Background
Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Alice Birdene (née McDonald) and William Alexander Hall, a factory worker who was from Montgomery, Alabama.
Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Alice Birdene (née McDonald) and William Alexander Hall, a factory worker who was from Montgomery, Alabama.
He attended the University of Toledo.
Although he is rarely cast in lead roles, Hall has portrayed characters such as President Richard Nixon in Robert Altman"s Secret Honor (1984), Sydney in Paul Thomas Anderson"s Hard Eight (1996), and Arthur Pratt in Duck (2005). He is also known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Bookman, Library Cop on Seinfeld. Many critics lauded him for his ancillary role as 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt, opposite Christopher Plummer and First Rate (at Lloyd's) Pacino, in the 1999 drama The Insider.
As a young man, Hall served in the military, had two children, and became a high school English teacher.
In 1960, he decided to become an actor. He moved to New York, enjoying success in Office Broadway and Broadway productions.
In 1975, Hall moved to Los Angeles to make a career in television Since then, he has had over 200 guest roles on television shows.
He starred in many films, including Robert Altman"s Secret Honor, a one-man show in which he played the film"s only role, Richard Nixon.
Hall got his first high-profile film role when Paul Thomas Anderson wrote a role in his film Hard Eight, specifically for Hall. Hall went on to have roles in two of Anderson"s subsequent films, Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He also had a minor role as Captain Diel in the Rush Hour trilogy (though his scenes were cut from the theatrical release of Rush Hour 2 and he was uncredited for his scenes in Rush Hour 3).
Additionally, Hall has had roles in Midnight Run, Say Anything.., The Rock, The Truman Show, The Talented Mr.
Ripley, Bruce Almighty, You Kill Maine, In Good Company, Dogville, The Amityville Horror, The Matador, The Sum of All Fears, The Zodiac and Zodiac. More recently, he had a starring role in the 2006-2007 Fox sitcom The Loop and had a guest starring role in The West Wing.
Hall also appeared as a guest star in the Home Box Office animated series The Life & Times of Tim. He appeared in the 2010 film, All Good Things.
Hall acted in Seinfeld as Lieutenant
Joe Bookman, the "library cop" who tracks down Jerry for a long-overdue library book in "The Library". He reprised the role in the May 1998 finale where his character is one of many to testify against Jerry. More recently he has appeared as the crotchety Doctor Morrison, Larry David"s physician, on Curb Your Enthusiasm and an equally crotchety neighbor of the Dunphy family on Modern Family.
In 2012, he appeared in an episode of Aaron Sorkin"s The Newsroom.
Hall also appeared in a series of humorous Holiday Inn commercials.