Irma P(layer) Hall was born on June 3, 1935 in Beaumont, Texas.  Not long after that, she moved with her parents to Chicago, where she attended elementary and high school.  Following that, she spent two years at Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, and graduated from Texas College in Tyler, Texas. 

 

Subsequently, for nearly 30 years, Irma was proud to be a teacher of English and Foreign Languages at various schools in Texas:

 

1958-59 =  BOOKER T. WASHINGTON in Plainview

1959-62 =  HUNT COUNTY SUB

1962-67 =  BOOKER T. WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL in Dallas

1967-71 =  SARAH ZUMWALT JR. HIGH SCHOOL in Dallas

1972-76 =  T. W. BROWNE JR. HIGH SCHOOL in Dallas

1976-84 =  JAMES MADISON HIGH SCHOOL in Dallas


Irma taught the following subjects:

 

FRENCH, SPANISH & ENGLISH in Regular session.

FRENCH, SPANISH AND LATIN in Summer school.

 

ENGLISH as a Second Language in Night school.

 

And, from 1978-1984:  SPANISH. ENGLISH and THEATER ARTS.

 

Periodically, Irma also functioned as School Publicist, which in time led to her doing some work for the Dallas Express as Entertainment and Sports Editor, in addition to being a contributing Editor to the Elite and Dallas Weekly newspapers.

 

In 1972, Raymond St. Jacques was in Texas to produce and star in his film “Book of Numbers”.  Irma worked as interim publicist for the movie, and when Mr. St. Jacques chanced to hear her reciting one of her poems to some writers and artists who’d gotten together, he asked her to audition for a part in the film.  Irma (then a 36-year-old teacher and single mother of two) got the role as “Georgia Brown”, and that was the “Sweet” launch to Irma’s starting her “Second Career” in acting.

 

Two years later, in 1974, Irma co-founded The Dallas Minority Rep Theater along with Naomi Bruton, Carol Frost, Chiquita Jackson, Reginald Montgomery and others.  As shown in the detailed “RESUME” listed elsewhere, besides acting in roles at the Theater, she also served as Executive Director there. 

 

In addition, she performed at various other Dallas-area theaters, such as Granny’s Dinner Theater, Haymarket Theater, Theater Three, and The Dallas Summer Musicals.  Irma worked as an account executive (along with Stan and Barbara Levenson) for the Cool Jazz Festival, hosted a children’s show Summer Fare at Kera for PBS, and served as publicist for the musical Raisin.

 

Irma’s acting career gained momentum in 1978, after acting as Tilly the Housekeeper in a number of episodes of the TV series DALLAS, and in two Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders TV movies (1 & 2), and in director Ron Howard’s telefilm Skyward. 

 

In 1984, for medical reasons, Irma retired from teaching in the Dallas Independent School District.  Three years later, she returned to living in Chicago to help care for her ailing parents.  During that time, she appeared as a nurse in Ron Howard’s highly-regarded film Backdraft filmed in Chicago, and accepted numerous other film and stage roles.

In 1996, Irma was proud to win the Chicago Film Critics Award as “Best Supporting Actress” for her performance in A Family Thing as the tough but lovable blind Aunt T. (with James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall).  Two years later, she won the NAACP Image Award for “Best Supporting Actress” for her 1998 work as Big Mamma Jo in the memorable film Soul Food, and was nominated for another Image Award in 2001 when she reprised her role in the Showtime TV series based on that film. 

 

Since then, Irma has appeared in more than 50 theatrical and TV films and guest appearances including:  Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil, Nothing To Lose, Patch Adams, Beloved, A Lesson Before Dying, Something to Sing About, Collateral, the Coen Brother’s The Ladykillers with Tom Hanks, and numerous other unforgettable roles.    

In January of 2004, Irma was seriously injured in a head-on car crash.  After numerous operations and periods of recuperation, she recovered in time to see a private screening of The Ladykillers, which was followed by her earning a coveted Special Jury Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in that film. 

 

Irma has been honored to be the recipient of several nominations and awards for her career, including:  as a Black History Maker by the Du Sable Museum in Chicago;  having a street named for her in Chicago;  induction into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin, Texas in March of ‘07 (where she was introduced by Ethan and Joel Coen) and into the Spindletop Film Hall of Fame in her hometown of Beaumont;  honored by the Chicago Int’l Film Festival and Chicago and Dallas chapters of Women in Film;  having a theater festival was named in her honor in 2007, etc. 

 

Irma has been recognized by many local organizations such as the BLACK HISTORY CHRONICLES, COMMITTEE OF 100, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, THE DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, induction in 2006 into The Historical Black College Hall of Fame as an alumnus of Texas College (where her Granddaughter is a student), etc.  She has also been honored as an Honorary member of Phi Delta Kappa teacher’s sorority, and by numerous other organizations. 

 

Irma is a member of the National Association of Negro Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and Inspiring Body of Christ Church.  She is the proud mother of Irma D. Crayton (a Career Navy veteran and currently a Special Ed Teacher in Dallas) and of the late Shed W. Hall Jr. (who was also employed by DISD), and pride-filled grandmother to Shedrick Hall, Sir Anthony and Toni Crayton.

 

If you want additional information about Irma’s work, you can go to the ACTING CREDITS page.