MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representative Mayo, Brown, Akins, Aldridge, Arinder, Bailey, Baker (74th), Baker (8th), Banks, Barnett, Beckett, Blackmon, Bondurant, Bounds, Broomfield, Buck, Burnett, Calhoun, Chism, Clark, Clarke, Cockerham, Coleman (29th), Coleman (65th), Compretta, Cummings, Davis, Dedeaux, Denny, Dickson, Eaton, Ellington, Ellis, Espy, Evans, Fillingane, Flaggs, Fleming, Formby, Franks, Fredericks, Frierson, Gadd, Gardner, Gibbs, Gregory, Guice, Gunn, Hamilton (109th), Hamilton (6th), Harrison, Hines, Holland, Holloway, Horne, Howell, Huddleston, Hudson, Ishee, Janus, Jennings, Johnson, Lane, Lott, Malone, Markham, Martinson, Masterson, Mayhall, McBride, McCoy, Middleton, Miles, Mims, Moak, Montgomery, Moore, Morgan, Moss, Myers, Nicholson, Norquist, Palazzo, Parker, Patterson, Peranich, Perkins, Read, Reed, Reeves, Reynolds, Robinson (63rd), Robinson (84th), Rogers (14th), Rogers (61st), Rotenberry, Scott, Shows, Simpson, Smith (27th), Smith (39th), Smith (59th), Snowden, Staples, Stevens, Straughter, Stringer, Sullivan, Thomas, Turner, Upshaw, Vince, Walley, Ward, Warren, Watson, Weathersby, Wells-Smith, Whittington, Woods, Young, Zuber, (By Request)
A RESOLUTION COMMENDING MR. HAL HOLBROOK AND CONGRATULATING HIM UPON ALL HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CAREER SUCCESSES AS AN ACTOR.
Whereas, Harold Rowe Holbrook, Jr., whom we have come to know as Hal Holbrook, was born on February 17, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Harold Rowe Holbrook and Aileen Davenport; and
Whereas, Hal Holbrook entered Denison University in 1942, left to serve three years in the United States Army as an engineer during World War II, and subsequently graduated from Denison University in 1948, where his participation in an honors program on Mark Twain would launch his long career as a performer; and
Whereas, Mr. Holbrook, as he told Bill Moyers in an interview, presented his first solo performance as Mark Twain at Lock Haven State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1954, as a "desperate alternative to selling hats or running elevators to keep his family alive"; and
WHEREAS, later Ed Sullivan saw Holbrook's performance and invited him on the Ed Sullivan Show where Holbrook received his first national exposure as Twain on February 12, 1956; and
WHEREAS, eventually more performances and other venues would solidify Mr. Holbrook's "Mark Twain Tonight" as the most enduring one man show in theatrical history and would inspire many more actors and actresses to bring to life characters of history to the world's theater goers; and
Whereas, Mr. Holbrook has represented the United States of America by way of Mark Twain Tonight on groundbreaking performances in Europe which included the first appearance of an American Drama Actor following World War II in a country behind the Iron Curtain; and
Whereas, Mr. Holbrook's career has extended beyond Mark Twain including starring roles on Broadway in Man of LaMancha, The Glass Menagerie, I Never Sang for My Father; more than 60 movies including most recent ones: "The Majestic," "Men of Honor," and "The Firm"; and more than 100 non-Twain television appearances, including 50 made-for-television films or miniseries which have earned him 12 Emmy nominations, winning five; and
Whereas, Mr. Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight passed the 2000 performance mark on January 17, 2004, and tomorrow night, March 13, 2007, in Jackson, Mississippi, will be in its 53rd year and has earned him an Emmy for his 1967 television performance, a Tony for his Broadway performance in 1966, and a Drama Critic's Circle Award; and
Whereas, Hal Holbrook is married to Dixie Carter, a true Southern Belle from our neighboring state of Tennessee; and
Whereas, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend outstanding entertainers such as Mr. Holbrook, whose long and distinguished career and interpretation and portrayal of Mark Twain continues to awe all those who partake in its performance:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Mr. Hal Holbrook upon all his outstanding accomplishments and career successes as an actor and wish to convey our warmest wishes for continued success in all his future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mr. Holbrook and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.