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.
Known For
Top Hat
(1935)
(uncredited)
King Kong
(1933)
Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(1939)
Mercury (uncredited)
Limelight
(1952)
Newsboy (uncredited)
The Music Box
(1932)
Postman (uncredited)
Hellzapoppin'
(1941)
Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Sons of the Desert
(1933)
Waiter (uncredited)
Dressed to Kill
(1946)
Cab Driver (uncredited)
Bachelor Mother
(1939)
Dance Hall Official (uncredited)
The Lodger
(1944)
Comedian
Babes in Toyland
(1934)
Townsman (uncredited)
Illegal
(1955)
Bellhop (uncredited)
A Chump at Oxford
(1940)
Student
Shall We Dance
(1937)
Bartender (uncredited)
Primrose Path
(1940)
Man in Diner
Full Filmography
Acting
The Janitor
(1921)
Do Me a Favor
(1922)
A Fireman
Mother's Joy
(1923)
The Cowboy Sheik
(1924)
Party guest
Postage Due
(1924)
Customer
Zeb vs. Paprika
(1924)
Smithy
(1924)
Worker
A Ten-Minute Egg
(1924)
First Bellhop (uncredited)
Near Dublin
(1924)
Villager
Isn't Life Terrible?
(1925)
Steward Who Drops Plates
Madame Sans Jane
(1925)
Unfriendly Enemies
(1925)
First Soldier Over the Top
Thundering Fleas
(1926)
Musician
Mighty Like a Moose
(1926)
Shoe Shine Man
Bromo and Juliet
(1926)
Stagehand (uncredited)
Call of the Cuckoo
(1927)
Asylum Inmate
The Second Hundred Years
(1927)
Convict
College
(1927)
Coxswain (uncredited)
Seeing the World
(1927)
English chauffeur
Love 'Em and Weep
(1927)
Tillsbury's Butler
The Battle of the Century
(1927)
Pie Delivery Man (uncredited)
Forgotten Sweeties
(1927)
Eve's Love Letters
(1927)
Cab driver (uncredited)
Duck Soup
(1927)
Moving man (uncredited)
Sugar Daddies
(1927)
Hotel extra
Fluttering Hearts
(1927)
Man under car
With Love and Hisses
(1927)
Soldier (uncredited)
Captain Swagger
(1928)
Messenger
Leave 'Em Laughing
(1928)
The Landlord
You're Darn Tootin'
(1928)
Musician
Came the Dawn
(1928)
Little Moving Man (uncredited)
Should Married Men Go Home?
(1928)
Soda Jerk (uncredited)
Two Tars
(1928)
Shopkeeper
Movie Night
(1929)
Audience Member (uncredited)
A Pair of Tights
(1929)
Man in fender bender
Leaping Love
(1929)
Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
The Hoose-Gow
(1929)
Treetop Lookout (uncredited)
Skirt Shy
(1929)
Postman (uncredited)
That's My Wife
(1929)
Waiter (uncredited)
Men O'War
(1929)
Boater (uncredited)
Little Mother
(1929)
Taxi driver
Snappy Sneezer
(1929)
Streetcar passenger (uncredited)
Bacon Grabbers
(1929)
Truck driver
They Go Boom!
(1929)
Landlord
Boxing Gloves
(1929)
Sidewalk diner attendant
Double Whoopee
(1929)
Cabdriver
Wrong Again
(1929)
Neighbor
Angora Love
(1929)
Neighbor
Berth Marks
(1929)
Train Passenger (uncredited)
The Fighting Parson
(1930)
The Waiter (uncredited)
The Real McCoy
(1930)
Mountain Man (uncredited)
Fifty Million Husbands
(1930)
Neighbor
The Night Life
(1930)
Cabdriver (uncredited)
Dollar Dizzy
(1930)
Bellhop (uncredited)
Night of Goblins
(1930)
Passenger
Below Zero
(1930)
Bear Shooters
(1930)
Charlie
Shivering and Shaking
(1930)
Street Cleaner (uncredited)
Blotto
(1930)
Cabdriver
Let's Go Native
(1930)
Mover (uncredited)
Sweepstakes
(1931)
Little Cook
Come Clean
(1931)
Ice Cream Attendant
The Chiselers
(1931)
Bellboy / Landlord
The Skulls
(1931)
The Landlord
Playing at Politics
(1931)
Elevator Operator
Let's Do Things
(1931)
Waiter (uncredited)
On the Loose
(1931)
Shooting Gallery Attendant (uncredited)
Mama Loves Papa
(1931)
Milkman (uncredited)
War Mamas
(1931)
Doughboy (uncredited)
Scratch-As-Catch-Can
(1931)
The Pip from Pittsburg
(1931)
Kay's Dancing Partner
The Pajama Party
(1931)
Inebriated Party Guest (uncredited)
The Panic Is On
(1931)
Man on the Street (uncredited)
Be Big!
(1931)
Bellboy
One of the Smiths
(1931)
Dancer (uncredited)
The Kick-Off!
(1931)
Man on the Street (uncredited)
Haunted at Midnight
(1931)
Man on Train
Laughing Gravy
(1931)
Landlord (uncredited)
Pack Up Your Troubles
(1932)
Janitor (uncredited)
Too Many Women
(1932)
Man on Street (uncredited)
Wild Babies!
(1932)
Explorer's Man, Wellington (as Charley Hall)
Sealskins
(1932)
Sealnapper's Accomplice (uncredited)
Sneak Easily
(1932)
Page
The Soilers
(1932)
Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Strictly Unreliable
(1932)
The Stage Manager (as Charley Hall)
Love Pains
(1932)
Unimpressed Party Guest (uncredited)
The Music Box
(1932)
Postman (uncredited)
Mr. Bride
(1932)
Tipsy Ship Passenger
Show Business
(1932)
Train Passenger (uncredited)
A Slip at the Switch
(1932)
Second Tramp
Just a Pain in the Parlor
(1932)
Million Dollar Legs
(1932)
Klopstokian Athlete (uncredited)
Cynara
(1932)
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Any Old Port!
(1932)
Stan's Second
Busy Bodies
(1933)
Shop Worker (uncredited)
Twice Two
(1933)
Delivery Boy
Sons of the Desert
(1933)
Waiter (uncredited)
One Track Minds
(1933)
Train Passenger (uncredited)
Air Fright
(1933)
Pilot (uncredited)
Beauty and the Bus
(1933)
Theatre Usher (uncredited)
Morning Glory
(1933)
Actor (uncredited)
Backs to Nature
(1933)
Hunter (uncredited)
The Druggist's Dilemma
(1933)
Charlie Zeno
Hold Your Temper
(1933)
Keg o' My Heart
(1933)
Waiter (uncredited)
Rhapsody in Brew
(1933)
Waiter (uncredited)
King Kong
(1933)
Member of Ship's Crew (uncredited)
Diplomaniacs
(1933)
Shaffner the Valet (uncredited)
Maids a la Mode
(1933)
Party Guest (uncredited)
Me and My Pal
(1933)
Delivery Boy (uncredited)
The Midnight Patrol
(1933)
Tire thief's partner
Nature in the Wrong
(1933)
Organ Grinder
What Fur
(1933)
Cockeyed Cavaliers
(1934)
Coach Driver
Rough Necking
(1934)
Postman
Bridal Bail
(1934)
Irate Movie Patron
Babes in Toyland
(1934)
Townsman (uncredited)
Ocean Swells
(1934)
Sailor
Love on a Ladder
(1934)
Pool Hall Patron
The Undie-World
(1934)
T.N.T. Room Busboy
Maid in Hollywood
(1934)
Cameraman (uncredited)
Babes in the Goods
(1934)
Spectator (uncredited)
One-Horse Farmers
(1934)
Subway Passenger (uncredited)
Soup and Fish
(1934)
Second Butler, Announcing Guests (uncredited)
Opened by Mistake
(1934)
Intern (uncredited)
Them Thar Hills
(1934)
Mr. Hall
The Live Ghost
(1934)
Sailor at Table (as Charles Hall)
Kentucky Kernels
(1934)
Cigarette Stand Owner
Another Wild Idea
(1934)
Man Pushed into Fountain
Bonnie Scotland
(1935)
Native Henchman (uncredited)
Thicker Than Water
(1935)
Bank Teller (uncredited)
Top Hat
(1935)
(uncredited)
Twin Triplets
(1935)
Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
Hot Money
(1935)
Tenant (uncredited)
Sing Sister Sing
(1935)
Porter (uncredited)
Treasure Blues
(1935)
Moving Man (uncredited)
Tit for Tat
(1935)
Mr. Hall
In Love at 40
(1935)
Man Getting Shave
Our Relations
(1936)
Man in Pawnshop (uncredited)
An All American Toothache
(1936)
(uncredited)
Shall We Dance
(1937)
Bartender (uncredited)
Hey! Hey! USA
(1938)
Leary's pal
Captain Fury
(1939)
Gossiping Citizen
Bachelor Mother
(1939)
Dance Hall Official (uncredited)
Five Came Back
(1939)
Airport Worker (uncredited)
Man About Town
(1939)
Bob's Assistant (uncredited)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(1939)
Mercury (uncredited)
Vigil in the Night
(1940)
Courtroom Spectator
Mexican Spitfire
(1940)
Elevator Operator
Saps at Sea
(1940)
Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Curtain Call
(1940)
Second Waiter
A Trailer Tragedy
(1940)
Homeless Thief in Washroom
Mexican Spitfire Out West
(1940)
Elevator Boy
You Can't Fool Your Wife
(1940)
Ritz Amsterdam Bellboy
Primrose Path
(1940)
Man in Diner
Millionaires in Prison
(1940)
Cockney Convict Heckler (uncredited)
A Chump at Oxford
(1940)
Student
One Night in the Tropics
(1940)
Second S.S. Atlantica Steward (uncredited)
Top Sergeant Mulligan
(1941)
Budd Doolittle
Hellzapoppin'
(1941)
Taxi Driver (uncredited)
San Antonio Rose
(1941)
Waitress
A Quiet Fourth
(1941)
Edgar's Neighbor
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
(1941)
Nightclub Waiter
Father Steps Out
(1941)
Short Hobo 'Nap', aka Napoleon
I'll Fix It
(1941)
The Laundry Man
An Apple in His Eye
(1941)
Dan - Edgar's Neighbor
Niagara Falls
(1941)
Bellhop (uncredited)
Man From Headquarters
(1942)
Newspaper Photographer
The Falcon Takes Over
(1942)
Louie (Uncredited)
The Big Street
(1942)
Caviar Waiter in New York (Uncredited)
Framing Father
(1942)
Silver Slipper Waiter
Honeymoon Lodge
(1943)
Hotel Handyman
The Ape Man
(1943)
Barney
So's Your Uncle
(1943)
Waiter
His Butler's Sister
(1943)
Porter
The Lodger
(1944)
Comedian
Girls! Girls! Girls!
(1944)
Apartment House Waiter
Radio Rampage
(1944)
Jack - Radio Repairman
In Society
(1944)
Mugg (uncredited)
On Stage Everybody
(1945)
Painter (uncredited)
Sister Kenny
(1946)
Airport Attendant (uncredited)
Dressed to Kill
(1946)
Cab Driver (uncredited)
Without Reservations
(1946)
Window-Washer (uncredited)
Abie's Irish Rose
(1946)
Hotel Porter (as Charles Hall)
The Milkman
(1950)
Ed (uncredited)
Limelight
(1952)
Newsboy (uncredited)
Illegal
(1955)
Bellhop (uncredited)
So You Want to Play the Piano
(1956)
The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy
(1967)
Dance of the Cookoos
(1982)
Receptionist / Postman / Delivery Man
Writing