Grayson Hall (September 18, 1922 â€" August 7, 1985) was an American
television, film and stage actress. She was widely regarded for her
avant-garde theatrical performances from the 1960s to the 1980s. Hall
was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a
Golden Globe Award for the John Huston film The Night of the Iguana
(1964).She played multiple prominent roles in the gothic soap opera
Dark Shadows (1966â€"71), and appeared on One Life to Live
(1982â€"83). In 2006, a biography of her life was released titled
Grayson Hall: A Hard Act to Follow.Hall was born Shirley Grossman in
Philadelphia in 1922, the only child of Eleanor and Joseph Grossman.
Her father was from Latvia and her mother, who had acted in the
Yiddish theatre, was from South Africa. Both were from Jewish
immigrant families.When Hall was eight, her parents separated but
never divorced. Hall became interested in acting, as an escape from a
painful childhood, and auditioned for plays in New York City while she
was still attending Simon Gratz High School in North Philadelphia. She
enrolled at Temple University but did not matriculate. She landed her
first professional job doing summer stock in Long Island in 1942.
television, film and stage actress. She was widely regarded for her
avant-garde theatrical performances from the 1960s to the 1980s. Hall
was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a
Golden Globe Award for the John Huston film The Night of the Iguana
(1964).She played multiple prominent roles in the gothic soap opera
Dark Shadows (1966â€"71), and appeared on One Life to Live
(1982â€"83). In 2006, a biography of her life was released titled
Grayson Hall: A Hard Act to Follow.Hall was born Shirley Grossman in
Philadelphia in 1922, the only child of Eleanor and Joseph Grossman.
Her father was from Latvia and her mother, who had acted in the
Yiddish theatre, was from South Africa. Both were from Jewish
immigrant families.When Hall was eight, her parents separated but
never divorced. Hall became interested in acting, as an escape from a
painful childhood, and auditioned for plays in New York City while she
was still attending Simon Gratz High School in North Philadelphia. She
enrolled at Temple University but did not matriculate. She landed her
first professional job doing summer stock in Long Island in 1942.
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