Charlie Hall
Encyclopedia
Charlie Hall was a movie actor.
Charlie Hall was born in Birmingham
, England
. He learned carpentry as a trade, but as a teenager he became a member of the Fred Karno
troupe of stage comedians. In his late teens visited his sister in New York City and stayed there finding employment as a stagehand. While working behind the scenes, he met the comic actor Bobby Dunn
and they became friends and Dunn convinced Hall to take a stab again at acting, which he did. By the mid-1920s Hall was working for Hal Roach
. Stan Laurel
, one of Roach's comedy stars, was also a graduate of the Karno troupe.
As an actor
Charlie Hall worked with such comedians as Buster Keaton
and Charley Chase
but is best remembered as a comic foil for Laurel and Hardy
. He appeared in nearly 50 of their films, sometimes in bit parts but often as a mean landlord
or opponent in many of their memorable tit-for-tat sequences. Unlike the usual villains in Laurel and Hardy movies, who were big and burly, Charlie Hall (billed as "Charley" Hall in the Roach comedies) was of short stature, standing five feet, four inches tall. His height and slight British accent allowed him to be convincingly cast as a college student, despite being 40 years old, in Laurel and Hardy's A Chump at Oxford
.
Hall almost never played starring roles; the exception was in 1941, when he was teamed with character comedian Frank Faylen
by Monogram Pictures
. Hall continued to play bits and supporting roles in short subjects and features through the 1940s. He died in North Hollywood, California on December 7, 1959.
There is a public house in Erdington, near Birmingham, England, called The Charlie Hall as a tribute to him.
Charlie Hall was born in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He learned carpentry as a trade, but as a teenager he became a member of the Fred Karno
Fred Karno
Frederick John Westcott , best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was a theatre impresario of the British music hall. Karno is credited with inventing the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. Among the young comedians who worked for him were Charlie Chaplin and Arthur Jefferson, who later adopted the...
troupe of stage comedians. In his late teens visited his sister in New York City and stayed there finding employment as a stagehand. While working behind the scenes, he met the comic actor Bobby Dunn
Bobby Dunn
Bobby Dunn was a comic actor who appeared in several Laurel & Hardy comedies, beginning with Duck Soup, and notably as the shoplifter in Tit for Tat.-Biography:...
and they became friends and Dunn convinced Hall to take a stab again at acting, which he did. By the mid-1920s Hall was working for Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
. Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
, one of Roach's comedy stars, was also a graduate of the Karno troupe.
As an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Charlie Hall worked with such comedians as Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
and Charley Chase
Charley Chase
Charley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
but is best remembered as a comic foil for Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
. He appeared in nearly 50 of their films, sometimes in bit parts but often as a mean landlord
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
or opponent in many of their memorable tit-for-tat sequences. Unlike the usual villains in Laurel and Hardy movies, who were big and burly, Charlie Hall (billed as "Charley" Hall in the Roach comedies) was of short stature, standing five feet, four inches tall. His height and slight British accent allowed him to be convincingly cast as a college student, despite being 40 years old, in Laurel and Hardy's A Chump at Oxford
A Chump at Oxford
A Chump at Oxford, directed by Alfred J. Goulding and released in 1940 by United Artists, was the penultimate Laurel and Hardy film made at the Hal Roach studios. Originally released as a streamliner featurette at forty minutes long, twenty minutes of footage largely unrelated to the main plot...
.
Hall almost never played starring roles; the exception was in 1941, when he was teamed with character comedian Frank Faylen
Frank Faylen
Frank Faylen was an American movie and television actor.Born Frank Ruf in St. Louis, Missouri, he began his acting career as an infant appearing with his vaudeville performing parents on stage...
by Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
. Hall continued to play bits and supporting roles in short subjects and features through the 1940s. He died in North Hollywood, California on December 7, 1959.
There is a public house in Erdington, near Birmingham, England, called The Charlie Hall as a tribute to him.