Kevin Peter Hall (May 9, 1955 – April 10, 1991) was an American actor. Hall stood tall, and frequently played monster characters during his career. He was the original

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in the science fiction ''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

'' franchise, appearing in the first 1987 film and its 1990 sequel. Hall also portrayed the eponymous Harry in the fantasy comedy film ''

Harry and the Hendersons ''Harry and the Hendersons'' is a 1987 American fantasy comedy film directed and produced by William Dear and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David Suchet, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Lainie Kazan, and Kevin Peter Hall ...

'' (1987), a role he reprised for the first season of NBC's

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

(1990–1991). His human roles included Dr. Elvin "El" Lincoln on the NBC science fiction series '' Misfits of Science'' (1985–1986) and Warren Merriwether on the sitcom ''

227 Year 227 ( CCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Fulvius (or, less frequently, year 980 ''Ab urbe condi ...

'' (1989–1990).

Early life

Hall was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania. Hall came from a tall family. His father, Charles Hall, stood , and his mother, Sylvia, stood . At , Hall was the tallest of his brothers, all of whom were at least tall. During his high school years at Penn Hills High School, he was a star

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He subsequently attended

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

in Washington, D.C., where he played for its basketball team and majored in Theatrical Arts. After graduation, Hall moved to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

to play professional basketball.

Career

Due to Hall's height, he was often cast in monster roles. He made his acting debut in the 1979 horror film ''

Prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or p ...

''. He appeared as the alien in the 1980 horror film '' Without Warning'' and as Gorvil in the 1982 television movie ''

Mazes and Monsters ''Mazes and Monsters'' (also known as ''Rona Jaffe's Mazes and Monsters'') is a 1982 American made-for-television film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern about a group of college students and their interest in a fictitious role-playing game (RP ...

''. In 1985, he co-starred in the short-lived series '' Misfits of Science''. He guest-starred on the sitcom '' Night Court'' as a huge but gentle mental patient who humorously towered over bailiff Bull Shannon, played by Richard Moll, who is , and a fellow mental patient, played by

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include '' Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), '' The Queen' ...

, who is . The next year, Hall portrayed yet another monster in the horror film ''

Monster in the Closet ''Monster in the Closet'' is a 1986 horror comedy with a veteran cast, including Howard Duff and John Carradine, as well as Stacy Ferguson and Paul Walker in early roles. The film was distributed by Troma Entertainment. In the GotchaMovies artic ...

'', followed by the role of Harry, the

Bigfoot Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...

, in ''

''. In 1986, Hall was cast as the main antagonist in ''

'', opposite

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

. During its developmental stages, the

was going to be played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who played the Predator for the first few scenes, but was uncredited in the end credits. The producers decided to recast the role with Hall so that the Predator could more convincingly dominate the film's human characters with its greater size. Hall also appeared unmasked as a helicopter pilot at the end of the film. Hall would go on to reprise the role in the 1990 sequel, this time opposite

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

and Gary Busey. Following his role in ''Predator'', Hall appeared in the feature film '' Big Top Pee-wee'' (1988) and had a guest spot on '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''; Hall had been one of the actors considered for the role of Geordi La Forge on the latter, before the role went to LeVar Burton. From 1989 to 1990, he had a recurring role on the NBC sitcom ''

''. In 1990, Hall reprised his role as Harry in the television series ''

'', based on the 1987 film of the same name. He died during the series' first season.

Personal life and death

Hall met actress Alaina Reed while taping a guest role on the television show ''

''. The couple would marry both on the show and in real life. While working on the TV series ''

'', Hall announced that he had contracted HIV from a blood transfusion during surgery for injuries he sustained in a car accident. He died from AIDS-related pneumonia on April 10, 1991, a month short of his 36th birthday.

Honors

Hall was posthumously inducted into the Penn Hills Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class on May 8, 2009.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Sports Reference College Basketball stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Kevin Peter 1955 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American male actors African-American male actors AIDS-related deaths in California American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American male film actors American male television actors American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pittsburgh Deaths from pneumonia in California George Washington Colonials men's basketball players George Washington University alumni Male actors from Pittsburgh