As a movie fan, the older we get, the more names and faces we lose that have helped entertain us throughout our lives. Whether they are directors, actors, makeup artists, cinematographers, or set designers, they all helped create something magical to entertain us, whether it was scaring us, making us nervous or filled with anxiety, laugh, cry, or even enlightening us, making us want to be better people. For those brief moments of their work, we are forever grateful. Thankfully, most of those memories are permanently recorded and can be experienced time and time again, whenever we want, as well as them being there to do the same thing for newer audiences every single year. While we are bound lose such great talent through the passage of time, as movie fans, we can rest assured that we will help keep their memory, and their work, alive for decades to come.
Continue readingTag Archives: Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook – Rest in Peace
In my favorite segment, of one of my all time favorite films, Hal Holbrook played one of my favorite characters, brow-beated Henry Northrup, married to the one and only Wilma aka “just call me Billie”, played wonderfully by Adrienne Barbeau. Of course the movie is Creepshow (1982). I knew of Holbrook before that, from John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980), another top favorite of mine, but also from a lot of appearances on television and movies. He was an actor that no matter what he was in, or the role he was portraying, his presence would up the quality of the production. He was always just a treat to watch perform, being one of those actors who could give you that warm smile but with a glare that could chill you to the bone.
He had passed away back on January 23rd at the age of 95. With all the amazing characters he appeared as, he is probably known for his stage play of playing Mark Twain, that he did for well over a half a century! Years ago, he actually was in our home town on tour with his Mark Twain play and I really thought about waiting outside the theater in hopes of getting him to sign my Creepshow poster. Never did, but now my regret is even stronger.
You had a great run, Mr. Holbrook. Your work will definitely you alive for as long as there are film fans. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time.
Movie Review: Creepshow
Creepshow (1982)
Directed by George Romero
Starring Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E.G. Marshall, Viveca Lindfors, Ed Harris, Ted Danson, Stephen King, Warner Shook, Robert Harper, Elizabeth Regan, Gaylen Ross, Tom Atkins
One question that horror fans get asked a lot is “what’s your favorite horror movie?” I know a lot of fans do have a particular one that is their favorite. For me though, it really would be impossible for me to narrow it down to even 20, let alone a single one. But I do know that if such a list was ever conceived in my brain, somewhere near the top would be George Romero’s Creepshow. In fact, it is my favorite of all of Romero’s work, even above Night of the Living Dead. Maybe it was because I saw this in the theater at the time my obsession with the horror genre really started to explode. Maybe it was the great mixture of horror and humor. Or the way it blended the world of horror comic books that I read as a child into the movie world in such a beautiful way. Whatever reason it might be, or all of them, I have loved this film since I first witnessed it in the theater back in 1982, and I still love it just as much today.
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