Grayson Hall
| Grayson Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Shirley H. Grossman September 18, 1922 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1985 (aged 62) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Lung cancer |
| Other names | Shirley Grayson |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1950s-85 |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Spouse(s) |
Bradbart "Ted" Brooks (m. 1946; div. 1949) Sam Hall (m. 1952–85) |
| Children | 1 |
Grayson Hall (September 18, 1922 – August 7, 1985) was an American television, film and stage actress. She was widely regarded for her avant-garde theatrical performances from the 1960s to the 1980s. Hall was nominated in 1964 for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the John Huston film The Night of the Iguana. She also played multiple prominent roles in the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966–71), and appeared on One Life to Live (1982–83). In 2006, a biography of her life was released titled Grayson Hall: A Hard Act to Follow.
Hall was born Shirley H. Grossman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1922, the only child of Eleanor and Joseph Grossman. Her father was from Latvia and her mother, who had acted in the Yiddish theatre, was from South Africa. Both were from Jewish immigrant families.
When Hall was eight, her parents separated but never divorced. Hall became interested in acting, as an escape from a painful childhood, and auditioned for plays in New York City while she was still attending Simon Gratz High School. She enrolled at Temple University but did not matriculate. She landed her first professional job doing in Long Island in 1942. In 1946, she married fellow actor Bradbart "Ted" Brooks in Los Angeles, California. They separated in 1949 and she returned to New York. In 1952, she married writer Sam Hall. Their son, Matthew, was born in 1958. She had always used the stage name Shirley Grayson, but Sam Hall called her Grayson, "like an old Army buddy", she said in an interview. She eventually adopted Grayson Hall as her professional name.
Having guest starred on various television programs during the mid-1950s, Hall made her film debut in 1961 in Run Across the River. Hall also made Satan in High Heels, starring Meg Myles, in which Hall portrayed a cabaret club owner named Pepe. She later disavowed the film. In September 1963, Hall traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to play the role of Judith Fellowes in John Huston's version of The Night of the Iguana, based on the original play by Tennessee Williams. She was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Judith Fellowes, a latent lesbian women's college instructor. In the original play, the character was not sympathetic but Huston rewrote the character, wanting more complexity and sympathy. She was featured as a kidnapped bank teller in Walt Disney's That Darn Cat! in 1965. In 1967 she played a Thrush agent on the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., in an episode written by Harlan Ellison.
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