Irma P. Hall

Hall was born Irma Dolores Player Hall in Beaumont, Texas on June 3, 1935,^[1] the only child of Samuel Player, a saxophone player for the Rhumboogie Café,^[2] and Josephine Hall,^[3] who worked as an admission clerk at a hospital.^[4] She and her parents moved to Chicago's South Side in 1942,^[3][4] as Hall's parents wanted their daughter to have better opportunities in education.^[4] Hall attended Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa,^[5] but transferred at Texas College where she graduated.^[1]

Beginning in 1962,^[2] she taught French, Spanish, and other languages at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, and James Madison High School in Dallas.^[1] Hall continued to teach until she began acting full time in 1984.^[2]

Hall's first acting role was Georgia Brown in an independent film, Book of Numbers, at the age of 37.^[2] Actor/director Raymond St. Jacques hired her as an interim publicist for the film. He saw her performing at a poetry reading and liked her so much that he offered her a role on the spot.^[6] St. Jacques opined Hall was a natural and that she should act professionally.^[1] She discovered a love for acting, and soon co-founded the Dallas Minority Regional Theater with Reggie Montgomery.^[7][8]

She worked steadily in films and TV throughout the 1980s, and appeared in the films Backdraft (1991) and Mo' Money (1992).^[2] However, Hall remained relatively unknown until her role as the loving Aunt T. in 1996's A Family Thing.^[9][10] Multiple critics believed Hall stole every scene she was in.^[11][12][13] She won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role,^[14][15] and the success of that film helped establish her as a major supporting actress in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Sizable roles in major films such as Nothing to Lose^[16] and Steel followed.^[17] Hall then landed the role of Big Mama Joseph in the film Soul Food.^[18] A film reviewer claimed Hall was "perfectly cast" in the role of Mama Joseph.^[19] For her work in this film, she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture in 1998.^[20] Soul Food was a hit at the box office, prompting a television spinoff, Soul Food: The Series, in which Hall reprised her role in fantasy sequences.^[21] In 2001, Hall received a second NAACP Image Award nomination, in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for playing Mama Joseph.^[22]

Also in 1997, she acted in the Clint Eastwood-directed film adaptation of John Berendt's novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.^[23] Her character, root doctor Minerva, was based on Valerie Boles.^[24] Hall appeared in the television films A Lesson Before Dying (1999), Something to Sing About (2000), and Miss Lettie and Me (2002).^[25] Hall portrayed Glory St. Clair, a psychic nurse, in the short-lived series All Souls.^[26]

Hall landed another acclaimed role in the 2004 remake of The Ladykillers as Marva Munson, a religious landlady.^[27] A reviewer believed Hall was "outstanding" in the film,^[28] while Justin Flowers felt Hall was the funniest actor in an otherwise negative review for the film.^[29] She won a special Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for her performance.^[30] Additionally, Hall received an NAACP Image Award nomination as Marva Munson.^[31]

She made guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Game, and Chicago Fire. Hall portrayed a day care operator in Meet the Browns (2008),^[32] also having a minor role in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009).^[33] Hall appeared as an employee for a white family in Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)^[34] and recurred as Meemaw in Hap and Leonard in 2017.^[35]

Hall lives in Dallas with her family. She has two children and four grandchildren.^[36]

She is a practicing Catholic.^{[37][better source needed]}

Car crash

Shortly before the 2004 film release of The Ladykillers, Hall was seriously injured in a car crash in Chicago. In the midst of a snowstorm, she lost control of her vehicle, crossed lanes into oncoming traffic, and hit another car head on.^[38]

She underwent emergency open-heart surgery for a puncture wound to her aorta caused by a broken rib. In addition, Hall also suffered a shattered ankle and a broken arm.^[39] Hall was cited for driving with a suspended license, and not staying in her lane.^[40] She made a full recovery, and was able to continue her career.

Film

Television

• Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
  • 2005, Best Actress: The Ladykillers (Nominated)
• Black Reel Awards
  • 2005, Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy: The Ladykillers (Winner)
  • 2000, Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series/Television Movie: A Lesson Before Dying (Nominated)
• Cannes Film Festival
  • 2005, Jury Prize for Acting: The Ladykillers (Winner)

• Irma P. Hall at IMDb