Editing Huntz Hall

{{Short description|American actor (1920–1999)}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name             = Huntz Hall
| image            = Huntz Hall in Blues Busters trailer.jpg
| image_size       = 
| caption          = [[Trailer (promotion)|Trailer]] for ''[[Blues Busters]]'' (1950)
| birth_name       = Henry Richard Hall
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1920|08|15|mf=yes}}<ref name=age/>
| birth_place      = New York City, U.S.
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1999|01|30|1920|08|15|mf=yes}}
| death_place      = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| other_names      =
| occupation       = Actor
| years_active     = 1935&ndash;1994
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Elsie May Anderson|1940|1944|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Leslie Wright|1948|1953|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Colleen Vico|1960|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Leah Stevens|1966}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mango |first1=Jim |title=Behind Sach - The Huntz Hall Story |date=2015 |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=9781593937737 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WScZCgAAQBAJ&dq=huntz+hall+mARRIAGE+1966&pg=PT58 |access-date=19 December 2021}}</ref>
}}
| children         = 2
| website          =
}}

'''Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall''' (August 15, 1920<ref name=age/> &ndash; January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular "[[Dead End Kids]]" movies, including ''[[Angels with Dirty Faces]]'' (1938), and in the later "[[The Bowery Boys|Bowery Boys]]" movies, during the late 1930s to the late 1950s.

==Life and career==
Hall was born in 1920 in New York City<ref name=ssdi>[[Social Security Death Index]]</ref> to Joseph Patrick Hall, an engineer from Ireland, and his wife, Mary Ellen ({{nee}} Mullen) Hall.<ref name=age>Leonard Getz in his 2006 book ''From Broadway to the Bowery'' published by [[McFarland & Company]] uses August 15, but the more authoritative [[Social Security Death Index]] uses August 18, 1920. [[The Independent]] uses August 15, 1919, and the [[New York Times]] lists his age as 78, which would make his birth year 1920. Walker and Roat's biography uses 1919. As was the case with many actors, their resumes often conflict with official documents submitted to the government.</ref> The fourteenth of sixteen children, he was nicknamed "Huntz" because of his nose.<ref>{{citation|title=Huntz Hall|url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/huntz-hall-p29775|publisher=[[Allmovie]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=Leonard Getz|author-link=Leonard Getz|title=From Broadway to the Bowery |year=2006 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luFkAAAAMAAJ |isbn=0-7864-2535-0 }}</ref> He attended Catholic schools<ref name=independent>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-huntz-hall-1068351.html|title=Huntz Hall|work=[[The Independent]]|date=1999-03-03 | access-date=May 17, 2010 | location=London, UK | first=Tom | last=Vallance}}</ref> and started performing on radio at five years of age.<ref name=nyt/>

He appeared on Broadway in the 1935 production of ''Dead End'', a play written and directed by [[Sidney Kingsley]].<ref name=ibdb>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=43760|title=Huntz Hall|work=[[Internet Broadway Database]]|publisher=[[The Broadway League]]|access-date=June 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=1963|title=BROADWAY TO BOWERY AND BACK: Huntz Hall reveals the secrets behind the Dead End Kids, East Side Kids & Bowery Boys|url=https://archive.org/details/Screen_Thrills_Illustrated_No._05_v02n01_1963-07_c2c_bones666-DREGS/page/n37|journal=Screen Thrills Illustrated|number=5 (v02n01)|pages=37}}</ref> Hall was then cast along with the other Dead End Kids in the 1937 film ''[[Dead End (1937 film)|Dead End]]'', directed by [[William Wyler]] and starring [[Humphrey Bogart]].<ref name=BB>{{cite book |last1=Hayes |first1=David |title=The Films of the Bowery Boys |date=1984 |publisher=The Citadel Press |location=Secaucus, NJ |isbn=978-0806509310}}</ref>

Hall served in the United States Army during World War II.{{CN|date=August 2024}} In 1943, he appeared in the USN training film "Don't Kill Your Friends" as moronic Ensign [[Robert Osborn (satirist)#The Dilbert years|Dilbert the Pilot]], who carelessly causes the death of a civilian and three servicemen.<ref>{{cite web |title=Don't Kill Your Friends (WWII Training Video) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9nDsbOcYO8 |website=YouTube |access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Dont Kill Your Friends.ogv|thumb|''Dilbert: Don't Kill Your Friends'', 1943]]

In 1948, Hall was arrested for possession of marijuana. His trial, held in 1949, resulted in a [[hung jury]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-huntz-hall-1068351.html|title=Obituary: Huntz Hall | location=London | work=The Independent|first=Tom|last=Vallance|date=February 3, 1999}}</ref>

Hall later played the increasingly buffoonish Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones in 48 of "[[The Bowery Boys]]" films, gaining top billing when his longtime partner, [[Leo Gorcey]], left the series in 1956. Hall and Gorcey reunited in ''[[Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar]]'' (1966) and ''[[The Phynx]]'' (1969).

He was one of the celebrities featured on the cover of [[The Beatles]]' 1967 album, ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. In 1971, he co-starred with Art Metrano and Jamie Farr in the CBS [[situation comedy]] ''[[The Chicago Teddy Bears]]''. His plans to produce a movie series, "The Ghetto Boys" (a take on the "[[The Bowery Boys|Bowery Boys]]"), fell through. In 1973, Hall took part in Princess Grace of Monaco's Council for Drug Abuse, part of the Catholic Office of Drug Education.<ref>David Ragan. "[[Who's Who in Hollywood 1900-1976]]", Arlington House, 1976, p. 176.</ref>

In 1976, he appeared in ''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]],'' and in 1977 he played Jesse Lasky in [[Ken Russell]]'s film ''[[Valentino (1977 film)|Valentino]].'' His later films included ''[[Gas Pump Girls]]'' (1979) and ''[[The Escape Artist (film)|The Escape Artist]]'' (1982), the latter reuniting him with Gabriel Dell. His final film appearance was in ''Auntie Lee's Meat Pies'' in 1993.<ref name=nyt/>
 	
''Behind Sach: The Huntz Hall Story'' by Jim Manago, published by BearManor Media in 2015, is the first biography of Hall.

==Death==
Hall died from cardiac disease on January 30, 1999, at the age of 78 in Los Angeles, California.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |author=Michael T. Kaufman |author-link=Michael T. Kaufman |title=Huntz Hall, Perpetual Youth In 'Bowery' Films, Dies at 78 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/02/arts/huntz-hall-perpetual-youth-in-bowery-films-dies-at-78.html |work=[[New York Times]] |date=February 2, 1999 |access-date=June 28, 2010}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="width:82%;
|-
! Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes 
|- 
| 1937 || ''[[Dead End (1937 film)|Dead End]]'' || Dippy || Dead End Kids film
|-
| 1938 || ''[[Crime School]]'' || Goofy || Dead End Kids film
|-
| 1938 || ''[[Little Tough Guy]]'' || Pig || Dead End Kids film
|-
| 1938 || ''[[Angels with Dirty Faces]]'' || Crab || Dead End Kids film
|-
| 1938 || ''[[Swingtime in the Movies]]'' || Himself || Dead End Kids film / Short / Uncredited
|-
| 1939 || ''[[They Made Me a Criminal]]'' || Dippy || Dead End Kids film
|-
| 1939 || ''[[Hell's Kitchen (1939 film)|Hell's Kitchen]]'' || Bingo || Dead End Kids film
|-
| 1939 || ''[[The Angels Wash Their Faces]]'' || Huntz || Dead End Kids film
|-
| 1939 || ''[[Call a Messenger]]'' || Pig || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1939 || ''[[On Dress Parade]]'' || Cadet Johnny Cabot || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1939 || ''[[The Return of Doctor X]]'' || Pinky ||
|-
| 1940 || ''[[You're Not So Tough]]'' || Albert 'Pig' || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1940 || ''[[Junior G-Men (serial)|Junior G-Men]]'' || Gyp || Little Tough Guys film / Serial 
|-
| 1940 || ''[[Give Us Wings]]'' || Pig ||  Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1941 || ''[[Hit the Road (1941 film)|Hit the Road]]'' || Pig Grogan  || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1941 || ''[[Bowery Blitzkrieg]]'' || Limpy || East Side Kids film
|-
| 1941 || ''[[Sea Raiders]]'' || Toby Nelson || Little Tough Guys film / Serial 
|-
| 1941 || ''[[Spooks Run Wild]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1941 || ''[[Mob Town (1941 film)|Mob Town]]'' || Pig || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1941 || ''[[Zis Boom Bah]]'' || Skeets Skillhorn ||
|- 
| 1942 || ''[[Mr. Wise Guy]]'' || Glimpy Stone || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1942 || ''[[Junior G-Men of the Air]]'' || 'Bolts' Larson || Little Tough Guys film / Serial 
|-
| 1942 || ''[[Let's Get Tough!]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1942 || ''[[Private Buckaroo]]'' || Cpl. Anemic ||
|-
| 1942 || ''[[Tough As They Come]]'' || Albert "Pig" || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1942 || ''[[Smart Alecks]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1942 || ''[['Neath Brooklyn Bridge]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1942 || ''[[Junior Army]]'' || Bushy Thomas ||
|-
| 1942 || ''[[Mug Town]]'' || Pig || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1943 || ''[[Kid Dynamite (film)|Kid Dynamite]]'' || Glimpy McGleavey || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1943 || ''[[Clancy Street Boys]]'' || Glimpy Freedhoff || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1943 || ''[[Ghosts on the Loose]]'' || Glimpy Freedhoff || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1943 || ''[[Keep 'Em Slugging]]'' || Pig || Little Tough Guys film
|-
| 1943 || ''[[Mr. Muggs Steps Out]]'' || Glimpy Freedhoff || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1943 || ''Dilbert, Don't Kill Your Friends'' || Ensign Dilbert || Short / U.S. Navy training film 
|- 
| 1944 || ''[[Million Dollar Kid]]'' || Glimpy Freedhoff || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1944 || ''[[Follow the Leader (1944 film)|Follow the Leader]]'' || Glimpy Freedhoff || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1944 || ''[[Block Busters]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1944 || ''[[Bowery Champs]]'' || Glimpy McClusky || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1945 || ''[[Docks of New York]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1945 || ''[[Bring on the Girls (film)|Bring on the Girls]]'' || Sailor ||
|-
| 1945 || ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]'' || Sailor
|-
| 1945 || ''[[Mr. Muggs Rides Again]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1945 || ''[[Come Out Fighting (1945 film)|Come Out Fighting]]'' || Glimpy || East Side Kids film
|- 
| 1945 || ''[[A Walk in the Sun (1945 film)|A Walk in the Sun]]'' || Pvt. Carraway ||
|-
| 1946 || ''[[Live Wires (1946 film)|Live Wires]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1946 || ''[[In Fast Company (1946 film)|In Fast Company]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1946 || ''[[Bowery Bombshell]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1946 || ''[[Spook Busters]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1946 || ''[[Mr. Hex]]'' || 'Sach' Sullivan || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1947 || ''[[Hard Boiled Mahoney]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1947 || ''[[News Hounds]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1947 || ''[[Bowery Buckaroos]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1948 || ''[[Angels' Alley]]'' || Sach 'Turkey' Horace Debussy Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1948 || ''[[Jinx Money]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1948 || ''[[Smugglers' Cove]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1948 || ''[[Trouble Makers (1948 film)|Trouble Makers]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones "Chopper McGee" || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1949 || ''[[Fighting Fools]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1949 || ''[[Hold That Baby!]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1949 || ''[[Angels in Disguise (film)|Angels in Disguise]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1949 || ''[[Master Minds (1949 film)|Master Minds]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones "Ali Ben Sachmo" || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1950 || ''[[Blonde Dynamite]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1950 || ''[[Lucky Losers]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones "Sacramento Jones" || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1950 || ''[[Triple Trouble (1950 film)|Triple Trouble]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1950 || ''[[Blues Busters]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1951 || ''[[Bowery Battalion]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1951 || ''[[Ghost Chasers]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1951 || ''[[Let's Go Navy!]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1951 || ''[[Crazy Over Horses]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1952 || ''[[Hold That Line]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1952 || ''[[Here Come the Marines]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones Jr. || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1952 || ''[[Feudin' Fools]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1952 || ''[[No Holds Barred (1952 film)|No Holds Barred]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1953 || ''[[Jalopy (film)|Jalopy]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1953 || ''[[Loose in London]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1953 || ''[[Clipped Wings (1953 film)|Clipped Wings]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1953 || ''[[Private Eyes (1953 film)|Private Eyes]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1954 || ''[[Paris Playboys]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones / Prof. Maurice Gaston Le Beau || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1954 || ''[[The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1954 || ''[[Jungle Gents]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1955 || ''[[Bowery to Bagdad]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1955 || ''[[High Society (1955 film)|High Society]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1955 || ''[[Spy Chasers]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1955 || ''[[Jail Busters]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1955 || ''[[Dig That Uranium]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1956 || ''[[Crashing Las Vegas]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1956 || ''[[Fighting Trouble]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1956 || ''[[Hot Shots (1956 film)|Hot Shots]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1957 || ''[[Hold That Hypnotist]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1957 || ''[[Spook Chasers]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1957 || ''[[Looking for Danger]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1957 || ''[[Up in Smoke (1957 film)|Up in Smoke]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1958 || ''[[In the Money]]'' || Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones || Bowery Boys film
|-
| 1965 || ''[[Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar]]'' || Huntz ||
|-
| 1967 || ''[[Gentle Giant (film)|Gentle Giant]]'' || Dink Smith ||
|-
| 1970 || ''[[The Phynx]]'' || Himself ||
|-
| 1974 || ''[[Herbie Rides Again]]'' || Judge ||
|-
| 1975 || ''[[The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery]]'' || Deputy Roy ||
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]'' || Moving Man ||
|-
| 1977 || ''[[Valentino (1977 film)|Valentino]]'' || Jesse Lasky ||
|-
| 1979 || ''[[Gas Pump Girls]]'' || Uncle Joe || 
|-
| 1982 || ''[[The Escape Artist (film)|The Escape Artist]]'' || Turnkey ||
|-
| 1987 || ''[[Cyclone (1987 film)|Cyclone]]'' || Long John ||
|-
| 1992 || ''[[Auntie Lee's Meat Pies]]'' || Farmer || Final film role
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="width:82%;
|-
! Year !! Series !! Role !! Notes 
|- 
| 1966 || ''[[Flipper (1964 TV series)|Flipper]]'' || Barney || 2 Episodes: "Disaster in the Everglades, Parts 1 and 2"
|-
| 1970 || ''[[Barefoot in the Park (TV series)|Barefoot in the Park]]'' || Fellows || Episode: "Disorder in the Court"
|-
| 1971 || ''Escape'' || Gilbert || TV movie
|-
| 1971 || ''[[The Chicago Teddy Bears]]'' || Dutch || 5 Episodes
|-
| 1972 || ''[[The Corner Bar]]'' || Sparky Schnauzer || Episode: "The Navy Reunion"
|-
| 1975 || ''[[The Ghost Busters]]'' || Gronk || 2 Episodes: "Which Witch Is Which?" & "Merlin the Magician"
|-
| 1975 || ''[[The Sky's the Limit (1975 film)|The Sky's the Limit]]''  || Hitchhiker || TV movie
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Matt Helm (TV series)|Matt Helm]]'' || Willy || Episode: "Die Once, Die Twice"
|-
| 1976 || ''[[Good Heavens]]'' || Barney || Episode: "Good Neighbor Maxine"
|-
| 1978 || ''[[CHiPs]]'' || Armored car driver || Episode: "Crack-Up"
|-
| 1982 || ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]'' || The Happy Wanderer || Episode: "Big Brother"
|-
| 1984 || ''[[The Ratings Game]]'' || Benny Bentson || TV movie
|-
| 1988 || ''[[Night Heat]]'' || Father O'Malley || Episode: "Bless Me Father"
|-
| 1993 ||''[[Daddy Dearest (American TV series)|Daddy Dearest]]'' || The Pretzel Man || Episode: "American We"; final role
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|355653}}
*{{IBDB name}}
* {{Find a Grave|9386}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Huntz}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male radio actors]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]