What was Hal Holbrook's Net Worth?
Hal Holbrook was an American actor who had a net worth of $12 million at the time of his death in 2021. Hal Holbrook died on January 23, 2021 at the age of 95. Hal Holbrook was an actor who performed on the screen and stage in a career spanning over six decades. After having his critical breakthrough in 1954 with his one-man play "Mark Twain Tonight!," he went on to appear in such films as "All the President's Men," "Julia," "The Fog," "Wall Street," "Men of Honor," and "Into the Wild," the lattermost of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Holbrook's television credits include the sitcoms "Designing Women" and "Evening Shade" and the miniseries "Lincoln" and "North and South."
Early Life and Education
Hal Holbrook was born as Harold Holbrook Jr. on February 17, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio to Harold Sr. and Aileen. With his two older sisters, he was abandoned by his parents as a youth; the children were subsequently raised by their paternal grandparents. Holbrook went to Culver Military Academy, and then attended Denison University. From 1942 to 1946, Holbrook served in the US Army; stationed in Newfoundland, Canada, he performed in theatrical productions.
Mark Twain Tonight!
While a student at Denison University, Holbrook came up with the idea for a one-man play based on the life and writings of famed author Mark Twain. He gave his first performance of the show in 1954 at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania. Spotted by Ed Sullivan, Holbrook went on to perform his act on "The Ed Sullivan Show" two years later, bringing him to national attention. In 1959, "Mark Twain Tonight!" had its off-Broadway debut in New York City; finally, in 1966, it premiered on Broadway to great acclaim. For his portrayal of Twain, Holbrook won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. In 1967, he received an Emmy Award nomination for the television broadcast of the show. "Mark Twain Tonight!" had its final Broadway run in 2005; at the age of 80, Holbrook was for the first time older than the man he was portraying. The show continued touring the US until the actor's retirement in 2017.
Film Career
In 1966, Holbrook made his feature film debut in Sidney Lumet's "The Group," based on the eponymous novel by Mary McCarthy. Two years later, he starred alongside Christopher Jones and Shelley Winters in "Wild in the Streets." In the early 70s, Holbrook appeared in "The People Next Door," "The Great White Hope," and "They Only Kill Their Masters." He had one of his most memorable roles yet in the 1973 action thriller "Magnum Force," in which he played the boss and rival of Clint Eastwood's cop Harry Callahan. Following this, Holbrook starred opposite Goldie Hawn in "The Girl from Petrovka." He next had one of his most significant years on the big screen in 1976, portraying secret informant Deep Throat in the political thriller "All the President's Men" and Commander Joseph Rochefort in the war film "Midway." Closing out the decade, Holbrook starred in "Rituals" and "Natural Enemies" and had supporting roles in "Julia" and "Capricorn One."
Kicking off the 80s, Holbrook played Father Malone in the supernatural horror film "The Fog" and starred as fictional US President Adam Scott in "The Kidnapping of the President." He subsequently appeared in the horror-comedy anthology film "Creepshow," the slasher film "Girls Nite Out," and the crime thriller "The Star Chamber." In the late 80s, Holbrook was in "Wall Street," "The Unholy," and "Fletch Lives." The next decade, he appeared in such films as "The Firm"; "Carried Away"; "Eye of God"; "Walking to the Waterline"; "Rusty: A Dog's Tale"; "The Florentine"; and "The Bachelor." He also lent his voice to the Disney animated film "Hercules." Holbrook's credits in the early 00s included "Waking the Dead," "Men of Honor," "The Majestic," "Purpose," and "Shade." In 2007, he had a late-career highlight with his performance as Ron Franz in Sean Penn's biographical drama "Into the Wild," for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Holbrook's subsequent credits included "Killshot," "That Evening Sun," "Flying Lessons," "Water for Elephants," "Lincoln," "Promised Land," and "Savannah." His final film role was in the thriller "Blackway," released in 2015.
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Television Career
On the small screen, Holbrook first appeared on the daytime soap opera "The Brighter Day" in the 50s. After appearing in a number of television films and episodes of various series throughout the 60s, he had one of his most acclaimed roles on the "The Bold Ones: The Senator" from 1970 to 1971. For his starring role as Senator Hays Stowe, Holbrook won an Emmy Award. He went on to star in the television films "Goodbye, Raggedy Ann," "That Certain Summer," and "Pueblo." From 1974 to 1976, Holbrook portrayed Abraham Lincoln in the miniseries "Lincoln," earning another Emmy. He continued to appear in television films and miniseries throughout the remainder of the decade, with credits including "33 Hours in the Life of God," "Our Town," "The Awakening Land," "The Legend of the Golden Gun," and "When Hell Was in Session." In the 80s, Holbrook's notable credits included the television films "The Killing of Randy Webster," "The Three Wishes of Billy Grier," and "Day One." He also portrayed John Adams in the miniseries "George Washington," and reprised his role as Lincoln in the miniseries "North and South." Among his other credits, he had a recurring role opposite his wife on the sitcom "Designing Women" from 1986 to 1989.
Holbrook had his biggest role on a regular series from 1990 to 1994, when he played Evan Evans on the CBS sitcom "Evening Shade." His other credits in the 90s were mostly television films, including "Operation Delta Force," "The Third Twin," and three "Perry Mason" films. At the dawn of the new millennium, Holbrook made appearances on "The Outer Limits," "Family Law," and "The West Wing." He went on to appear in episodes of "Becker," "Good Morning, Miami," "The Sopranos," "NCIS," and "ER," among other shows. In 2010, Holbrook began recurring roles on the FX series "Sons of Anarchy" and the NBC series "The Event." He had his final year on television in 2017, making appearances on "Bones," "Grey's Anatomy," and "Hawaii Five-0."
Personal Life and Death
Holbrook was married three times and had three children, Victoria, David, and Eve. His first two children came from his marriage to his first wife, Ruby Holbrook. His third child was with his second wife, Carol Eve Rossen. He and his third wife, Dixie Carter, remained married until her death in 2010, after having met when he guest starred on her TV show, Designing Women. Carter and Holbrook lived in McLemoresville, Tennessee, which was also Carter's hometown. Holbrook, who is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, is said to have loved the transition into Southern life.
In January of 2021, Holbrook died at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He was 95 years of age.
Real Estate
For the last few decades of their respective lives, Dixie and Hal lived in a large Beverly Hills mansion. The 8,400 square-foot home was placed on the market by their heirs in February 2022, a little less than a year after Hal's death. The initial asking price was $8.4 million. The home sold in June 2022 for a shade under $8 million.
