1. Grayson Hall was widely regarded for her avant-garde theatrical performances from the 1960s to the 1980s.
20 Facts About Grayson Hall
1. 2.
Grayson Hall played multiple prominent roles on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows and appeared on One Life to Live.
3.
Grayson Hall was born Shirley Grossman in Philadelphia in 1922, the only child of Eleanor and Joseph Grossman.
4.
Grayson Hall's father was from Latvia and her mother, who had acted in the Yiddish theatre, was from South Africa.
5.
When Grayson Hall was eight, her parents separated, but they never divorced.
6.
Grayson Hall became interested in acting as an escape from a painful childhood, and auditioned for plays in New York City while still attending Simon Gratz High School in North Philadelphia.
7.
Grayson Hall enrolled at Temple University but did not matriculate.
8.
Grayson Hall landed her first professional job with a summer stock company on Long Island in 1942.
9.
Grayson Hall had always used the stage name Shirley Grayson, but Sam Hall called her Grayson "like an old Army buddy," as she said in an interview.
10.
Grayson Hall eventually adopted Grayson Hall as her professional name.
11.
Grayson Hall enjoyed an active stage career in New York City.
12.
Grayson Hall appeared as the madam Irma in the first New York production of The Balcony by Jean Genet for more than a year at the Circle in the Square Theatre Downtown in Greenwich Village.
13.
Grayson Hall appeared in Satan in High Heels as a cabaret club owner, but she later disavowed the film.
14.
In September 1963, Grayson Hall traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to play the role of Judith Fellowes in John Huston's film version of The Night of the Iguana, based on the original play by Tennessee Williams.
15.
Grayson Hall was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
16.
Grayson Hall portrayed the loyal confidant and friend of the vampire Barnabas Collins.
17.
Grayson Hall appeared in both Dark Shadows feature films: in House of Dark Shadows again as Dr Julia Hoffman, and in Night of Dark Shadows as a new character, housekeeper Carlotta Drake.
18.
Grayson Hall continued acting on stage in Jean Genet's The Screens and in Happy End with Meryl Streep and Christopher Lloyd.
19.
Grayson Hall starred in the mystery film The Two Deaths of Sean Doolittle, which was written by her husband Sam Hall.
20.
Grayson Hall appeared in the Broadway premiere of The Suicide with Derek Jacobi and appeared opposite Geraldine Page, Carrie Nye and Madeleine Sherwood in an off-Broadway revival of The Madwoman of Chaillot.