Beloved actor performs at Western Reserve Academy in the 1950s

Hal Holbrook recently passed away at the age of 95, having been an actor for decades on the stage, the screen where he gave notable performances, and on television where he was a regular on sitcom programs. He is best remembered for his performance in the one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight! where he became the 19th century novelist and stage lecturer Mark Twain. He brought that award-winning program to numerous colleges and universities over the years as well as to a television audience. Few are around who would recall that some 71 years ago, he and his first wife, Ruby, an actress, came to the campus of Western Reserve Academy and presented four dramatic scenes, most notably, Mark Twain and the Interviewer, which was based on an actual happening in 1901 and which became the catalyst for Hal Holbrook investigating the life of Mark Twain and becoming him on the stage.

Hal Holbrook and his (then) wife Ruby were at Western Reserve Academy in early March 1950 and must have performed over in Ellsworth Hall. The article and photo in the Reserve Record for March 9, 1950, states that they will present four scenes from any of the following. A long list of possible scenes includes one by Mark Twain, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Elizabeth & Essex, many more. The article states that the couple met in Newfoundland during World War II when Hal joined a dramatic group up there. After the war, the couple were married in 1945 and attended Denison University in Ohio where they developed the program they decided to take on tour to academic campuses.

The Reserve Record for April 6, 1950, gives a thorough and glowing account of the performance by Hal and Ruby Holbrook. Their "Theatre of Great Personalities" included a scene from The Courtship of Miles Standish, then a scene from Moliere's "The School for Wives", then a scene from Maxwell Anderson's "Elizabeth and Essex", and lastly, Mark Twain and "An Encounter with an Interviewer". The Holbrooks returned in March 1951, for a scene with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and a reprise of the popular Mark Twain interview that was seen the previous year. This is documented in the Reserve Record for March 6, 1951.