Rich Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rich Hall |
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Hall in 2016
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| Pseudonym | Otis Lee Crenshaw |
| Birth name | Richard Travis Hall |
| Born | June 10, 1954 Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up, television |
| Education | Western Carolina University |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Genres | Observational comedy, deadpan, political satire |
| Subject(s) | American culture, British culture, United States politics, British politics |
| Spouse |
Karen Hall
(m. 2005) |
| Children | 2 |
| Notable works and roles | QI, Saturday Night Live, Fridays, Late Show with David Letterman |
Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954), known as Rich Hall, is an American comedian, writer, and musician. He first became well-known in the 1980s for his funny sketch comedy. He wrote and performed for many American TV shows. These included Fridays, Not Necessarily the News, and Saturday Night Live.
After winning a big comedy award in 2000, Rich Hall became very popular in the United Kingdom. He often appeared on shows like QI. He also created and starred in several TV series for the BBC. Rich Hall has had a successful career doing stand-up comedy, both as himself and as his funny character, Otis Lee Crenshaw.
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Early Life and Education
Rich Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has said that he is partly of Cherokee descent. When he was starting out, he performed comedy on the street. He traveled to colleges and did funny skits for crowds. He went to Western Carolina University.
Rich Hall's Comedy Career
Working in the United States
Rich Hall's first professional job was writing and performing for David Letterman Show. He won an Emmy Award in 1981 for his writing on the show. He also joined the cast of the sketch comedy TV series Fridays.
After Fridays ended, Hall helped write and star in Not Necessarily the News. This was a funny news show that ran from 1983 to 1990. On this show, he invented the word "sniglet". A sniglet is a new word for something that doesn't have a name yet. He even published books full of sniglets!
He was also a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live for one season (1984–1985). This made him the only person to be on both Fridays and SNL. In 1986, Hall had his own TV special called Vanishing America. He also hosted a talk show called Rich Hall's Onion World.
Hall has appeared on many American talk shows. These include The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Show with David Letterman. In 2011, he voiced a character in the animated movie Arthur Christmas.
Becoming Popular in the United Kingdom
Rich Hall is also very popular outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom. He spends some of his time writing plays in the US. He also owns a flat in London.
Hall is a frequent guest on popular BBC quiz shows. He is a regular on QI. He has also appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats and Have I Got News for You. He performed on the British stand-up comedy series Live at the Apollo.
Rich Hall has had several of his own BBC TV series. These include Rich Hall's Fishing Show (2003) and Rich Hall's Cattle Drive (2006). He also made a special program about the 2004 American Presidential Elections. He appeared on Top Gear and made a funny song about a car.
Hall has written and presented many documentaries for BBC Four. These films explore American culture and history. Some of his documentaries include Rich Hall's How the West Was Lost (2008), which looked at Western movies. Rich Hall's The Dirty South (2010) explored the Southern United States. Rich Hall's Continental Drifters (2011) was about road trip movies. Rich Hall's Inventing the Indian (2012) discussed how Native Americans are shown in films.
Later documentaries covered wider topics. Rich Hall's You Can Go to Hell, I'm Going to Texas (2013) focused on Texas. Rich Hall's California Stars (2014) was about California. Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match (2016) looked at US Presidents and their elections. Rich Hall's Countrier Than You (2017) was about country music. Rich Hall's Working for the American Dream (2018) questioned the idea of the American Dream. His 2019 film, Rich Hall's Red Menace, was about the Cold War.
In 2009, he performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He did his solo stand-up show. He also performed in a new play called Campfire Stories. In 2015, Hall started a comedy tour in the UK called 3:10 to Humour.
Other Appearances Around the World
Rich Hall has also appeared on TV in Ireland. He was a guest on Don't Feed the Gondolas. He has performed many times at the Kilkenny Cat Laughs comedy festival. He also performed at the West Belfast Festival.
Hall is popular in Australia too. He often performs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He has also been on Australian comedy shows like The Glass House.
Since 2015, Hall has voiced Captain Taylor in the ITV series Thunderbirds Are Go. This character first appeared in the episode "Relic". Captain Taylor has appeared in the show's second and third seasons.
Rich Hall is a very frequent guest on the British panel show QI. He has appeared on the show 25 times. He has also won more episodes (10) than any other guest on the show.
Otis Lee Crenshaw, the Country Singer
In 2000, Rich Hall won the Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. He won it while performing as his character, Otis Lee Crenshaw. Otis Lee Crenshaw is a tough, country music singer who has been in trouble with the law many times.
As Otis Lee Crenshaw, Rich Hall has released several music albums. These include How Do We Do It? Volume! in 2003. In 2004, he published a book of Otis Lee Crenshaw's made-up memories. It was called Otis Lee Crenshaw: I Blame Society.
In 2008, Hall toured the UK with two stand-up shows. One was his regular show. The other was called Otis Lee Crenshaw and Band. Rich Hall was listed as a "special guest" in this show. He toured this show in the UK and Ireland in 2009. He also took it to the Adelaide Fringe festival and the Sydney Opera House.
Personal Life
Rich Hall married his wife, Karen, in 2004. Karen is a filmmaker from Liverpool, England. They have two children together. The family lives in London.
Film and TV Work
Film Appearances
- Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985) – Street Punk #1
- One Crazy Summer (1986) – Wilbur
- Million Dollar Mystery (1987) – Slaughter Buzzard
- C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989) – Stan
- The Lives of the Saints (2006) – Club Performer
- Arthur Christmas (2011) – Idaho Man (voice)
TV Shows and Documentaries
- Vanishing America (1986)
- Monsters, episode 15, "Their Divided Self" (1989)
- Rich Hall's TV Dinner Party (1990)
- Rich Hall's Fishing Show (2003)
- Rich Hall's Cattle Drive (2006)
- Rich Hall's How the West Was Lost (June 2008)
- Rich Hall's The Dirty South (October 2010)
- Rich Hall's Continental Drifters (November 2011)
- Rich Hall's Inventing the Indian (October 2012)
- Rich Hall's You Can Go To Hell, I'm Going To Texas (June 2013)
- Rich Hall's California Stars (July 2014)
- Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match (November 2016)
- Rich Hall's Countrier Than You (March 2017)
- Rich Hall's Working for the American Dream (July 2018)
- Rich Hall's Red Menace (November 2019)
- Elliott from Earth (2021) – Kane (voice)
Music Albums
- London Not Tennessee (with The Black Liars) (2001)
- How Do We Do It? Volume! (2003)
- Waitin' On A Grammy (2016)
