Charlie Hall profile
Actor profile

Charlie Hall

18th August 1899 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, UK Acting

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charlie Hall (19 August 1899 – 7 December 1959) was an English film actor. He is best known as the "Little Nemesis" of Laurel and Hardy and appeared in nearly 50 films with them, so that Hall was the most frequent supporting actor of their films. Hall was born in Ward End, Birmingham, Warwickshire, and learned carpentry as a trade, but as a teenager, he became a member of the Fred Karno troupe of stage comedians. In his late teens, he visited his sister in New York and stayed there, finding employment as a stagehand. While working behind the scenes, he met the comic actor Bobby Dunn and they became friends; Dunn convinced Hall to take a stab again at acting, which he did. By the mid-1920s, Hall was working for Hal Roach. Stan Laurel, one of Roach's comedy stars, was also a graduate of the Karno troupe. As an actor, Hall worked with such comedians as Buster Keaton and Charley Chase, but is best remembered as a comic foil for Laurel and Hardy. He appeared in nearly 50 of their films, sometimes in bit parts, but often as a mean landlord or opponent in many of their memorable tit-for-tat sequences. Unlike the usual villains in Laurel and Hardy films, who were big and burly, Charlie Hall (billed as "Charley" Hall in the Roach comedies) was of short stature, standing 5 ft 5 in tall. His height and slight English accent allowed him to be convincingly cast as a college student, despite being 40 years old, in Laurel and Hardy's A Chump at Oxford. Hall almost never played starring roles; the exception was in 1941, when he was teamed with character comedian Frank Faylen by Monogram Pictures. Hall continued to play bits and supporting roles in short subjects and features through the 1940s and 1950s, occasionally on TV, appearing very briefly in Charlie Chaplin's final American film, Limelight (1952). In 1956 he played a small but important part in the TV show Cheyenne, season 1, episode 11, "Quicksand", starring Clint Walker, with Dennis Hopper, John Alderson, Wright King and Peggy Webber. His last role was in a Joe McDoakes short film starring George O'Hanlon, So You Want to Play the Piano, in 1956. Hall died in North Hollywood, California, on 7 December 1959. A J D Wetherspoon's public house in Erdington, is named The Charlie Hall as a tribute to him.

185 Movies 5 TV Shows 212 Credits
Filmography

Movies & TV Shows

Illegal poster
Illegal 9th October 1955 as Bellhop (uncredited)
Limelight poster
Limelight 16th October 1952 as Newsboy (uncredited)
Sister Kenny poster
Sister Kenny 10th October 1946 as Airport Attendant (uncredited)
Hot Money poster
Hot Money 16th November 1935 as Tenant (uncredited)
Top Hat poster
Top Hat 29th August 1935 as (uncredited)
The Live Ghost poster
The Live Ghost 8th December 1934 as Sailor at Table (as Charles Hall) (uncredited)
Soup and Fish poster
Soup and Fish 30th March 1934 as Second Butler, Announcing Guests (uncredited)
Diplomaniacs poster
Diplomaniacs 28th April 1933 as Shaffner the Valet (uncredited)
King Kong poster
King Kong 7th April 1933 as Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Twice Two poster
Twice Two 25th February 1933 as Delivery Boy (uncredited)
Cynara poster
Cynara 24th December 1932 as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Mr. Bride poster
Mr. Bride 24th December 1932 as Tipsy Ship Passenger
The Soilers poster
The Soilers 29th October 1932 as Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Wild Babies! poster
Wild Babies! 17th June 1932 as Explorer's Man, Wellington (as Charley Hall)
Sealskins poster
Sealskins 6th February 1932 as Sealnapper's Accomplice (uncredited)
On the Loose poster
On the Loose 26th December 1931 as Shooting Gallery Attendant (uncredited)
War Mamas poster
War Mamas 14th November 1931 as Doughboy (uncredited)
Be Big! poster
Be Big! 7th February 1931 as Bellboy (uncredited)
Blotto poster
Blotto 8th February 1930 as Cabdriver
Skirt Shy poster
Skirt Shy 30th November 1929 as Postman (uncredited)
Leaping Love poster
Leaping Love 22nd June 1929 as Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
College poster
College 10th September 1927 as Coxswain (uncredited)
Duck Soup poster
Duck Soup 13th March 1927 as Moving man (uncredited)
Smithy poster
Smithy 19th January 1924 as Worker
Topper poster
Topper 9th October 1953 as Man in lower bunk in jail (uncredited)