- Born
- Died
- Birth nameShirley Grossman
- Nickname
- Shirley Grayson
- Grayson Hall was an American actress of Jewish descent. She is better known for her role as Dr. Julia Hoffman in Gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" (1966-1971). She was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1922, Hall was born Shirley Grossman in Philadelphia. Her father Joseph Grossman was from Latvia, and her mother Eleanor was from South Africa. Eleanor was a theatrical actress, who performed in the Yiddish theatre. Her parents had separated by 1930, but never officially received a divorce.
Hall became interested in an acting career since childhood, and auditioned for plays as a high school student. She made her professional theatrical debut in 1942, at the age of 20. She performed with a summer stock company in Long Island
In 1946, Hall married fellow actor Bradbart "Ted" Brooks. They separated in 1949, and she married her second husband, screenwriter Sam Hall (1921-2014) in 1952. She changed her professional name to Grayson Hall at that time.
Hall built-up her acting reputation with influential avant-garde plays such as "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1955) by Luigi Pirandello (Phoenix Theatre, 1955) and "The Balcony" (1960) by Jean Genet. She played guest star roles in television, and made her film debut with "Run Across the River" (1961).
Her first notable film role was playing chaperone Judith Fellowes in "The Night of the Iguana" (1964). The film was based on the 1961 play by Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), and Fellowes was depicted as an adversary of leading character Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon (played by Richard Burton). For this role, Hall was nominated for an the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The award was instead won by rival actress Lila Kedrova (1909-2000).
Hall's next film role was the kidnapping victim Margaret Miller in the thriller film "That Darn Cat!" (1965). Her television roles included guest appearances in both "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." (1964-1968), and its spin-off series "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." (1966-1967).
Hall's most famous role was psychologist Dr. Julia Hoffman in "Dark Shadows". Hall was only supposed to appear in a limited number of episodes, but Hoffman became one of the series main characters. Hall appeared in 474 episodes, playing either Hoffman or a number of look-alike characters. Hall's other roles within the series included Countess Natalie Dupres; gypsy Magda Rakosi, a housekeeper, Julia Collins; and Constance Collins. Hall appeared as Julia Hoffman in the spin-off film "House of Dark Shadows" (1970), and as housekeeper Carlotta Drake in the sequel film "Night of Dark Shadows" (1971).
Following the end of "Dark Shadows", Hall had a supporting role as reporter Marge Grey on "All My Children". She had a guest star appearance in "Kojak", and played scheming mother Euphemia Ralston in the soap opera "One Life to Live".
Hall's life and career were cut-short when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died due to this cancer in 1985, at age 62. "Dark Shadows" remains popular and has since received further spin-off projects. Dr. Julia Hoffman has continued to appear in more recent projects, with other actresses replacing Hall.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Dimos I
- SpousesSam Hall(January 12, 1952 - August 7, 1985) (her death, 1 child)Ted (Bradbart) Brooks(1946 - 1949) (divorced)
- Was using the stage name Shirley Grayson when she became involved with Sam Hall. He called her "Grayson" like he would an old army buddy. After her marriage, she took the name Grayson Hall because she had been hired for an acting job, and the person who wrote the contract had always heard her husband call her "Grayson" and assumed that it was her first name, so he wrote up the contract for "Grayson Hall." She kept it as her professional name.
- Perhaps the greatest testament to her talent and appeal is that when she was first cast on TV's enormously popular supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows (1966) as Dr. Julia Hoffman, who tries to cure Barnabas Collins of being a vampire, the original intention was to have Barnabas kill her character off within a few weeks. However, Hall proved to be so effective in the role that those plans were changed, and she remained with the series for its entire run.
- Made few films during her career, but her performance in The Night of the Iguana (1964) earned her both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.
- Her husband, Sam Hall, was hired as a writer on Dark Shadows (1966) after producer Dan Curtis attended a party at the Halls' home, and asked Sam to come and write for the show. She had been acting on the show for several months at that time.
- Appeared on One Life to Live (1968) in 1983. At that time her husband Sam Hall and son Matthew Hall were writers for the show.
- I've always had this old, husky voice. I never was your little itsy-poo 18 or 20-year-old. I was a character actress as a teenager.
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