For over two decades, Porter Hall made a career out of playing villains and pompous, unpleasant people. His movie career was not a mirror of his real life, however. Mr. Hall was well known as a generous and outgoing person who was well-liked by almost everybody he knew. It is ironic that the role he is most often seen in today is that of an atheist in La route semée d'étoiles (1944) - ironic because Hall was a deacon in his church. Hall, who didn't make his first movie until he was 43, remained active until his death in 1953.
