William Bradford Hall (born March 21, 1958) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known as a ''
Weekend Update
''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...
'' news anchor on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' and for creating the sitcoms ''
The Single Guy
''The Single Guy'' is an American sitcom television series that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 21, 1995, to April 14, 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot and followed several of his ...
'' and ''
Watching Ellie
''Watching Ellie'' is an American television sitcom that stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was created by her husband, Brad Hall and aired on NBC from February 26, 2002 to May 20, 2003. Sixteen episodes were broadcast before it was canceled due to lo ...
''.
Hall was a producer, writer, and director on the
Golden Globe winning sitcom ''
Brooklyn Bridge'', for which he received a
Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He has appeared in various motion pictures, most notably the 1986 cult classic
''Troll'' and as
Nancy Allen's boyfriend in 1990's
''Limit Up''. In 2012, he directed ''Picture Paris'', which appeared at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
. He also has guest-starred on series such as ''
Parks and Recreation'', ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', and ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm''.
Personal life
Hall was born in
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...
. He was an avid surfer as a child, saying that he "learned how to surf as soon as I could walk."
Hall is married to actress
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
, whom he met while both were attending
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in
Evanston,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
.
They met in a comedy troupe that Hall started, called ''The Practical Theater''.
They both performed on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' 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).
Filmography
Recurring characters on ''SNL''
*Mike Phillips, friend of El Dorko (
Gary Kroeger
Gary Kroeger (born April 13, 1957) is an American businessman, columnist, and actor best known for his work as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1982 to 1985, and his work on various game shows. He ran in the Democratic Congressional ...
)
*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
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...
*
Noel Paul Stookey
*
Pete Best
Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...
*
William F. Buckley
*
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Brad
1958 births
Living people
Williston Northampton School alumni
American male bloggers
American bloggers
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
Television producers from California
Male actors from Santa Barbara, California
Northwestern University School of Communication alumni
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Writers from Santa Barbara, California
American sketch comedians
Comedians from California
Louis-Dreyfus family
Screenwriters from California