Charles D. Hall

(1888 - 1970)

Charles "Danny" Hall was born in Norwich, England. He studied art and had worked in an architect’s office. Danny, as he preferred to be called, and his brother Archer had apprenticed as carpenters and scene painters working in theatres and music halls. While working for Fred Karno’s music hall troupe, he first met Charles Chaplin. In 1911 the Hall brothers emigrated to Canada and then moved on to California in 1913. In Los Angeles they discovered a robust theatre community and a young film colony in Hollywood. Their experience as theatrical tradesmen, Danny as a scenic painter-designer and Archer a propmaker, found a welcoming home. Danny started as Chaplin’s Art Director for A Dog’s Life (1918), followed by every Chaplin film thereafter. In 1923 the Hall brothers joined Universal as well, where Danny became the head of its art department and Archer managed all construction. Danny’s many years at Universal made him a master designer for silent film comedies and an auteur of the classic horror genre.