Huntz Hall
Huntz Hall | |
---|---|
File:Huntzhall.jpg | |
Born | Henry Richard Hall August 15, 1920[1] New York City, U.S. |
Died | January 30, 1999 | (aged 78)
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1935–1994 |
Spouse(s) |
Elsie May Anderson
(m. 1940–1944)Leslie Wright (m. 1948–1953)Leah Hall (m. 1966–1999) |
Children | 2 |
Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920[1] – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular "Dead End Kids" movies, including Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and in the later "Bowery Boys" movies, during the late 1930s to the late 1950s.
Life and career
Hall was born in 1920 in New York City[3] to Joseph Patrick Hall, an engineer from Ireland, and his wife, Mary Ellen (Mullen).[1] The fourteenth of sixteen children, he was nicknamed "Huntz" because of his ostensibly Teutonic nose.[4][5]
Hall attended Catholic schools[6] and started performing on radio at five years of age.[7]
He appeared on Broadway in the 1935 production of Dead End, a play written and directed by Sidney Kingsley.[8][9] 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.[citation needed]
Hall 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 moronic Ensign Dilbert the Pilot, who carelessly causes the death of a civilian and three servicemen.
In 1948, Hall was arrested for possession of marijuana. His trial, held in 1949, resulted in a hung jury.[10]
Hall later played the increasingly buffoonish Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones in 48 "The 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 such films as The Return of Doctor X (1939), 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.
He was one of the celebrities featured on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In 1971, he co-starred with Art Metrano and Jamie Farr in the situation comedy "The Chicago Teddy Bears". 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, part of the Catholic Office of Drug Education.[11]
In 1976, he appeared in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, and in 1977 he played movie mogul Jesse Lasky in Ken Russell's film Valentino. His later films included Gas Pump Girls (1979) and The Escape Artist (1982), the latter reuniting him with Gabriel Dell. His final film appearance was in Auntie Lee's Meat Pies in 1993. He performed in dinner theater productions and then retired in 1994.[7]
Behind Sach: The Huntz Hall Story by Jim Manago, published by BearManor Media in 2015, 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.[7]
Filmography
Film
- Dead End (1937) as Dippy
- Crime School (1938) as Goofy
- Little Tough Guy (1938) as 'Pig'
- Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) as Crab
- They Made Me a Criminal (1939) as Dippy
- Hell's Kitchen (1939) as Bingo
- The Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) as Huntz
- On Dress Parade (1939) as Cadet Johnny Cabot
- Call a Messenger (1939) as 'Pig'
- The Return of Doctor X (1939) as Pinky
- You're Not So Tough (1940) as Albert 'Pig'
- Junior G-Men (1940, Serial) as Gyp
- Give Us Wings (1940) as Pig
- Hit the Road (1941) as Pig Grogan
- Bowery Blitzkrieg (1941) as Limpy
- Mob Town (1941) as Pig
- Sea Raiders (1941, Serial) as Toby Nelson
- Spooks Run Wild (1941) as Glimpy
- Zis Boom Bah (1941) as Skeets Skillhorn
- Mr. Wise Guy (1942) as Glimpy Stone
- Junior G-Men of the Air (1942, Serial) as 'Bolts' Larson
- Private Buckaroo (1942) as Cpl. Anemic
- Let's Get Tough! (1942) as Glimpy
- Tough As They Come (1942) as Pig - aka Albert
- Smart Alecks (1942) as Glimpy
- 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942) as Glimpy
- Junior Army (1942) as Bushy Thomas
- Mug Town (1942) as Pig
- Kid Dynamite (1943) as Glimpy McGleavey
- Keep 'Em Slugging (1943) as Pig
- Clancy Street Boys (1943) as Glimpy Freedhoff
- Ghosts on the Loose (1943) as Glimpy Freedhoff
- Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943) as Glimpy Freedhoff
- Million Dollar Kid (1944) as Glimpy Freedhoff
- Follow the Leader (1944) as Glimpy Freedhoff
- Block Busters (1944) as Glimpy
- Bowery Champs (1944) as Glimpy McClusky
- Bring On the Girls (1945) as Sailor
- Docks of New York (1945) as Glimpy
- Wonder Man (1945) as Sailor
- Mr. Muggs Rides Again (1945) as Glimpy
- Come Out Fighting (1945) as Glimpy
- A Walk in the Sun (1945) as Pvt. Carraway
- Live Wires (1946) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- In Fast Company (1946) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Bowery Bombshell (1946) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Spook Busters (1946) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Mr. Hex (1946) as Sach Sullivan
- Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- News Hounds (1947) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Bowery Buckaroos (1947) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Angels' Alley (1948) as Sach 'Turkey' Horace Debussy Jones
- Jinx Money (1948) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Smugglers' Cove (1948) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Trouble Makers (1948) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones, also called 'Chopper' McGee
- Fighting Fools (1949) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Hold That Baby! (1949) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Angels in Disguise (1949) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Master Minds (1949) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones, aka Ali Ben Sachmo
- Blonde Dynamite (1950) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Lucky Losers (1950) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' / 'Sacramento' Jones
- Triple Trouble (1950) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Blues Busters (1950) as Horace DeBussy 'Sach' Jones, aka The Bowery Thrush
- Bowery Battalion (1951) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Ghost Chasers (1951) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Let's Go Navy! (1951) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Crazy Over Horses (1951) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Hold That Line (1952) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones, a.k.a. Hurricane Jones
- Here Come the Marines (1952) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones Jr.
- Feudin' Fools (1952) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- No Holds Barred (1952) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Jalopy (1953) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Loose in London (1953) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Clipped Wings (1953) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Private Eyes (1953) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Paris Playboys (1954) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones / Prof. Maurice Gaston Le Beau
- The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (1954) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Jungle Gents (1954) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Bowery to Bagdad (1955) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- High Society (1955) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Spy Chasers (1955) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Jail Busters (1955) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Dig That Uranium (1955) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Crashing Las Vegas (1956) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Fighting Trouble (1956) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Hot Shots (1956) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Hold That Hypnotist (1957) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Spook Chasers (1957) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Looking for Danger (1957) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Up in Smoke (1957) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- In the Money (1958) as Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
- Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar (1965) as Huntz
- Gentle Giant (1967) as Dink Smith
- The Phynx (1970) as Huntz Hall
- Herbie Rides Again (1974) as Judge
- The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975) as Deputy Roy
- Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) as Moving Man
- Valentino (1977) as Jesse Lasky
- Gas Pump Girls (1979) as Uncle Joe
- The Escape Artist (1982) as Turnkey
- Cyclone (1987) as Long John
- Auntie Lee's Meat Pies (1992) as Farmer
Television
Year | Series | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1966 | Flipper | Barney | 2 Episodes: "Disaster in the Everglades, Parts 1 and 2" |
1970 | Barefoot in the Park | Fellows | Episode: "Disorder in the Court" |
1971 | The Chicago Teddy Bears | Dutch | 5 Episodes |
1972 | The Corner Bar | Sparky Schnauzer | Episode: "The Navy Reunion" |
1975 | The Ghost Busters | Gronk | 2 Episodes: "Which Witch Is Which?" & "Merlin the Magician" |
1975 | The Sky's the Limit | Hitchhiker | TV Movie |
1976 | Matt Helm | Willy | Episode: "Die Once, Die Twice" |
1976 | Good Heavens | Barney | Episode: "Good Neighbor Maxine" |
1978 | CHiPS | Armored car driver | Episode: "Crack-Up" |
1982 | Diff'rent Strokes | The Happy Wanderer | Episode: "Big Brother" |
1984 | The Ratings Game | Benny Bentson | TV Movie |
1988 | Night Heat | Father O'Malley | Episode: "Bless Me Father" |
1993 | Daddy Dearest | The Pretzel Man | Episode: "American We"; final role |
References
- ^ a b c Leonard Getz in his 2006 book From Broadway to the Bowery published by McFarland & Company uses August 15, but the more authoritative Social Security Death Index uses August 18, 1920. The Independent uses August 15, 1919, and the New York Times lists his age as 78, which would make his birth year 1920. Walker and Roat's biography uses 1919. As was the case with many actors, their resumes often conflict with official documents submitted to the government.
- ^ Florida Marriage Index
- ^ Social Security Death Index
- ^ Huntz Hall, Allmovie
- ^ Leonard Getz (2006). From Broadway to the Bowery. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-2535-0.
- ^ Vallance, Tom (1999-03-03). "Huntz Hall". The Independent. London. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
Henry Richard Hall (Huntz Hall), actor: born New York 15 August 1919; married four times (one son); died Los Angeles 30 January 1999.
- ^ a b c Michael T. Kaufman (February 2, 1999). "Huntz Hall, Perpetual Youth In 'Bowery' Films, Dies at 78". New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
Huntz Hall, who for 20 years played the slow-witted sidekick of Leo Gorcey in more than 80 Bowery Boys, Dead End Kids and East Side Kids movies, died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 78. The cause was cardiac disease, his family said.
- ^ "Huntz Hall". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ "BROADWAY TO BOWERY AND BACK: Hunts Hall reveals the secrets behind the Dead End Kids, East Side Kids & Bowery Boys". Screen Thrills Illustrated. No. 05 (v02n01): 37. 1963.
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has extra text (help) - ^ Vallance, Tom (February 3, 1999). "Obituary: Huntz Hall". The Independent. London.
- ^ David Ragan. "Who's Who in Hollywood 1900-1976", Arlington House, 1976, p. 176.
External links
- Huntz Hall at IMDb
- Huntz Hall at the Internet Broadway Database
- Huntz Hall at Find a Grave