{{Short description|American actor (born 1958)}} {{for|other people with the same name|Brad Hall (bobsledder)|Brad Hall (politician)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Brad Hall | image = Brad Hall 2012 Shankbone.JPG | alt = Hall smiling | caption = Hall at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival | birth_name = William Bradford Hall | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|3|21}} | birth_place = Santa Barbara, California, U.S. | spouse = {{marriage|Julia Louis-Dreyfus|1987}} | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|comedian|filmmaker}} | years_active = 1982–present | relatives = Gérard Louis-Dreyfus (father-in-law)<br>Lauren Bowles (half sister-in-law) | children = 2, including Charlie Hall | education = Northwestern University (BA)<ref>Hontz, Jenny, [https://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/fall2014/feature/on-the-wild-side.html "On the Wild Side"], ''Northwestern'' magazine. Fall 2014</ref> }} '''William Bradford Hall''' (born March 21, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1982 to 1984. He was also known for manning the ''Weekend Update'' (then rebranded as ''Saturday Night News'') anchor desk on the show.
He also created the sitcoms ''The Single Guy'' and ''Watching Ellie''.
Hall was a producer, writer, and director on the Golden Globe winning sitcom ''Brooklyn Bridge'', for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.<ref>{{cite web|title=44th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1992/outstanding-comedy-series|access-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> He has appeared in various motion pictures, most notably the 1986 cult classic ''Troll'' and as Nancy Allen's boyfriend in 1989's ''Limit Up''. In 2012, he directed ''Picture Paris'', which appeared at the Tribeca Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Interview: Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus Picture Paris|url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cynthia-ellis/brad-hall-julia-louis-dreyfus-picture-paris_b_1456561.html|website = The Huffington Post| date=April 27, 2012 |access-date = January 27, 2016}}</ref> He also has guest-starred on series such as ''Parks and Recreation'', ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', and ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brad Hall-IMDb|website=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355357/|access-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>
== Early and personal life == Hall was born William Bradford Hall on March 21, 1958 and raised in Santa Barbara, California. He was an avid surfer as a child, saying that he "learned how to surf as soon as I could walk."<ref name="grist">{{cite web|last1=Little|first1=Amanda|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus and husband Brad Hall discuss their eco-friendly hideaway|url=http://grist.org/article/griscom-house/|access-date=March 5, 2016|date=August 1, 2003}}</ref>
Hall is married to actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whom he met while both were attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.<ref name="huffpost">{{cite web |last=Ellis |first=Cynthia |date=April 27, 2012 |title=Interview: Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus Picture Paris |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cynthia-ellis/brad-hall-julia-louis-dreyfus-picture-paris_b_1456561.html |access-date=March 6, 2013 |work=The Huffington Post |publisher=AOL-HuffPost Entertainment}}</ref> They met in a comedy troupe that Hall started, called ''The Practical Theater''.<ref name="grist" /> They both performed on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1982 to 1984, appeared together in ''Troll'' (1986), and guest-starred together on two episodes of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''. They have two sons, Henry (b. 1992) and Charles (b. 1997).<ref name=huffpost />
Hall serves on the US Board of Directors of SurfAid International.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Board |url=https://surfaid.org/board |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=surfaid.org |language=en}}</ref>
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Film ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1986 | ''Troll'' | William Daniels | |- | rowspan="2"|1989 | ''Worth Winning'' | Eric | |- | ''Limit Up'' | Marty Callahan | |- | 1990 | ''The Guardian'' | Ned Runcie | |- | 1995 | ''Bye Bye Love'' | Phil | Also writer and producer |- | 1998 | ''A Bug's Life'' | grasshopper | Voice |- | 2005 | ''Must Love Dogs'' | Stanley | Also executive producer |- | 2010 | ''Love Shack'' | Dr. Alan Rudnick | |- | 2012 | ''Picture Paris'' | | Short film<br/>Writer and director |- | 2023 | ''First Time Female Director'' | Miles Paris | |}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Television ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1982–1984 | ''Saturday Night Live'' | Himself/various characters | Series regular (39 episodes) |- | 1986 | ''9 to 5'' | Devlin | Episode: "Even Super Women Get the Blues" |- | 1988 | ''CBS Summer Playhouse'' | Montanna | Episode: "Mad Avenue" |- | 1989 | ''Empty Nest'' | Chuck | Episode: "Full Nest" |- | 1989 | ''Day by Day'' | Charlie | Episode: "The Music Man" |- | 1990 | ''American Dreamer'' | | Writer<br />Episode: "Flight of the Dodo" |- | 1991–1993 | ''Brooklyn Bridge'' | | Writer – 32 episodes<br />Supervising producer – 13 episodes<br />Director – 1 episode |- | 1993 | ''Frasier'' | | Writer<br />Episode: "Here's Looking at You" |- | 1995–1997 | ''The Single Guy'' | | 44 episodes<br />Creator, writer, and executive producer |- | 2000–2001 | ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' | Himself | 2 episodes |- | 2002–2003 | ''Watching Ellie'' | | 19 episodes<br />Creator, writer, and executive producer |- | 2006 | ''Saturday Night Live'' | Audience Member | Episode: "Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Paul Simon" |- | 2012 | ''Parks and Recreation'' | Wreston St. James | Episode: "Pawnee Commons" |- | 2016 | ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' | John William Weichselbraun | Episode: "House Mouses" |- | 2016 | ''Veep'' | | Director – 3 episodes |- |2019 |''Undone'' |Charlie |3 episodes |- |2022–2023 |''American Auto'' |Richard Hastings |4 episodes |}
== Recurring characters on ''SNL'' == *Mike Phillips, friend of El Dorko (Gary Kroeger) *The Human Stapler, a superhero who uses his hands to bind his victims (a member of The Interesting Four) *Larry Rolans, the host of Larry's Corner
=== Celebrity impersonations === *John DeLorean *John Hinckley *Noel Paul Stookey *Pete Best *William F. Buckley *John Lennon
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Brad Hall}} * {{IMDb name|0355357|Brad Hall}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Brad}} Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Williston Northampton School alumni Category:American bloggers Category:American male bloggers Category:American male screenwriters Category:American male television actors Category:American sketch comedians Category:Television producers from California Category:Male actors from Santa Barbara, California Category:Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Category:Writers from Santa Barbara, California Category:Comedians from California Category:Louis-Dreyfus family Category:Screenwriters from California Category:American male comedians