PORTER HALL BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Porter Hall was born on September 19th, 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio with the birth name Clifford Porter Hall.  His career as an entertainer began with working as a stage actor appearing in such productions as, "The Great Gatsby".  From 1926 through 1934, he was very active on the Broadway stage appearing in a total of nine major productions.

Along with working as a stage actor, by the early 1930's he began to break into the film industry at the age of forty three.  Some of his early film roles included, "Secrets of a Secretary" (1931) starring Claudette Colbert, Mary Boland and Herbert Marshall, "The Cheat" (1931) starring Tallulah Bankhead, Irving Pichel and Harvey Stephens, "Too Many Parents" (1936) with Frances Farmer, Lester Matthews and Henry Travers and "The Plainsman" (1936) starring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, Anthony Quinn, James Ellison, Charles Bickford, Paul Harvey, Victor Varconi, Granville Bates, Frank Albertson, Fred Kohler, Purnell Pratt, John Miljan and Frank McGlynn Sr.
 
Most well known roles included, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939) starring Jean Arthur, James Stewart Harry Carey, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Eugene Pallette, H. B. Warner, Beulah Bondi, Astrid Allwyn, Thomas Mitchell and Guy Kibbee, "Going My Way" (1944) starring Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, Jean Heather, Gene Lockhart, James Brown, Eily Malyon, Fortunio Bonanova , Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, Rise Stevens and Stanley Clements, "Murder, He Says" (1945) starring Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker, Peter Whitney, Barbara Pepper, Mabel Paige and Marjorie Main, "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, Gene Lockhart, Harry Antrim, Thelma Ritter, William Frawley, Jack Albertson, Jerome Cowan and Edmund Gwenn, "Ace in the Hole" (1951) starring Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict and Ray Teal, "Carbine Williams" (1952) starring James Stewart, Jean Hagen, Carl Benton Reid and Wendell Corey, "Holiday for Sinners" (1952) and his final film role was in 1954 on, "Return to Treasure Island" starring Tab Hunter, Dawn Addams, Lane Chandler, William Cottrell and Henry Rowland.  

In addition to his career as an actor, he was also a deacon in his church.  Towards the end of his career he made just a couple television appearances on such series as, "The Bigelow Theatre", "Four Star Playhouse" and "Life with Luigi".

Porter Hall married only once to Geraldine Hall in 1927 and they had two children together and remained married until he passed away on October 6th, 1953 in Los Angeles, California after suffering from a heart attack at the age of sixty five.  His remains are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood, California.   

Filmography

1954         Return to Treasure Island
1954         Fireside Theatre 
1953         Vice Squad
1953         Pony Express
1952         Four Star Playhouse
1952         Holiday for Sinners
1952         The Half-Breed
1952         Carbine Williams
1952         Life with Luigi
1951         Ace in the Hole
1950         The Bigelow Theatre 
1949         Intruder in the Dust
1949         The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend
1949         Chicken Every Sunday
1948         That Wonderful Urge
1948         You Gotta Stay Happy
1947         Unconquered
1947         Singapore
1947         Miracle on 34th Street
1945         Week-End at the Waldorf
1945         Kiss and Tell
1945         Murder, He Says
1945         Blood on the Sun
1945         Bring on the Girls
1944         The Mark of the Whistler
1944         The Great Moment
1944         Going My Way
1944         Double Indemnity
1944         Standing Room Only
1944         The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
1943         The Woman of the Town
1943         The Desperadoes
1943         A Stranger in Town
1942         Butch Minds the Baby
1942         The Remarkable Andrew
1942         Mr. and Mrs. North
1941         Sullivan's Travels    
1941         The Parson of Panamint
1940         Trail of the Vigilantes
1940         Arizona
1940         Dark Command
1940         His Girl Friday
1939         Henry Goes Arizona
1939         Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939         They Shall Have Music
1939         Grand Jury Secrets
1938         Tom Sawyer, Detective
1938         The Arkansas Traveler
1938         King of Alcatraz
1938         Men with Wings
1938         Prison Farm
1938         Stolen Heaven
1938         Bulldog Drummond's Peril
1938         Dangerous to Know
1938         Scandal Street
1937         Wells Fargo
1937         True Confession
1937         This Way Please
1937         Souls at Sea
1937         Wild Money
1937         Hotel Haywire
1937         Make Way for Tomorrow
1937         King of Gamblers
1937         Bulldog Drummond Escapes
1936         Let's Make a Million
1936         The Plainsman
1936         The General Died at Dawn
1936         Satan Met a Lady
1936         And Sudden Death
1936         The Princess Comes Across
1936         Snowed Under
1936         Too Many Parents
1936         The Story of Louis Pasteur
1936         The Petrified Forest
1935         The Case of the Lucky Legs
1934         Murder in the Private Car
1934         The Thin Man
1931         The Cheat
1931         Secrets of a Secretary