Robert David Hall (born November 9, 1947) is an American actor, best known for his role as coroner Dr. Albert Robbins, M.D. on the

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

''.

Early life

Born in East Orange, New Jersey, Hall attended

Tustin High School Tustin High School is a public high school in Tustin, California, United States. It is part of the Tustin Unified School District. It was established in 1921 as the Tustin Union High School. History Founded in 1921, Tustin High School was orig ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and went on to graduate from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in 1971 with a degree in English Literature. Hall is a former professional musician and accomplished guitarist, and is also proficient on piano,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

and mandolin. For several years he was a high-profile radio DJ in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. His musical talent has been alluded to in ''

'' several times, as his character Dr. Al Robbins would sometimes sing while performing the autopsy or with

Gil Grissom Gilbert Arthur Grissom (born August 17, 1956), Ph.D. is a fictional character portrayed by William Petersen on the CBS crime drama '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and its sequel, '' CSI: Vegas''. Grissom is a forensic entomologist and for t ...

when the latter came to the morgue to collect evidence. He has also done extensive voice work on television commercials and cartoons. In 1978, Hall had to have both of his legs

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...

as a result of an accident in which an

18-wheeler A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer ...

truck crushed his car. The accident also caused the

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

tank of the car to explode, causing burns over 65% of his body. He now comfortably uses

prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

limbs, allowing for personal mobility. Several of his characters, including his ''CSI'' character, have openly shared this disability. He is a prominent advocate for disabled Americans. Hall (as Dr. Robbins) mentioned once that he has prosthetic legs, but never alluded to the accident in reality.

Life and career

In addition to starring on ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', Robert has appeared in such films as '' Starship Troopers'' and ''

The Negotiator ''The Negotiator'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray. It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey as two expert hostage negotiators and Chicago police lieutenants. The film was released in the United States on Jul ...

'' and has made guest appearances in a number of TV programs including ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'' and ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

''. He also furnishes the narration on CourtTV's documentary series ''North Mission Road''. Currently, Hall is working on the short thriller "The Roymann Closure in the Netherlands", written by writer/director David Grifhorst and executive producer Jop Douma. Hall was married to Susan Petroni from 1969 until their divorce in 1974, and Connie Cole from 1979 until their divorce in 1987. His son, Andrew, was born of his second marriage. Hall's third and current marriage is to Judy Sterns in 1999.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

Discography

* 2010: ''Things they don't teach you in school'', CD album: :* ''Kick It To The Side Of The Road'' (Robert David Hall) :* ''Wondering Where You Are'' (Robert David Hall) :* ''Things They Don’t Teach You In School'' (Robert David Hall) :* ''It Just Is'' (Robert David Hall) :* ''(Keep On) Pushin’ It Through'' (Chris Wall/Robert David Hall) :* ''One Door Closes'' (Robert David Hall/Chris Wall) :* ''Wishes'' (Robert David Hall) :* ''For Judy'' (Robert David Hall) :* ''I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight'' (Chris Wall) :* ''Sittin’ On Top Of The World'' (Lonnie Carter/Walter Jacobs) :* ''Ten O’Clock Train'' (Robert David Hall) :* ''Just Because'' (Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton, Sid Robin)

References

External links

Robert David Hall Interview
on NotableInterviews.com
Robert David Hall Bio at CBS - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Robert David 1947 births American amputees American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Guitarists from New Jersey Musicians from East Orange, New Jersey 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American pianists Amputee actors American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians