William Hall

William Hall was an American actor and singer who came to film after years on stage and radio. Born in Brooklyn in 1903, he was discovered by theater impresario Samuel Roxy Rothafel and made his stage breakthrough in the early 1920s, appearing in musical shows such as The Passing Show and Take the Air. He studied voice in Milan, Italy, and by the late 1930s had made over a hundred national radio appearances. His first motion picture involvement was The Wrongdoers, with Lionel Barrymore. In 1936 Universal Studios head Charles R. Rogers cast him opposite Victor McLaglen in The Magnificent Brute, for which Hall received an Academy Award nomination. He worked in supporting parts until 1939, then moved into leading roles. After retiring from acting around 1956, he ran a talent agency in Phoenix, Arizona, and his final industry activity was behind the scenes on the television series Death Valley Days. He died in 1986.