Hal Holbrook

All Hal Holbrook wanted to do was eat. But what started out almost 50 years ago as a way to ensure a steady paycheck has evolved into one of the country's longest-running theatrical performances. Tonight, Holbrook brings his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight! to Baltimore's Meyerhoff Hall. Those who have seen Holbrook's performance before doubtless will notice some changes. The actor continually adds to and subtracts from his performance, bringing in fresh pieces of dialogue and aiming Twain's potent wit at new targets.

GLAMOUR! It exists even for some who have passed into "a certain age." Nowhere was this better proved than at last week's AARP Magazine's "Movies For Grownups" awards at the Bel Air Hotel. The lineup? - Julie Christie, Jackie Bisset, Julie Andrews, Gena Rowlands, Ruby Dee, Angela Lansbury, Shirley Jones and Dana Delany. And a few "glamorous" men such as Michael York, Hal Holbrook and John Cleese. Everybody was in fine fettle. My friend, the equally glam Caroline Graham, put this together, and Hollywood loves her way with a fete.

It's been quite a while since Hollywood turned out a thriller with political overtones, and "Waking the Dead" isn't a perfect thriller and it doesn't get all the politics right. But director Keith Gordon deserves credit for at least attempting to deal with political themes, and the tension isn't bad either. Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly, who worked together in 1997's underrated "Inventing the Abbotts," are cast as a couple who meet in Chicago toward the end of the Vietnam War and, well, duh, fall in love.

ADMIT IT - was that about the biggest let-down you've had in years? W. Mark Felt is Deep Throat? Are you kidding me? That old guy in the flannel shirt who was smiling and waving with his family on all the newscasts - that's the guy who helped topple a presidency? That's the shadowy figure Bob Woodward was meeting in parking garages for info on Watergate, one of the most notorious political scandals in U.S. history? Oh. Well, OK. If you say so. But I think we can safely sum up, in a single word, the reaction of millions of my fellow Americans when the stunning news about Deep Throat's identity was first revealed.

Hal Holbrook may be best known for his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Mark Twain, but the actor is no stranger to Shakespeare. He has portrayed both the title role in "King Lear" and Shylock, the money lender, in "The Merchant of Venice" at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, and he is returning to the latter drama in director Michael Kahn's production of "Merchant," currently in previews at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington.The cast also includes Enid Graham as Shylock's trial opponent, Portia, and Keith Baxter as the merchant of the title.

GLAMOUR! It exists even for some who have passed into "a certain age." Nowhere was this better proved than at last week's AARP Magazine's "Movies For Grownups" awards at the Bel Air Hotel. The lineup? - Julie Christie, Jackie Bisset, Julie Andrews, Gena Rowlands, Ruby Dee, Angela Lansbury, Shirley Jones and Dana Delany. And a few "glamorous" men such as Michael York, Hal Holbrook and John Cleese. Everybody was in fine fettle. My friend, the equally glam Caroline Graham, put this together, and Hollywood loves her way with a fete.

Festin, upset winner of the Oaklawn Handicap on a sloppy track, is not getting the respect he deserves, says his trainer, Ron McAnally.Festin is one of seven pre-entered in Saturday's Pimlico Special."

"Haven," a four-hour CBS miniseries that tells the story of 982 European Jews allowed "safe haven" in the United States during World War II, is a welcome respite from all the silly, exploitative "reality" TV we've been seeing. This is reality, too - the kind of historic reality that can make a culture wiser, kinder and more moral when such stories are told on television, the principal storyteller of our time. "Haven" is loaded with fine acting by exceptional actors - Natasha Richardson, Anne Bancroft, Martin Landau, Colm Feore and Hal Holbrook.

ADMIT IT - was that about the biggest let-down you've had in years? W. Mark Felt is Deep Throat? Are you kidding me? That old guy in the flannel shirt who was smiling and waving with his family on all the newscasts - that's the guy who helped topple a presidency? That's the shadowy figure Bob Woodward was meeting in parking garages for info on Watergate, one of the most notorious political scandals in U.S. history? Oh. Well, OK. If you say so. But I think we can safely sum up, in a single word, the reaction of millions of my fellow Americans when the stunning news about Deep Throat's identity was first revealed.

What to do if you are not a fan of the "Summer Olympic Games," continuing on NBC (Channel 2) at 7:30 tonight? Try some trips through TV time.At 8:30, for example, ABC (Channel 13) repeats its nostalgic spring special, "The Happy Days Reunion," bringing together Ron Howard, Henry Winkler and other principals of the 1974-84 nostalgia series about '60s teens attending Jefferson High School in Milwaukee.And at 10 p.m., ABC also repeats "MTV 10," its November anniversary salute to the 10-year-old cable service that popularized the music video format, with George Michael, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Aerosmith and R.E.M.

Esquire is launching a nationwide search for "The Best-Dressed Real Man in America," with the five finalists to appear on the Today show. Beginning March 15, Esquire will sift through contestants in 10 U.S. cities. A panel of editors and local celebrities will judge who is a cut above the rest. The five finalists will appear on the NBC morning show in September. Viewers can vote through Esquire's Web site. The contest will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles.

All Hal Holbrook wanted to do was eat. But what started out almost 50 years ago as a way to ensure a steady paycheck has evolved into one of the country's longest-running theatrical performances. Tonight, Holbrook brings his one-man show Mark Twain Tonight! to Baltimore's Meyerhoff Hall. Those who have seen Holbrook's performance before doubtless will notice some changes. The actor continually adds to and subtracts from his performance, bringing in fresh pieces of dialogue and aiming Twain's potent wit at new targets.

"Haven," a four-hour CBS miniseries that tells the story of 982 European Jews allowed "safe haven" in the United States during World War II, is a welcome respite from all the silly, exploitative "reality" TV we've been seeing. This is reality, too - the kind of historic reality that can make a culture wiser, kinder and more moral when such stories are told on television, the principal storyteller of our time. "Haven" is loaded with fine acting by exceptional actors - Natasha Richardson, Anne Bancroft, Martin Landau, Colm Feore and Hal Holbrook.

When a film says it'sinspired by the lifeof somebody, thenpaints that some-body as the mostheroic figure sinceHercules, thereought to be an accompanying documentary. It would be nice to know how much of what we've just seen really happened and how much was Hollywood myth making. "Men of Honor," based on the life of Carl Brashear, the first African-American Navy diver, is undeniably mythic in scope and emotionally affecting. When people do good in this film, the trumpets start blaring, the flags start flying, and the audience's tears start gushing.

When a film says it'sinspired by the lifeof somebody, thenpaints that some-body as the mostheroic figure sinceHercules, thereought to be an accompanying documentary. It would be nice to know how much of what we've just seen really happened and how much was Hollywood myth making. "Men of Honor," based on the life of Carl Brashear, the first African-American Navy diver, is undeniably mythic in scope and emotionally affecting. When people do good in this film, the trumpets start blaring, the flags start flying, and the audience's tears start gushing.

It's been quite a while since Hollywood turned out a thriller with political overtones, and "Waking the Dead" isn't a perfect thriller and it doesn't get all the politics right. But director Keith Gordon deserves credit for at least attempting to deal with political themes, and the tension isn't bad either. Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly, who worked together in 1997's underrated "Inventing the Abbotts," are cast as a couple who meet in Chicago toward the end of the Vietnam War and, well, duh, fall in love.

Esquire is launching a nationwide search for "The Best-Dressed Real Man in America," with the five finalists to appear on the Today show. Beginning March 15, Esquire will sift through contestants in 10 U.S. cities. A panel of editors and local celebrities will judge who is a cut above the rest. The five finalists will appear on the NBC morning show in September. Viewers can vote through Esquire's Web site. The contest will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles.

When a film says it'sinspired by the lifeof somebody, thenpaints that some-body as the mostheroic figure sinceHercules, thereought to be an accompanying documentary. It would be nice to know how much of what we've just seen really happened and how much was Hollywood myth making. "Men of Honor," based on the life of Carl Brashear, the first African-American Navy diver, is undeniably mythic in scope and emotionally affecting. When people do good in this film, the trumpets start blaring, the flags start flying, and the audience's tears start gushing.

Hal Holbrook may be best known for his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Mark Twain, but the actor is no stranger to Shakespeare. He has portrayed both the title role in "King Lear" and Shylock, the money lender, in "The Merchant of Venice" at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, and he is returning to the latter drama in director Michael Kahn's production of "Merchant," currently in previews at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington.The cast also includes Enid Graham as Shylock's trial opponent, Portia, and Keith Baxter as the merchant of the title.

With the success of "101 Dalmatians," Hollywood seems intent on rushing more children's classics to the big screen.Associated PressPeter Pan -- The time: the year 2033. The place: a barren atoll in the South Pacific.One of only a few hundred survivors of worldwide thermonuclear war, Peter Pan (Johnny Depp) leads a band of feral youths known as the Lost Boys in a desperate post-apocalyptic struggle for survival on Never-Land.When the deranged transsexual ex-Green Beret officer Captain Hook (Dennis Rodman)