American actor and icon Hal Holbrook passed away late-January. Although, the news of his death didn’t become public knowledge until February 2.
Holbrook is a multi-award winning actor, having won multiple Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. Fascinatingly enough, he won the Tony Award for his portrayal of Mark Twain in the one-man play, Mark Twain Tonight! — a show that he created himself.
The actor left behind an incredible legacy. Holbrook had won a National Humanities Medal for his role as Twain, presented by former President George W. Bush.
He has also graced the screens in many classic movies. He lent his voice to the 1997 animated Disney musical Hercules as the titular character’s adoptive father, Amphitryon, and he played politician Francis Preston Blair in Steven Spielberg’s 2012 documentary-drama Lincoln.
Holbrook portrayed the lead in the movie adaptation of Our Town, a popular play that’s commonly read and watched at some point in the American education system. Holbrook played the movie’s narrator and storyteller, referred to as Stage Manager.
Sadly, these acclaimed projects of his are not available for streaming on Netflix. However, with a career spanning almost 70 years, there are certainly a few movies and shows featuring Holbrook on the platform.
Into the Wild
Into the Wild is a documentary-drama about the life of the nomadic hiker Christopher McCandless, created by Sean Penn. The movie is well-acclaimed and was nominated for all of the major movie awards.
Winning two Oscars and receiving high ratings from critics across the board, Into the Wild has made its way onto IMdb’s Top Rated Movies list.
Holbrook plays the retired widower Ron Franz, a character who eventually grows close in companionship to McCandless. Starring besides Holbrook is in this movie is Vince Vaughn, Marcia Gay Harden, Zach Galifianakis and Kristen Stewart.
Netflix describes Into the Wild as:
A young man gives up everything — including his trust fund and ties to a seemingly stable family — to lead a solitary life in the wild.
Grey’s Anatomy
Hal Holbrook popped up in one episode of the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. The series follows a group of fictional medical professionals through their everyday lives while working at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
In the series, Holbrook appeared as Dr. Lewis Clatch in the season 13 episode, “‘Till I Hear It from You.” The character Clatch was the husband of the episode’s showcased patient, Elsie Clatch.
Grey’s Anatomy features actors Katherine Heigl, Ellen Pompeo, and Patrick Dempsey.
NCIS
Lastly is Holbrook’s appearance in the procedural crime drama NCIS. In the series, a team of special agents are followed as they investigate crimes and are caught up in personal plot-lines involving their families and romantic lives
In NCIS, Holbrook plays sailor Mickey Stokes in the season four episode “Escaped.” Stokes was the major criminal being hunted down in the episode after stealing millions of dollars from a bank.
The three mentioned movies and shows are available for streaming on Netflix.