Ah, life can be cruel, but it's the little moments each of us leads that truly makes the difference; and a critical favorite like Hal Holbrook will not be remembered by most for his contributions to genre entertainment. In fact, his career was definitely time well spent in much more conventional fare than I tend to highlight in this space on SciFiHistory.Net. Still, I choose to remember this talented thespian for those 'little moments' when he crossed over into the worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy giving all of us a taste of what a master of his craft the man truly was.
Truth is Holbrook first caught my eye with his work aboard the incredible late 1970's SciFi/Thriller Capricorn One in which he played one of the medical doctors who broke the word to the astronauts that they weren't going to the Moon, that they couldn't go to the Moon, as it would cause their deaths. Instead, he convinced all of them to cooperate with the charade of faking a Moon landing because it would be for the good of all mankind. It was a bit nefarious, true, but it was a solid, memorable performance.
Then, in television's 2010-2011 season, I was thrilled to see the man step back into the world of conspiracy aboard the great and underrated single season SciFi/Thriller The Event for NBC. Indeed, he was once more cast in the role of a mover and a shaker behind-the-scenes of what was truly going on, and it's sad that the program didn't get out of that season alive. It could've made for great entertainment.
The actor leaves behind a career spanning seven incredible decades, and that's a feat worth celebrating.
May he rest in peace.
-- EZ
Truth is Holbrook first caught my eye with his work aboard the incredible late 1970's SciFi/Thriller Capricorn One in which he played one of the medical doctors who broke the word to the astronauts that they weren't going to the Moon, that they couldn't go to the Moon, as it would cause their deaths. Instead, he convinced all of them to cooperate with the charade of faking a Moon landing because it would be for the good of all mankind. It was a bit nefarious, true, but it was a solid, memorable performance.
Then, in television's 2010-2011 season, I was thrilled to see the man step back into the world of conspiracy aboard the great and underrated single season SciFi/Thriller The Event for NBC. Indeed, he was once more cast in the role of a mover and a shaker behind-the-scenes of what was truly going on, and it's sad that the program didn't get out of that season alive. It could've made for great entertainment.
The actor leaves behind a career spanning seven incredible decades, and that's a feat worth celebrating.
May he rest in peace.
-- EZ
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