Occupation Actor Children Gary Hall Role Theatrical performer | Name Huntz Hall Years active 1935–1994 | |
 | ||
Full Name Henry Richard Hall Born August 15, 1920 ( 1920-08-15 ) New York, New York, U.S. Died January 30, 1999, North Hollywood, California, United States Spouse Leah Hall (m. 1966–1999), Leslie Wright (m. 1948–1953), Elsie May Anderson (m. 1940–1944) Parents Mary Ellen Mullen, Joseph Patrick Hall Movies Dead End, Spooks Run Wild, Ghosts on the Loose, Clancy Street Boys, 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge Similar People Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Halop, David Gorcey | ||
FAMOUS GRAVE - Visiting The Dead End Kids & The Bowery Boys Actor Huntz Hall In Pasadena, CA
Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), which gave way to the "Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in the 1940s and 1950s.
Contents
- FAMOUS GRAVE Visiting The Dead End Kids The Bowery Boys Actor Huntz Hall In Pasadena CA
- Phynx leo gorcey huntz hall tonto
- Life and career
- Death
- Filmography
- References
Phynx leo gorcey huntz hall tonto
Life and career
Hall was born in 1920 in New York City to Joseph Patrick Hall, an Irish immigrant air-conditioner repairman, and his wife Mary Ellen (Mullen). The 14th of 16 children, he was nicknamed "Huntz" because of his Teutonic-looking nose.
Hall attended Catholic schools and started performing on radio at age 5.
He appeared on Broadway in the 1935 production of Dead End, a play written and directed by Sidney Kingsley. Hall was then cast along with the other Dead End Kids in the 1937 film Dead End, directed by William Wyler and starring Humphrey Bogart.
Hall has a cameo in the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Hall also served in the United States Army during World War II.
In 1943, he appeared in the USN training film "Don't Kill your Friends" as the moronic Ensign Dilbert the Pilot who, because of his carelessness and cavalier attitude, manages to kill a civilian and three servicemen!
In 1948, Hall was arrested for possession of marijuana, but his 1949 trial resulted in a hung jury.
Hall later played the increasingly buffoonish Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones in 48 "Bowery Boys" films, gaining top billing when his longtime partner, Leo Gorcey, left the series in 1956. Hall and Gorcey reunited in Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar (1966) and The Phynx (1969).
He also appeared in other films, The Return of Doctor X (1939), including the war film A Walk in the Sun (1945), Gentle Giant (1967), Herbie Rides Again (1974), and The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975) opposite Gabriel Dell, another former Bowery Boy.
In 1967, he became one of the celebrities featured on the cover of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
By 1976, Hall drove a brand-new Rolls-Royce. He did not have oil-well investments as has been erroneously reported for years all over the Internet. His son Gary Hall told biographer Jim Manago that his father made up that story for attention.
His plans to produce a movie series, "The Ghetto Boys" (a take on the "Bowery Boys"), fell through. In 1973, Hall took part in Princess Grace of Monaco's Council for Drug Abuse which was part of the Catholic Office of Drug Education.
He later appeared alongside other Hollywood veteran stars in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), and in 1977 he played movie mogul Jesse Lasky in Ken Russell's film Valentino. His later films included roles in Gas Pump Girls (1979) and The Escape Artist (1982), the latter of which reunited him again with Gabriel Dell. His final film appearance was in The Ratings Game (1984). He then performed in dinner theater productions before retiring in 1994.
Behind Sach: The Huntz Hall Story by Jim Manago, published by BearManor Media, is the first biography of Hall.
Death
Hall died from congestive heart failure on January 30, 1999 at the age of 78 in North Hollywood, California. He was interred in a niche at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California.