William Bradford Hall (born March 21, 1958) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He appeared on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' from 1982 to 1984. He was also known for manning the ''

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featu ...

'' (then rebranded as ''Saturday Night News'') anchor desk on the show. He also created the sitcoms '' The Single Guy'' and '' Watching Ellie''. Hall was a producer, writer, and director on the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

winning sitcom ''

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

'', for which he received a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nomination. He has appeared in various motion pictures, most notably the 1986 cult classic ''Troll'' and as Nancy Allen's boyfriend in 1989's '' Limit Up''. In 2012, he directed ''

Picture Paris ''Picture Paris'' is a 2012 HBO short film about a suburban woman with an empty nest who exhibits a passion for Paris. Production The film was written and directed by Brad Hall, starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Grégory Fitoussi and was shot i ...

'', which appeared at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. He also has guest-starred on series such as '' Parks and Recreation'', ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'', and ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

''.

Personal life

Hall was born and raised in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. He was an avid surfer as a child, saying that he "learned how to surf as soon as I could walk." Hall is married to actress

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...

, whom he met while both were attending

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in Evanston,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. They met in a comedy troupe that Hall started, called ''The Practical Theater''. They both performed on ''

'' from 1982 to 1984, appeared together in ''Troll'' (1986), and guest-starred together on two episodes of ''

''. They have two sons, Henry (b. 1992) and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

(b. 1997). Hall serves on the US Board of Directors of SurfAid International.

Filmography

Recurring characters on ''SNL''

*Mike Phillips, friend of El Dorko (

Gary Kroeger Gary Kroeger (born April 13, 1957) is an American businessman, politician, writer, comedian and actor best known for his work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1982 to 1985, and his work on various game shows. He ran in the Democra ...

) *The Human Stapler, a superhero who uses his hands to bind his victims (a member of The Interesting Four) *Larry Rolans, the host of Larry's Corner

Celebrity impersonations

John DeLorean John Zachary DeLorean ( ; January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry. He is widely known as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company, as well as for his work at General Motor ...

* John Hinckley *

Noel Paul Stookey Noel Paul Stookey (born December 30, 1937) is an American singer-songwriter and activist who is known for being a member of the 1960s folk music, folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary along with Peter Yarrow and Mary Travers. He has been known by his f ...

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (; born 24 November 1941) is an English retired musician who was the drummer for the Beatles from 1960 to 1962. He was dismissed shortly before the band achieved worldwide fame and is one of several people referred to as a ...

* William F. Buckley *

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Brad 1958 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Williston Northampton School alumni American bloggers American male bloggers American male screenwriters American male television actors American sketch comedians Television producers from California Male actors from Santa Barbara, California Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Writers from Santa Barbara, California Comedians from California Louis-Dreyfus family Screenwriters from California American male comedians