Dear Prof. Dawidziak, Prof. Fishkin, Prof. Harris, Prof. Seybold, and other
valued colleagues--

By way of introduction, I am not a Twain scholar. I was an academic for
four years in the mid-1980s, but my field was strategic management, not
literature. However, I feel enormously fortunate to be part of the Mark
Twain Forum because I have learned so much from this remarkable and learned
group..

Segue: I had the good fortune to have attended Culver Military Academy in
Indiana on a scholarship, 1958-61. Mr. Holbrook was also a Culver graduate,
Class of 1942. More than three decades after I graduated from
Culver--sometime in the mid-1990s--he brought 'Mark Twain Tonight!' to
Tulsa, where my beloved bride and I were living at the time. I wrote him a
note, said I was also a 'Culver Man' (as we were called in those days), and
asked if he would include Twain's 'The War Prayer' (link *is here
<https://warprayer.org/>*) in his performance. I then gave it to the head
usher with the request that he deliver it to Mr. Holbrook. I said that I
thought that Mr. Holbrook would be delighted to get my note.

Sure enough, midway through Act II, Mr. Holbook did 'The War Prayer.' I was
awestruck and so appreciative. About ten days later, I got a handwritten
note from him saying that he had done it specifically for me and that he
hoped I had enjoyed it. I hurriedly replied and said that I had indeed
enjoyed it and thanked him profusely.

I am so sad that he is no longer with us. Mr. Holbrook was a giant of an
actor for whose talents and contributions to American culture and to our
country's history we should all be grateful.

Thank you for letting me weigh in and to be part of your wonderful Forum.

Best regards--

Warren Miller, CPA, CFA
Beckmill Research, LLC
Lexington, Virginia

On Wed, Feb 10, 2021 at 1:05 PM MARK DAWIDZIAK <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>  And thank you to Matt and the Center for Mark Twain Studies for
> suggesting this remembrance and giving it a home where it can be shared
> with the extended family. Sharing memories of Hal certainly helps some, as
> does the realization that so many of us got to tell him how much he meant .
> . . and he got to return the favor by regularly acknowledging and
> celebrating how much Twain scholarship meant to him. We all lost a
> cherished and wonderful friend.
>
>     On Tuesday, February 9, 2021, 3:03:53 PM EST, Harris, Susan Kumin <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>  What a wonderful essay!  Thank you!  --susan harris
>
>
> Susan K. Harris
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Shelley Fisher
> Fishkin <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 9:52 AM
> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Dawidziak on Holbrook
>
> “Thank you, Mark” seems a reductive expression of gratitude for this
> eloquent and moving tribute. It is such a gift that you were able to convey
> the appreciation of so many of us at that conference in Elmira when Hal was
> present, enabling him  to hear how much he meant to us, and how much he had
> changed our lives. You were a wonderful friend to him and he appreciated
> you. You have also been a great friend to Mark Twain—and all of us. And we
> appreciate you, too!
> 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://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish.stanford.edu%2Fpeople%2Fshelley-fisher-fishkin&data=04%7C01%7Cskh5%40KU.EDU%7C551e24678bce42862b4008d8cd136603%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637484830490202986%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=yq%2FIp%2FqvsMBA%2FmToo9vp2Qc8OjH%2FdrnYQr02Bi%2BQANA%3D&reserved=0
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 9, 2021, at 6:52 AM, Matthew Seybold <[log in to unmask]<mailto:
> [log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> I have read number Holbrook obituaries this past week, as I expect many of
> you have. None has come close to being as comprehensive, much less as
> personally touching, as Mark Dawidziak's:
>
>
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmarktwainstudies.com%2Fhal-holbrook-an-appreciation-an-obituary-a-remembrance-a-friendship%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cskh5%40KU.EDU%7C551e24678bce42862b4008d8cd136603%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637484830490212982%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=L0WfMo1Oaoglo8LqlXEJP%2BUGDTBdpNimWQvZParpNlg%3D&reserved=0
>
> --
> Matt Seybold
> Assistant Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies
> Elmira College
> Editor, MarkTwainStudies.org
> MattSeybold.com
>
>