare Books <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>OK, if not Goethe or Schiller, how about Nietzsche?
>
>For one thing, his mustache is a heck of lot better than Twain's, plus
>he said a lot of witty Twainian things ("In heaven, all of the
>interesting people are missing"). But he might want to avoid that "God
>is dead" shtick; some audiences can be touchy.
>
>As for Hal Holbrook, I can't add much to what I said in my elegy in the
>MTJ, but I cannot imagine anyone who ever met him didn't come away from
>that encounter without an indelible memory, and I think anyone who ever
>saw him in live performance as Mark Twain counts that experience as a
>blessing.
>
>Kevin
>@
>Mac Donnell Rare Books
>9307 Glenlake Drive
>Austin TX 78730
>512-345-4139
>Member: ABAA, ILAB, BSA
>
>You can browse our books at:
>www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>
>
>------ Original Message ------
>From: "Wolfgang Hochbruck"
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Sent: 1/24/2022 9:50:51 AM
>Subject: Re: Hal Holbrook
>
>>..what a remarkable story - thanks for sharing! I don't think Hal
>>Holbrook ever toured Germany, i would have loved to see him. He may
>>even have been a far distant relation; there is a story in the family
>>that some great x 4 or so uncle changed his name to Holbrook upon
>>arrival in the USA because people choked on the German "ch" and he
>>didn't like the idea of being called Hogbrook -- In the early 80s,
>>there was a Twain impersonator on tour in Germany, and i saw him but i
>>don't remember who it was nor was the tour particularly successful. At
>>that time, nobody over here had ever
>heard
>>of living history presentations, and teachers of German would likely
>>have fainted at the idea of somebody impersonating Goethe or
>>Schiller...
>>
>>best
>>w
>>
>>
>>
>>On Mon, 24 Jan 2022 07:12:55 -0500
>> Warren Miller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>Thank you for remembering Hal Holbook, Shelley.
>>>
>>>I had the good fortune to win a scholarship to attend Culver
>Military
>>>Academy starting in the fall of 1958. It was a fabulous and
>>>life-changing experience. I graduated in 1961. Having graduated from
>>>Culver in
>1944,
>>>Mr.
>>>Holbrook had preceded me there by seventeen years. I saw him perform
>>>once there and several more times over the years. The last time was
>>>in
>the
>>>early
>>>1990s when my beloved bride and I lived in Tulsa. Before the curtain
>>>went up that night, I sent a note to him backstage; on the back of my
>>>business card, I said I was a Culver graduate and asked him if he
>>>would do
>'The
>>>War
>>>Prayer' which I had seen the first time at Culver more than thirty
>>>years before. I had read that he chose what he was going to do in a
>>>given performance as he went along, based on the audience's reaction
>>>to
>the
>>>choices he was making. Sure enough, near the end of the evening, he
>>>did the 'The War Prayer.' It was even more spectacular and moving
>>>than I had remembered. I was thrilled.
>>>
>>>A couple of weeks later, I got a handwritten note from him in the
>>>mail. He thanked me for attending and said he hoped I enjoyed 'The
>>>War
>Prayer'.
>>>I
>>>was thrilled yet again and also humbled.
>>>
>>>What a wonderful, wonderful man. We lost a great American a year
>ago.
>>>May
>>>he rest in peace.
>>>
>>>Thank you again, Shelley.
>>>
>>>Warren Miller, CPA, CFA
>>>Lexington, Virginia
>>>
>>>On Sun, Jan 23, 2022 at 10:58 AM Shelley Fisher Fishkin <
>>>[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> One year ago today, on January 23rd, the world lost a gifted
>actor,
>>>a
>>>> brilliant scholar of Mark Twain, and a kind, generous, and caring
>>>human
>>>> being. Many of us on this list lost a friend. Hal Holbrook Z”L —
>>>May his
>>>> memory be a blessing.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ===============================
>>>> 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 Jane Stanford Way,
>>>Stanford
>>>> University, Stanford, CA 94305-2087
>>>>https://english.stanford.edu/people/shelley-fisher-fishkin <
>>>>https://english.stanford.edu/people/shelley-fisher-fishkin>
>>>>
>>
>>
>>Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hochbruck
>>Dept. of English
>>Centre for Security and Society
>>Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg
>>Rempart St. 15
>>D-79098 Freiburg
>>Germany
>>
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hochbruck
Dept. of English
Centre for Security and Society
Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg
Rempart St. 15
D-79098 Freiburg
Germany
|
