Hal England
{{short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Hal England
| image = Hal_England_in_Bewitched_1969.jpg
| caption = Hal England in Bewitched, 1969
|birth_name=Harold Franklin England
|birth_date=October 2, 1932
|birth_place=Kings Mountain, North Carolina, U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|2003|11|6|1932|10|2}}
|death_place=Burbank, California, U.S.
|occupation=Actor
|alma_mater=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill}}
Harold Franklin England{{cite news |title=TV's Good To N. C. Lad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65197149/tvs-good-to-nc-lad/ |date=April 14, 1962 |access-date=December 13, 2020 |newspaper=The Charlotte News |via=Newspapers.com}} (October 2, 1932 – November 6, 2003) was an American actor.
Personal life
He was born on October 23, 1932{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Scott |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&dq=%22ENGLAND%2C%20HAL%22%20%221932%22&pg=PA227 |page=227 |date=2016 |isbn=978-0-7864-7992-4 |edition=3 |publisher=McFarland & Company}} to W. F. England and Della Irene England{{cite news |title=Hal England |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ladailynews/obituary.aspx?n=hal-england&pid=1645364 |date=November 30, 2003 |access-date=December 8, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Daily News |via=Legacy.com}} in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.{{cite news |last=Broady |first=Joe |title=Young Hal England 'Succeeds' Also |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63903991/young-hal-england-succeeds-also/ |page=10 |date=January 2, 1964 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |newspaper=The Daily Oklahoman |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Margo |title=How Actor Hal England Succeeds in Business |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65675200/hal-england/ |date=June 7, 1964 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |newspaper=The Boston Sunday Globe |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Springer |first=Marylyn |title=They're On The Road To Success |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65674992/hal-england/ |date=December 9, 1963 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |newspaper=Fort Lauderdale News |via=Newspapers.com}} He attended Kings Mountain High School and graduated with honors. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Mars Hill Junior College to study for the ministry, but left a year later to study pre-law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.{{cite news |last=Morrison |first=Bill |title=Hal England: 'The Clorox Commercial' Returns to Carolina |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65675300/hal-england/ |date=July 14, 1974 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |newspaper=The News and Observer |via=Newspapers.com}} After a year of pre-law, he switched to dramatics and joined the campus theater group Carolina Playmakers. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in dramatic arts. He died on November 6, 2003, of heart failure at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center.{{cite magazine |title=Hal England |url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/hal-england-1117895411/ |date=November 10, 2003 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |magazine=Variety}} Fred W. Bennett, a producer, was his life partner for forty years.
Career
After graduating from university, England went to New York and starred in a number of off-Broadway productions, including Candide and The Seagull.{{cite news |last=Burroughs |first=Betty |title='Succeed' Star Fights Accent |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65675389/hal-england/ |page=40 |date=October 23, 1963 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |newspaper=Wilmington Morning News |via=Newspapers.com}} He understudied Robert Morse for two years in the Broadway production How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,{{cite news |last=Hoppes |first=Stephanie |title=Devoted Hal England Is Striving For Top |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65674777/hal-england/ |date=April 10, 1964 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star |via=Newspapers.com}} and then starred in several Broadway productions including Love Me Little, Say Darling, and The Beggars Opera.{{cite news |last=Raymond |first=Robert |title=Camden TV Watchers Will Say, 'Look, There's Hal' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65675104/hal-england/ |date=July 17, 1961 |access-date=December 20, 2020 |newspaper=The Charlotte Observer |via=Newspapers.com}} He was a life member of the Actors Studio.
England also had over 100 guest starring roles in television, and appeared in over 200 TV commercials. He once had a lawsuit brought against him for $25,000 by Kentucky Fried Chicken, which he had completed a commercial for, for breach of contract, because he had also completed a commercial for their rival McDonald's; it was later settled out of court.
On November 5, 1970, he played the character warlock, Waldo, in the Bewitched episode, "Samantha's Bad Day in Salem."
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Hang 'Em High | Brother | |
| 1972 | Deadhead Miles | Driver of Wrecked Car | |
| 1972 | The Dirt Gang | Sidney | |
| 1990 | The Bonfire of the Vanities | French Restaurant Patron | |
| 1991 | Going Under | General Telephone |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name | 0257435 }}
- {{Find a Grave | 8076854 }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:England, Hal}}