Hal Holbrook

Oscar nominees Ruby Dee and Hal Holbrook, pose for a photo at the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles, Feb. 4, 2008. Both have won Emmys, yet inclusion in the highest honors in show business, the Academy Awards, eluded them until this year, when Dee became the second-oldest actor and Holbrook the third-oldest ever nominated.

Hal Holbrook and his wife Dixie Carter pose for photographers on the red carpet before attending AARP Magaine's Seventh Annual Movies For Grownups Awards, Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, in Los Angeles. Holbrook received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the event.

Hal Holbrook, left, a Best Supporting Actor nominee for "Into the Wild," arrives with his wife Dixie Carter at the Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., Monday, Feb. 4, 2008. Holbrook, who celebrated his 83rd birthday on Feb. 17 -- a week before the Feb. 24 Oscars -- said he'd given up on an Academy Award.

Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) — Paramount Vatage

Hal Holbrook as Ron Franz in "Into the Wild." Though Holbrook had a memorable role as Deep Throat in "All the President's Men," he says he rarely found big-screen parts worthy of his talents.

Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook smiles as he poses for a photograph following an interview in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008. Holbrook was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Ron Franz in director Sean Penn's "Into the Wild."

Honored in Missouri — AP/Clarion-Ledger, Vickie D. King

Actor Hal Holbrook, right, speaks to House of Representative members in the House chambers at the state Capitol Monday, March 12, 2007, in Jackson, Miss. Holbrook was presented with a resolution commending his many accomplishments.

Hal Holbrook on stage in "Mark Twain Tonight!" -- his one-man show about the famous humorist and writer. Holbrook has played the author in thousands of performances. He first played Twain on stage in 1954. In 1967, "Mark Twain Tonight" was presented on TV by CBS and Xerox, and Holbrook received an Emmy for his performance. Holbrook's Twain first played on Broadway in 1966, and again in 1977 and 2005.

Actor Hal Holbrook arrives at the memorial service for Bob Hope at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in the North Hollywood area of Los Angeles Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003.

Hal Holbrook in a scene from TV's "Perry Mason" 1994. After studying drama in college, Holbrook toured in theater and was a regular on the 1950s soap opera "The Brighter Day." A five-time Emmy winner for such parts as the title roles in the political drama "The Senator" and "Sandburg's Lincoln," he also appeared as a regular in the 1990s TV comedy "Evening Shade."