| Birth Date: | 10 September 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Forest Lawn Memorial Park |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Yearsactive: | 1960–2021 |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: | 4 |
Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. He is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), and Magnolia (1999). He also starred in leading roles in films, such as Secret Honor (1984) and Duck (2005). Hall had supporting roles in many films, including Midnight Run (1988), Say Anything... (1989), The Truman Show (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Insider (1999), The Contender (2000), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), Zodiac (2007), 50/50 (2011), and Argo (2012). He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for his role in Hard Eight and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture for Boogie Nights and Magnolia.
Hall is also known for his prolific work on television. His early television work included M*A*S*H, Murder, She Wrote, and Cheers. One of his most memorable television roles was as Lt. Joe Bookman, the "library cop", in Seinfeld.[1] He had recurring roles in The Practice, The West Wing, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Modern Family, and BoJack Horseman.
Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio.[2] His mother was Alice Birdene (née McDonald), and his father, William Alexander Hall, was a factory worker from Montgomery, Alabama.[3] [4] He attended the University of Toledo. He served in Germany as a United States Army translator[5] and as a high school teacher.[6]
After his film debut Cowards, he joined the Los Angeles Theatre Center.[7] His first television role came for an episode of Good Times. Hall guest starred in episodes of M*A*S*H and Man from Atlantis.[8] [9] He had over 200 guest roles since 1977. He played Richard Nixon in the one-character film Secret Honor and reprised his role he had created during the play's original Off-Broadway run.[10] Roger Ebert said about Hall and the film: "Nixon is portrayed by Philip Baker Hall, an actor previously unknown to me, with such savage intensity, such passion, such venom, such scandal, that we cannot turn away. Hall looks a little like the real Nixon; he could be a cousin, and he sounds a little like him. That's close enough. This is not an impersonation, it's a performance."[11] Vincent Canby of The New York Times also praised Hall's "immense performance, which is as astonishing and risky ― for the chances the actor takes and survives ― as that of the Oscar-winning F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus."[12]
In the 1980s, Hall co-starred in various films in supporting roles, including Nothing in Common (1986), Midnight Run (1988), Say Anything... and Ghostbusters II (both 1989). He played "Lt. Joe Bookman", a detective pursuing a long-overdue library book in the Seinfeld episodes, "The Library" and "The Finale".[13] His first Seinfeld appearance led him to be widely lauded as one of the best guest stars on the series, and led to many other jobs.[14]
Hall contributed an opening narration, a parody of the announcements one would hear on Magnetic Reference Laboratory's calibration tapes for analogue tape recorders, on 1000 Hurts, the 2000 album by Chicago post-punk band Shellac.
Hall starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's short film Cigarettes & Coffee, which was adapted into Anderson's directorial debut film Hard Eight (1996). For the film, Hall played a senior gambler who mentors a homeless man (John C. Reilly). Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said about Hall, "Here is another great performance. He is a man who has been around, who knows casinos and gambling, who finds himself attached to three people he could easily have avoided, who thinks before he acts."[15] Hall was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He later starred in Anderson's other films Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999). He was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Hall starred with Philip Seymour Hoffman in four films.[16]
Hall had turns in a variety of films in the 1990s, including The Rock, The Truman Show, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and The Insider. He co-starred in other films in the 2000s, including Dogville,[13] Zodiac, and Argo.[13] He played Captain Diel in the Rush Hour trilogy (though his scenes were cut from Rush Hour 2 and he was uncredited for the scene in Rush Hour 3).[13] [16] Hall had prominent roles in Bruce Almighty, In Good Company, The Amityville Horror, The Matador, You Kill Me, All Good Things, 50/50,[17] and The Sum of All Fears.[13]
Hall starred in the sitcom The Loop.[13] He guest starred in the animated series The Life & Times of Tim. He played a physician in Curb Your Enthusiasm,[13] and appeared in Modern Family.[13] He appeared in an episode of The Newsroom and in a Holiday Inn commercial.[13] For the short film Dear Chickens, he won best actor at Los Angeles Short Festival and at Filmets Badalona Film Festival in Barcelona.[18] [19]
Hall also undertook stage work in New York and Los Angeles, but did not appear on Broadway.
Hall had two daughters, Patricia and Darcy, with his first wife, Mary-Ella Holst.[20] He later married Holly Wolfle, with whom he had two daughters, Adella and Anna.[7] He also had four grandchildren and a brother.
Hall died of emphysema at his home in Glendale, California, on June 12, 2022, at the age of 90.[21]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | class=unsortable | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Cowards | Father Reis | [22] | ||
| 1974 | Throw Out the Anchor! | Ryan | Credited as "Phillip Hall" | [23] | |
| 1978 | Coma | Doctor | [24] | ||
| 1980 | The Man with Bogart's Face | Dr. Inman | |||
| 1981 | Dream On! | [25] | |||
| 1982 | The Last Reunion | Mike Sills | |||
| 1984 | Secret Honor | Richard Nixon | |||
| 1986 | Nothing in Common | Colonial Airlines Executive | Uncredited | [26] | |
| 1987 | Three O'Clock High | Detective Mulvahill | |||
| 1988 | Midnight Run | Sidney | |||
| 1989 | Say Anything... | IRS Boss | |||
| How I Got into College | Dean Patterson | ||||
| Ghostbusters II | Police Commissioner | ||||
| An Innocent Man | Judge Kenneth Lavet | ||||
| 1991 | Blue Desert | Joe | |||
| 1992 | Live Wire | Senator Thyme | |||
| 1993 | Cigarettes & Coffee | Sydney | Short film | ||
| 1994 | The Last Laugh | William T. | [27] | ||
| 1995 | Kiss of Death | Big Junior Brown | |||
| 1996 | Eye for an Eye | Sidney Hughes | |||
| Hard Eight | Sydney | ||||
| The Rock | Chief Justice | Uncredited | |||
| The Little Death | Detective Snyder | ||||
| Hit Me | Lenny Ish | AKA The Ice Cream Dimension | |||
| 1997 | Buddy | Minister | |||
| Air Force One | U.S. Attorney General Andrew Ward | ||||
| Boogie Nights | Floyd Gondolli | ||||
| 1998 | Sour Grapes | Mr. Bell | |||
| The Truman Show | Network Executive | ||||
| Judas Kiss | Pobby Malavero | ||||
| Rush Hour | Captain Diel | ||||
| Enemy of the State | Mark Silverberg, Attorney | Uncredited | |||
| Prequel | Vaughn | ||||
| Psycho | Sheriff Chambers | ||||
| 1999 | Let the Devil Wear Black | Sol Hirsch | |||
| Cradle Will Rock | Gray Mathers | ||||
| Implicated | John Swayer | ||||
| The Insider | Don Hewitt | ||||
| Magnolia | Jimmy Gator | ||||
| The Talented Mr. Ripley | Alvin MacCarron | ||||
| 2000 | Rules of Engagement | General H. Lawrence Hodges | |||
| The Contender | Oscar Billings | ||||
| Lost Souls | Father James | ||||
| 2001 | Rush Hour 2 | Captain Diel | Scenes deleted | ) | |
| 2002 | The Sum of All Fears | Defense Secretary David Becker | |||
| A Gentleman's Game | Charlie Logan | ||||
| 2003 | Die, Mommie, Die! | Sol Sussman | |||
| Dogville | Tom Edison Sr. | ||||
| Bruce Almighty | Jack Baylor | ||||
| A House on a Hill | Harry Mayfield | ||||
| 2004 | In Good Company | Eugene Kalb | |||
| 2005 | The Matador | Mr. Randy | |||
| A Buck's Worth | Voice; Short film | [28] | |||
| Duck | Arthur Pratt | ||||
| The Amityville Horror | Father Callaway | ||||
| The Zodiac | Chief Frank Perkins | ||||
| 2006 | The Shaggy Dog | Lance Strictland | |||
| The TV Set | Vernon Maxwell | ||||
| Islander | Popper | ||||
| 2007 | Zodiac | Sherwood Morrill | |||
| You Kill Me | Roman Krzeminski | ||||
| Rush Hour 3 | Captain William Diel | Uncredited | |||
| 2009 | The Lodger | Captain Smith | |||
| Fired Up! | Coach Byrnes | ||||
| Wonderful World | The Man | ||||
| 2010 | All Good Things | Malvern Bump | |||
| 2011 | The Chicago 8 | Judge Julius Hoffman | |||
| Mr. Popper's Penguins | Franklin | ||||
| 50/50 | Alan Lombardo | ||||
| 2012 | Bending the Rules | Herb Gold | |||
| People Like Us | Ike Rafferty | ||||
| Departure Date | Old Jake | [29] | |||
| Dog Eat Dog | Old man | Short film | [30] | ||
| Argo | CIA Director Stansfield Turner | Uncredited | |||
| 2013 | Bad Words | Dr. William Bowman | [31] | ||
| 2014 | Playing It Cool | Granddad | |||
| 2017 | Person to Person | Jimmy | |||
| The Last Word | Edward | ||||
| 2018 | Dear Chickens | Emil | Short film | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | class=unsortable | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Last Survivors | Attorney | Television film | ||
| 1975; 1978 | Emergency! | Oliver Warren / Dr. Scott | 2 episodes | ||
| 1976 | Good Times | Motel Owner | Episode: "J.J.'s Fiancee: Part 2" | ||
| Mayday at 40,000 Feet! | Reporter | Television film | |||
| 1976–77 | Visions | Boyle / Severson | 2 episodes | [32] | |
| 1977 | Man from Atlantis | George | Episode: "Man from Atlantis" | ||
| The Hostage Heart | Dr. Harvey Fess | Television film | [33] | ||
| Kill Me If You Can | Phillips | ||||
| M*A*S*H | Sergeant Hacker | Episode: "The Light That Failed" | |||
| 1978 | The Fitzpatricks | Bertram | Episode: "A Living Wage" | ||
| The Bastard | Shopkeeper | Miniseries | |||
| Terror Out of the Sky | Starrett | Television film | |||
| 1979 | Samurai | Professor Owens | |||
| 1980 | The Waltons | Major Gordon | Episode: "The Furlough" | ||
| The Night the Bridge Fell Down | Warren Meech | Television film | |||
| It's a Living | Man in Hotel Room | Episode: "The Lois Affair" | [34] | ||
| Riding for the Pony Express | Mr. Durfee | Television film | [35] [36] | ||
| 1981 | This House Possessed | Clerk | [37] | ||
| 1982 | McClain's Law | Mr. Harris | Episode: "Takeover" | [38] | |
| Quincy, M.E. | Deputy DA Marty Shell Captain Rasmussen | 2 episodes | |||
| Cagney & Lacey | Lieutenant Sweeny | Episode: "Hot Line" | |||
| T. J. Hooker | Judge Wallace | Episode: "A Cry for Help" | |||
| Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Prosecutor / Wilcox | 2 episodes | |||
| Games Mother Never Taught You | Lester Greene | Television film | [39] | ||
| 1984 | Benson | Harrison Fowler | Episode: "The Election" | [40] | |
| Lottery! | Episode: "Houston: Duffy's Choice" | [41] | |||
| 1985 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Jack Marsh | Episode: "Too Rich and Too Thin" | [42] | |
| 1986 | Who Is Julia? | Dean May | Television film | ||
| 1987 | Mariah | James Malone | 7 episodes | ||
| The Spirit | Sevrin | Television film | |||
| Miami Vice | Judge DeLaporte | Episode: "Contempt of Court" | |||
| 1988 | Goddess of Love | Detective Charles | Television film | ||
| Family Ties | Dr. Harrison | 3 episodes | |||
| 1989 | Judge Blumenfeld | Television film | |||
| Incident at Dark River | Dr. Leo Manus | Television film | |||
| 1989–90 | Falcon Crest | Ed Meyers | 13 episodes | ||
| 1990 | Matlock | Judge | Episode: "The Mother" | ||
| Bagdad Cafe | Herb | Episode: "This Bird Has Flown" | [43] | ||
| 1991 | Murder, She Wrote | Len Costner | Episode: "Moving Violation" | ||
| L.A. Law | Tom Baker | Episode: "He's a Crowd" | |||
| Equal Justice | Judge S.E. Cleveland | Episode: "Do the Wrong Thing" | [44] | ||
| Dark Justice | Winchester Keller | Episode: "The Neutralizing Factor" | |||
| 1991–92 | Civil Wars | Judge Bianchi | 3 episodes | ||
| 1991; 1998 | Seinfeld | Lt. Joe Bookman | 2 episodes: "The Library" and "The Finale" | ||
| 1992 | A Thousand Heroes | Sam Gochenour | Television film; AKA Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 | [45] | |
| Stormy Weathers | Dr. Comden | Television film | |||
| Nurses | Mr. Todd | Episode: "Playing Doctor" | |||
| 1993 | Cheers | City Councilman Kevin Fogerty | Episode: "Woody Gets an Election" | ||
| Bob | Jeweler | Episode: "Have Yourself a Married Little Christmas" | |||
| 1994 | M.A.N.T.I.S. | "Smitty" | Television film | ||
| Empty Nest | Jerod | Episode: "Brotherly Shove" | |||
| The Good Life | Mr. Humphreys | Episode: "Melissa the Thief" | [46] | ||
| Roswell | Roswell General | Television film | |||
| Madman of the People | Kent | Episode: "All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Mad Boy" | [47] | ||
| Chicago Hope | Mr. Wellington | Episode: "You Gotta Have Heart" | |||
| Hardball | Beanball McGee | Episode: "Lee's Bad, Bad Day" | [48] | ||
| Without Warning | Dr. Kurt Lowden | Television film | |||
| 1996 | Life's Work | Judge Conklin | Episode: "Contempt" | [49] | |
| The John Larroquette Show | Mr. Frank | Episode: "Napping to Success" | [50] | ||
| 1997 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | President Dewey | Episode: "Proud Dick" | ||
| The Practice | Judge Joseph Vinocour | 4 episodes | |||
| 1997–98 | Millennium | Group Elder | 2 episodes | [51] | |
| Michael Hayes | William Vaughn | 20 episodes | [52] [53] | ||
| 1998 | Tempting Fate | Dr. Bardwell | Television film | ||
| Witness to the Mob | Toddo Aurello | Television film | |||
| L.A. Doctors | Vincent Cattano | Episode: "Fear of Flying" | |||
| 1999 | Partners | Scarpatti | Pilot | [54] | |
| 2000 | The Fugitive | Stuart Kimble | Episode: "St. Christopher's Prayer" | [55] | |
| Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis | Aristotle Onassis | Television film | |||
| 2000; 2002 | Baby Blues | Mr. Thompson / Mr. Saunders | Voice; 2 episodes | ||
| 2001 | Pasadena | George Reese Greeley | 7 episodes | ||
| Loomis | "Big Jack" Caruso | Unaired pilot | |||
| 2002 | Path to War | Everett Dirksen | Television film | ||
| Night Visions | Dennis Brascom | Episode: "Cargo/Switch" | |||
| Without a Trace | Noah Ridder | Episode: "Silent Partner" | |||
| 2003 | Everwood | Dr. Donald Douglas | 3 episodes | ||
| 2004 | Monk | Salvatore Lucarelli | Episode: "Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather" | ||
| Boston Legal | Ernie Dell | Episode: "Head Cases" | |||
| The West Wing | Senator Matt Hunt | 2 episodes | |||
| 2004; 2009 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Dr. Morrison | 2 episodes | ||
| 2005 | Mrs. Harris | Arthur Schulte | Television film | ||
| 2006–07 | The Loop | Russ | 17 episodes | ||
| 2007 | Big Love | Ned Johanssen | Episode: "Take Me as I Am" | ||
| Wildlife | Arnie | Unaired pilot | [56] | ||
| 2008 | Psych | Irving Parker | Episode: "Dis-Lodged" | ||
| Worst Week | Reverend Lowell | 2 episodes | |||
| 2009 | True Jackson, VP | Mr. Jenkins | Episode: "Flirting with Fame" | [57] | |
| 2010 | The Life & Times of Tim | Norman Walker (voice) | Episode: "London Calling/Novelist" | ||
| Warren the Ape | Dr. Ralph Schwartz | Episode: "Rock Opera" | |||
| 2011–12 | Modern Family | Walt Kleezak | 3 episodes | ||
| 2012 | The Newsroom | Bryce DeLancy | Episode: "The 112th Congress" | ||
| Childrens Hospital | Josef Mengele | Episode: "A Year in the Life" | |||
| Ruth & Erica | Harry | 8 episodes | [58] | ||
| 2013 | Clear History | McKenzie | Television film | [59] | |
| 2014 | Rake | Mitch Markham | Episode: "Remembrance of Taxis Past" | [60] | |
| Altman | Himself | Documentary | |||
| 2015 | Madam Secretary | Ezra Helsinger | Episode: "The Necessary Art" | ||
| BoJack Horseman | Hank Hippopopalous | Voice; 2 episodes | |||
| 2016 | Second Chance | Old Jimmy Pritchard | 5 episodes | [61] | |
| 2017 | Room 104 | Charlie | Episode: "My Love" | ||
| 2018 | Corporate | Arthur Stockheed | Episode: "Powerpoint of Death" | ||
| 2020 | Messiah | Zelman Katz | Final role, 6 episodes | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Playwright | Venue | class=unsortable | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Fantasticks | Hucklebee | Sullivan Street Playhouse, Off-Broadway | [62] | ||
| 1965 | In White America | Performer | Players Theatre, Off-Broadway | [63] | ||
| 1975 | Gorky | Gorky | American Place Theatre, Off-Broadway | [64] | ||
| 1979 | The Chicago Conspiracy Trial | Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Los Angeles | [65] | |||
| 1983 | In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer | Herbert S. Marks | Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Los Angeles | [66] | ||
| Secret Honor | Provincetown Playhouse, Off-Broadway | [67] | ||||
| 1990 | The Crucible | Los Angeles Theatre Company | [68] | |||
| 1995 | The Homecoming | Max | Matrix Theatre, Los Angeles | [69] | ||
| 2000 | American Buffalo | Don | [70] | |||
| Linda Gross Theatre, Off-Broadway | [71] | |||||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Independent Spirit Award | Best Male Lead | Hard Eight | [72] | |
| 1997 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast – Motion Picture | Boogie Nights | [73] | |
| Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Ensemble | [74] | |||
| 1999 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast – Motion Picture | Magnolia | [75] | |
| Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Ensemble | [76] | |||
| 2001 | Broadcast Film Critics Association | Alan J. Pakula Award | The Contender | [77] | |
| 2012 | Hollywood Film Awards | Best Ensemble | Argo | [78] | |