Huntz Hall

Henry Richard Hall, known professionally as Huntz Hall, was born on August 15, 1920, in New York City, the fourteenth of sixteen children born to Joseph Patrick Hall, an Irish-born engineer, and Mary Ellen Hall, née Mullen. He attended Catholic schools and began performing on radio at the age of five. His nickname "Huntz" derived from the shape of his nose.

Hall made his Broadway debut in the 1935 production of Dead End, a play written and directed by Sidney Kingsley. That stage role led directly to his film career when he and his fellow cast members, collectively known as the Dead End Kids, were cast in the 1937 film adaptation of Dead End, directed by William Wyler and starring Humphrey Bogart. The group went on to appear together in additional films, including Angels with Dirty Faces in 1938.

During World War II, Hall served in the United States Army. In 1943 he appeared in the United States Navy training film Don't Kill Your Friends, playing the role of moronic Ensign Dilbert the Pilot, a character whose carelessness results in the deaths of a civilian and three servicemen. In 1948 he was arrested for marijuana possession, and a trial held the following year ended in a hung jury.

Hall became closely associated with the long-running Bowery Boys film series, in which he played Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones across 48 installments. When his frequent co-star Leo Gorcey departed the series in 1956, Hall assumed top billing. The two later reunited in Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar in 1966 and The Phynx in 1969. Hall was also among the celebrities whose images appeared on the cover of the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

In 1971, Hall co-starred alongside Art Metrano and Jamie Farr in the CBS situation comedy The Chicago Teddy Bears. He participated in Princess Grace of Monaco's Council for Drug Abuse, part of the Catholic Office of Drug Education, in 1973. His subsequent film appearances included Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976, and Ken Russell's Valentino in 1977, in which he portrayed Jesse Lasky. Later credits included Gas Pump Girls in 1979 and The Escape Artist in 1982, the latter reuniting him with Gabriel Dell. His final screen appearance came in Auntie Lee's Meat Pies in 1993.

The first biography devoted to Hall, Behind Sach: The Huntz Hall Story by Jim Manago, was published by BearManor Media in 2015. Hall died of cardiac disease on January 30, 1999, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 78.