Albert Hall (actor)
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Albert W. Hall (born November 10, 1937) is an American retired actor. He portrayed Chief Phillips in the 1979 war film ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...
'' and Judge Seymore Walsh in ''
Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...
'' and ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
''. He also played Brother Baines in the 1992
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
film ''
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
''. His last screen role was a 2011 episode of the television series ''
Men of a Certain Age ''Men of a Certain Age'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, that ran on TNT from December 7, 2009, to July 6, 2011. The hour-long program stars Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as thre ...
''.


Early life and education

Hall was born and raised in Brighton, Alabama. He graduated from the
Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York (state), New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, ...
.


Career


Early work

After portraying Pointer in '' Willie Dynamite'' (1974), Hall had a part in the 1976 biopic '' Leadbelly''. He played a co-pilot in the 1978 film '' The Bermuda Triangle''. Hall had a small role in the 1979 miniseries '' Roots: The Next Generations''.


''Apocalypse Now''

Hall gained mainstream attention for his role as Chief Phillips in
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
's 1979 war classic ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...
'', in which his character, as a Chief Petty Officer, leads the rest of a United States Navy PBR ( Patrol Boat, River) crew upriver from
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
to
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
so that Captain Willard (
Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...
) can complete his mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz (
Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''
). To prepare for the role, Hall did research to accurately portray someone experiencing the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
first hand. The actor described filming in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
as "exotic" and added that "it was all fun." When Hall's ''
Separate but Equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protectio ...
'' (1991) co-star
Jeffrey Wright Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Wright began his career in theater, where he g ...
told him that ''Apocalypse Now'' is his favorite film, he gave him a book in which he wrote inside, "Jeffrey, evolution is when a young actor comes up to you and says, 'I've seen your work, you know, a hundred so times, and it has meaning to me.'" According to ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'', some of Hall's dialogue in '' Apocalypse Now Redux'' is semi-improvised. Hall's performance in both versions has been praised by the ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...
'' and '' Variety'' respectively.


Later work

Hall appeared in the 1981 miniseries '' The Sophisticated Gents''. In 1983, Hall had his first regular role in the short-lived series '' Ryan's Four''. Hall also appeared alongside
Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...
in the 1991 television movie ''Separate but Equal''. Throughout the 1990s, Hall appeared in a range of films, starting with memorable performances in ''
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
'' (1992) and '' Rookie of the Year'' (1993). He collaborated with
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
, the director of the former film, again in ''
Get on the Bus ''Get on the Bus'' is a 1996 American drama film about a group of African-American men who are taking a cross-country bus trip in order to participate in the Million Man March. The film was directed by Spike Lee and premiered on the first annive ...
'' (1996). Other films Hall appeared in during that decade include ''
Major Payne ''Major Payne'' is a 1995 American Military fiction, military comedy film directed by Nick Castle and starring Damon Wayans, who wrote with Dean Lorey and Gary Rosen. The film co-stars Karyn Parsons, Steven Martini, and Michael Ironside. It is a ...
'' (1995), '' Devil in a Blue Dress'' (1995), '' Courage Under Fire'' (1996) and '' Beloved'' (1998). In the late 1990s, Hall became known by television audiences for his recurring role as Judge Seymore Walsh in the series ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
'' and ''
Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...
'', both of which were created by David E. Kelley. Coincidentally, he portrayed the role of a judge in soap operas such as ''
The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...
'' and ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
''. Hall has portrayed real life figures such as
Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...
in the 1998 television film '' The Tiger Woods Story'' and
Elijah Muhammad Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1933 until his death in 197 ...
in
Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...
's 2001 biopic '' Ali''. Hall played the recurring role of Bruce in the series ''
Men of a Certain Age ''Men of a Certain Age'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, that ran on TNT from December 7, 2009, to July 6, 2011. The hour-long program stars Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as thre ...
''.


Filmography

* ''
Cotton Comes to Harlem ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the blaxploita ...
'' (1970) - Background Detective (uncredited) * '' Willie Dynamite'' (1973) - Pointer * '' Leadbelly'' (1976) - Dicklicker * ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...
'' (1979) - Chief Phillips * ''
Cry Freedom ''Cry Freedom'' is a 1987 epic biographical drama film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, set in late-1970s apartheid-era South Africa. The screenplay was written by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. ...
'' (1987) - Haraka * '' The Night They Saved Christmas'' (1984) - Loomis * '' Trouble in Mind'' (1985) - Leo * '' Betrayed'' (1988) - FBI Agent Al Sanders * ''
The Fabulous Baker Boys ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'' is a 1989 American romantic comedy drama musical film written and directed by Steve Kloves. The film follows a piano act consisting of two brothers, who hire an attractive female singer to help revive their waning ...
'' (1989) - Henry * '' Mancuso, F.B.I.'' (1989) - Colonel Hallack * ''
Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...
'' (1989) - Mack Jones * ''
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
'' (1992) - Baines * '' Rookie of the Year'' (1993) - Sal Martinella * ''
Major Payne ''Major Payne'' is a 1995 American Military fiction, military comedy film directed by Nick Castle and starring Damon Wayans, who wrote with Dean Lorey and Gary Rosen. The film co-stars Karyn Parsons, Steven Martini, and Michael Ironside. It is a ...
'' (1995) - Gen. Decker * '' Devil in a Blue Dress'' (1995) - Odell * '' The Great White Hype'' (1996) - Roper's Manager * '' Courage Under Fire'' (1996) - Speaker * ''
Get on the Bus ''Get on the Bus'' is a 1996 American drama film about a group of African-American men who are taking a cross-country bus trip in order to participate in the Million Man March. The film was directed by Spike Lee and premiered on the first annive ...
'' (1996) - Craig * ''Jimi'' (1996) - Boxcar * '' Anarchy TV'' (1998) - Bobby * '' Beloved'' (1998) - Stamp Paid * '' Apocalypse Now Redux'' (2001) * '' Ali'' (2001) - Elijah Muhammad * '' Honeydripper'' (2007) - Reverend Cutlip * '' National Treasure: Book of Secrets'' (2007) - Dr. Nichols * '' Not Easily Broken'' (2009) - Bishop Wilkes * '' Apocalypse Now Final Cut'' (2019)


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Albert 1937 births Living people Male actors from Alabama American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Columbia University School of the Arts alumni People from Brighton, Alabama 20th-century African-American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors Actors from Jefferson County, Alabama