Profile of Grayson Hall on Famous Like Me

Grayson Hall (September 23, 1923 - August 7, 1985) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was an Oscar-nominated American actress.

Hall was born Shirley Grossman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was a lead actress in the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966-1971), and also appeared on One Life to Live shortly before her death from cancer at the age of 61. Both her husband Sam Hall, and their son, Matthew Hall, were writers for the show at the time.

Grossman married writer Sam Hall on January 12, 1952. Their only son, Matthew, was born in 1958. Early in her career, she used the stage name Shirley Grayson. Her husband called her 'Grayson', "like I was his Army buddy" and it accidentally became her screen and public name.

In 1963 Grayson Hall traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to play the role of Judith Fellowes in John Huston's version of The Night of the Iguana, from the original Tennessee Williams play. She was given an Academy Award nomination for her performance as a latent lesbian character. While her character is usually non-sympathetic (basically, a villian), her forcefullness was nicely countered with a few endearing and powerful moments creating a complex characterization notable as an early gay character in American cinema. Though the other actors in this film turn in quite good performances, Ms. Hall was the only actor nominated for an Oscar from Huston's 1964 film.

Perhaps Hall's best-known role was that of "Dr. Julia Hoffman", on Dark Shadows, where she portrayed a friend of the vampire, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid). Other key roles that she played on the very low-budget show were those of Magda, a Gypsy, and Hoffman, a housekeeper.

Filmography

• One Life to Live (1982) (TV)
• The Two Lives of Sean Doolittle (1975) (TV)
• The Great Ice Rip-Off (1974) (TV)
• All My Children (1973) (TV)
• Gargoyles (1972) (TV)
• Night of Dark Shadows (1971)
• House of Dark Shadows (1970)
• Adam at 6 A.M. (1970)
• End of the Road (1970)
• Dark Shadows (1966) (TV)
• Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? (1966)
• That Darn Cat! (1965)
• The Night of the Iguana (1964)**
• The Parisienne and the Prudes (1964)
• Satan in High Heels (1962)
• Run Across the River (1961)

• • Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress

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