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{{short description|Ellen Hall was an actress in the late 40s and early 50s}}
{{short description|American actress (1923–1999)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Upscaled images|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Ellen Hall
| name = Ellen Hall
| image = GOLDWYN GIRL OF 1943 Ellen Hall.png
| image = GOLDWYN GIRL OF 1943 Ellen Hall.png
| alt = Ellen Hall
| alt = Ellen Hall
| caption = Goldwyn Girl of 1943
| caption = Hall in 1943
| birth_name = Ellen Joanna Johnson
| birth_name = Ellen Joanna Johnson
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|4|18}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|4|18}}
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|March|24|1923|April|18}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|March|24|1923|April|18}}
| death_place = [[Bellevue, Nebraska]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Bellevue, Nebraska]], U.S.
| other_names = Ellen Langer
| nationality = American
| other_names = Ellen Langer
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1941–1952
| occupation = [[Film]] and [[Television]] [[actress]]
| known_for = {{ubl|[[Call of the Rockies (1944 film)|Call of the Rockies]] 1944| [[Brand of the Devil]] 1944}}
| years_active = 1941–1952
| spouse = {{marriage|Lee Langer|1944|1995|reason=died}}
| parents = [[Ella Hall]]<br>[[Emory Johnson]]
| parents = {{ubl|[[Ella Hall]]|[[Emory Johnson]]}}
| relatives = [[Richard Emory]] (brother)
| relatives = [[Richard Emory]] (brother)
}}
}}
'''Ellen Hall''' (born '''Ellen Joanna Johnson''', April 18, 1923 – March 24, 1999) was an American actress. Hall achieved fame as an American [[B-movie]] [[actress]] of the 1940s and early 1950s. Early in her career, her attractiveness opened doors to becoming one of the members of the famed [[Goldwyn Girls]] in 1943. Later on, she played mostly supporting roles in the popular [[Westerns]] of the period. She also acted in several family-oriented [[Comedy|comedies]] and [[Musical film|musicals]]. She retired from movies and television in 1952.


'''Ellen Hall''' was an American actress and [[showgirl]]. She was introduced to the film industry when her mother, [[Ella Hall]], got an uncredited cameo as a nurse in the 1930 [[Universal Studios|Universal]] production ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]''.
==Life and career==
===Early Years===
Hall's mother was silent film actress [[Ella Hall]]. Her father was actor turned director [[Emory Johnson]]. She spent most of her life in Los Angeles. By 1924, Ellen's mother had filed for divorce. Her parents reconciled in late 1925; then tragedy struck in March 1926. While Ella and the kids were crossing a busy street in Hollywood, Ellen's 5-year-old brother Alfred was struck and killed by a truck.<ref>{{cite news|title=Truckman is Held in Death of Child|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/127761892/|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 28, 1926|page=122|via =[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The accident fueled another reconciliation. Then to strengthen their new bond, Ella and Emory decided to have one last child. Ellen's only sister, Diana Marie, was born in October 1929.


In 1943, Hall joined the [[Goldwyn Girls]], a musical stock company of [[Chorus line|female dancers]] formed by [[Samuel Goldwyn]], based on the [[Ziegfeld Girls]]. In 1944, [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] invited her to join the newly formed Diamond Horseshoe Girls.
In 1930, frequent fence-mending between Ella and Emory Johnson was over and their divorce decree was finalized. Ella and her three children moved in with Ella's mother. Ella's mother, Mary Hall, lived in an unassuming Spanish stucco in North Hollywood. To support her three children, Ella started a new sales job at the upscale ladies dress shop – I. Magnin, located on Hollywood Boulevard.<ref>{{cite news|title=Whispers in the Wings|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/127762123/|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=April 24, 1931|page=27}}</ref> Ella's job paid well and the kids had a comfortable upbringing. Their father filed for bankruptcy in 1932.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Emory Johnson Broke|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety105-1932-03#page/n73/mode/1up |magazine=Variety |publisher=Mar 8, 1932|date=March 8, 1932|page=10}}</ref> Ella spent time in court contesting support payments. This acrimony probably contributed to the children's estrangement from their father.


During her career, she acted in [[Westerns]], a popular genre in the 1940s, as well as family [[Comedy|comedies]] and [[Musical film|musicals]]. In 1951, she appeared in the television series ''[[The Cisco Kid (TV series)|The Cisco Kid]]''.
===Movie career===
Hall's first role in a movie is listed as a young girl in ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]].'' <ref name="Reid2008">{{cite book|author=John Howard Reid|title=Silent Films & Early Talkies on DVD: A Classic Movie Fan's Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lj7u9SQmM7sC&pg=PA5|date=26 June 2008|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-4357-1073-3|pages=5–}}</ref> Hall was seven when she got the role. The book ''The Encyclopedia of Feature Players of Hollywood'', Volume 1,<ref name="Goldrup2012">{{cite book|author=Tom and Jim Goldrup|title=The Encyclopedia of Feature Players of Hollywood, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZNTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT592|date=22 August 2012|publisher=BearManor Media|pages=592–|id=GGKEY:PY57872CSAN}}</ref> contains an interview with Hall's brother [[Richard Emory]], in which her brother recalled a small part he had in the movie, their mother's [[Ella Hall]] part playing an uncredited nurse and makes no mention of Hall even being on the set. None of these assertions can be verified. Her brother's recollections were forty years after the fact.


Hall performed her last acting role in 1952, when she was {{age|1923|4|18|1952|01|08}}.
[[File:Ellen Hall in Thunder Town (2).jpg|frameless|x270px|left]] In 1941, Hall turned 18 years old and made her cinematic debut. She managed to get an uncredited part in the musical ''[[The Chocolate Soldier (film)|The Chocolate Soldier]]''. starring [[Nelson Eddy]]. Her film career included parts in several musicals. In the latter part of 1943, the 21-year-old Hall became of one of the thirty-four glamorous [[Goldwyn Girls|Goldwyn girls]] scoring a part in the [[Musical film|musical]] [[Up in Arms]] starring [[Danny Kaye]] and [[Dinah Shore]]. Her promotional photo from the shoot states - "She is 5'6" tall, weighs 123 pounds, has brown hair and blue eyes."<ref>[[:File:GOLDWYN GIRL OF 1943 Ellen Hall.png#Summary|Description of Ella Hall from her Commons Photograph]]</ref> The film was released in February 1944. Again in 1944, she worked with [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Betty Hutton]] in [[Here Come the Waves]]. In 1945, she was again a [[Goldwyn Girls|Goldwyn girl]] in the musical production of the [[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]] starring [[Danny Kaye]] and [[Virginia Mayo]]. In 1946, another musical came along in the form of the [[Busby Berkeley]] production of [[Cinderella Jones]] starring [[Robert Alda]] and [[Joan Leslie]].


==Early years==
Although she found work in a variety of genres, she found her acting niche in [[B movie]] [[Western (genre)|westerns]]. Hall got her first [[Leading lady|female lead]] in 1943 [[Monogram Pictures|Monogram Picture's]] production of ''Outlaws of the Stampede'' starring [[Johnny Mack Brown]] and [[Raymond Hatton]]. In early 1944, she got top female billing again in another [[Johnny Mack Brown]] Western, Monogram Picture's of ''Raiders of the Border.'' She made a third [[Johnny Mack Brown]] Western in latter 1944, ''Range Law.'' She then saddled up for another 1944 production, with top female billing in the fifty-third [[Hopalong Cassidy]] film, ''[[Lumberjack (film)|Lumberjack]]'', starring [[William Boyd (actor)|William Boyd]] as [[Hopalong Cassidy]]. Her last top female role in a 1944 Western productions included [[Brand of the Devil]] and [[Republic Pictures]] [[Call of the Rockies (1944 film)|Call of the Rockies]], starring [[Sunset Carson]] and [[Smiley Burnette]]. Fewer Westerns roles followed her 1944 marriage and other film commitments. In 1946, she gained the female lead in ''Thunder Town'' starring [[Bob Steele (actor)|Bob Steele]]. In 1949, she starred opposite [[Jimmy Wakely]] in the ''Lawless Code.'' This film was her last role in a western movie.
{{Image frame|width=150|content=[[File:JohnsonFamily1923.jpg|150px]]|align=left}}


Ellen Hall's mother was the actress [[Ella Hall]], and her father was actor-turned-director [[Emory Johnson]]. The couple married in a private ceremony in 1917.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Ella Hall Takes the Step| url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew162unse/page/2202/mode/1up| magazine=Motion Picture News| publisher=Motion Picture News, inc.| date=Sep–Oct 1917| page=2202| access-date=July 29, 2024}}</ref> After their honeymoon, the newlyweds moved into Johnson's Los Angeles residence, which they shared with his mother, [[Emilie Johnson]]. The oldest of Hall's siblings, [[Richard Emory|Emory Waldemar Johnson Jr]], was born on January 27, 1919.<ref>{{cite web| title=California Birth Index, 1905–1995| url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/804085:5247| publisher=California Department of Public Health – Vital Records| date=2005 | url-access=subscription |access-date=January 7, 2024|quote=Waldemar Johnson Jr}}</ref> The Johnson's second child, Alfred Bernard Johnson, was born on September 26, 1920.<ref>{{cite web| title=California Birth Index, 1905–1995| url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/804085:5247| publisher=California Department of Public Health – Vital Records| date=2005 | url-access=subscription |access-date=January 7, 2024|quote=Alfred Bernard Johnson}}</ref> Ellen Hall was born Ellen Joanna Johnson on April 19, 1923.<ref>{{cite web| title=California Birth Index, 1905–1995| url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1036748:5247| publisher=California Department of Public Health – Vital Records| date=2005 | url-access=subscription |access-date=January 7, 2024|quote=Ellen Joanna Johnson}}</ref>
Interspersed with her 1944 Western roles, she also managed to land a role as the long-dead wife of [[Bela Lugosi]] in the 1944 production of [[Voodoo Man]].<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Reviews of New Films - Voodoo Man – Hollywood Review| url=https://archive.org/details/filmdaily85wids/page/n433/mode/1up| page=433| magazine=The Film Daily| date=February 15, 1944| publisher=New York, Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc.| url-status=live | archive-url=https://archive.org| archive-date=May 3, 2013| access-date=December 18, 2023}}</ref> The movie also featured [[John Carradine]].<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Voodoo Man| url= https://archive.org/details/variety153-1944-03/page/n69/mode/1up| url-status=live |page=69| magazine=Variety| date=March 8, 1944| publisher=Variety Inc. | archive-url= https://archive.org| archive-date =July 31, 2015| access-date=December 18, 2023}}</ref>


In 1924, Ellen's mother filed for divorce, though the couple reconciled in late 1925. In March 1926, a truck fatally struck the five-year-old Alfred while the kids were crossing a busy street in Hollywood. The Johnson couple subsequently had another child, Diana Marie, on October 27, 1929.<ref>{{cite web| title=California Birth Index, 1905–1995| url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1568687:5247| publisher=California Department of Public Health – Vital Records| date=2005 | url-access=subscription |access-date=January 7, 2024}}</ref>
Hall found work on a television series in the early 1950s. She appeared in three episodes of [[The Cisco Kid (TV series)|The Cisco Kid]]. Coincidentally, while she was working on The Cisco Kid, her brother [[Richard Emory]] was in the early stages of his acting career and found work in the same television series.


Hall's parents eventually divorced in 1930, and Ella and her three children found residence with Ella's mother, who lived in North Hollywood. Ella got work at the upscale department store [[I. Magnin]].<ref name="ISdeh">{{cite news| title=Daughter of Ella Hall, former film star, makes debut with Mary Pickford| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/105164350/ |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star | location=Indianapolis, Indiana| date=January 19, 1933| page=3| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref> In 1932, Emory Johnson declared bankruptcy to reduce his financial obligations towards Ella and their children.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Emory Johnson Broke |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety105-1932-03#page/n73/mode/1up |magazine=Variety |publisher=March 8, 1932 |date=March 8, 1932 | page=10}}</ref>
Hall's last Hollywood film was the 1951 production of the [[Bowery Battalion]] featuring [[The Bowery Boys]]. In 1952, she retired from making films. She was 29 years old.


==Career==
[[File:All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film) poster.jpg|x180px|right]]

Hall appeared in her first large-scale production when she was seven. Her mother secured roles for her and her ten-year-old brother, Waldmar, in the 1930 [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] production ''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]''.<ref>{{cite news| title=Ellen Hall Langer| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/693668747/ |newspaper=The Modesto Bee| location=Modesto, California| date=March 30, 1999| page=39| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref>

According to another newspaper account, Hall made her first appearance in front of the cameras at age nine, with an uncredited role in [[Mary Pickford]]'s ''[[Secrets (1933 film)|Secrets]]'', released in 1933.<ref name="ISdeh"/>

===Comedies, glamour, and musicals===
At the age of 18, Hall was chosen to play one of the background autograph seekers in the 1941 musical comedy ''[[The Chocolate Soldier (film)|The Chocolate Soldier]]''.<ref name="EHmovref">{{AFI person|46750-Ellen-Hall|Ellen Hall Filmography}}</ref><ref>{{AFI film|26646|The Chocolate Soldier}}</ref>

At 21, in 1943, Hall became one of the thirty-four [[Goldwyn Girls]], created by [[Sam Goldwyn]]. This led her to appear in the 1944 [[Samuel Goldwyn Productions]] musical ''[[Up in Arms]]''.<ref>{{cite news| title=Samuel Goldwyn Grabs Off Galaxy of Glamour Girls by Hedda Hopper| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380791610|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times| location=Los Angeles, California| date=October 3, 1943| page=50| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=January 14, 2024}}</ref> Her [[Press kit|promotional photo]] from the shoot states, {{em|She is 5'6" tall, weighs 123 pounds, and has brown hair and blue eyes.}}<ref>[[:File:GOLDWYN GIRL OF 1943 Ellen Hall.png#Summary|Description of Ella Hall from her Commons Photograph]]</ref> In 1944, she appeared in ''[[Here Come the Waves]]'';<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|1162|Here Comes the Waves}}</ref> in 1945, ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]'';<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|24666|Wonder Man}}</ref> and in 1946, ''[[Cinderella Jones]]''.<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|24724|Cinderella Jones}}</ref> This role would be her last in a musical. In late 1944, Hall was selected by [[20th Century Studios|20th-Century Fox]] producer [[William Perlberg]] to join the fourteen Diamond Horseshoe Girls.<ref>{{cite news| title=Glamour Girls Given Long-term Contracts by Hedda Hadda Hopper| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380740056/| newspaper=The Los Angeles Times| location=Los Angeles, California| date=November 5, 1944| pages=28–29| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription|access-date=January 19, 2024|quote=New Hollywood Beauty Boss Launches Policy of Attempting to Gild Lilies}}</ref>

===Westerns===
[[File:Ellen Hall in Thunder Town (2).jpg|x200px|left]]

Although she had work in other genres, Hall found her acting niche in [[B movie]] [[Western (genre)|Westerns]]. Out of her filmography of twenty movies, eight were Westerns.<ref>{{section link|Ellen Hall#Filmography}}</ref> In 1943, the 20-year-old actress got her first [[Leading lady|female lead]] in the [[Monogram Pictures]] production ''[[Outlaws of Stampede Pass]]''.<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|604|Outlaws of Stampede Pass}}</ref> Hall would act in five Westerns in 1944: in January, she got top female billing in ''[[Raiders of the Border]]'';<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|24131|Raiders of the Border}}</ref> in April, she appeared in ''[[Lumberjack (film)|Lumberjack]]'';<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|24051|Lumberjack}}</ref> in June, ''[[Range Law (1944 film)|Range Law]]'';<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|24133|Range Law}}</ref> and in July, ''[[Call of the Rockies (1944 film)|Call of the Rockies]]''<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|2473|Call of the Rockies}}</ref> and ''[[Brand of the Devil]]''.<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|24299|Brand of the Devil}}</ref>

Following her 1944 marriage, Hall began accepting fewer film roles. In 1946, she acted in ''[[Thunder Town]]'',<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|25016|Thunder Town}}</ref> and in 1949, she accepted her final role in a Hollywood Western, in ''[[Lawless Code]]''.<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|26389|Lawless Code}}</ref>

===Other genres and mediums===
Interspersed with her 1944 Western roles, Hall also landed a role as the long-dead wife of [[Bela Lugosi]] in the 1944 film ''[[Voodoo Man]]''.<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{cite magazine| title=Reviews of New Films – Voodoo Man – Hollywood Review| url=https://archive.org/details/filmdaily85wids/page/n433/mode/1up| page=433| magazine=The Film Daily| date=February 15, 1944| publisher=New York, Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc.| url-status=live | archive-url=https://archive.org| archive-date=May 3, 2013| access-date=December 18, 2023}}</ref> After getting married, she acted in six more movies, and in 1951, she appeared in three episodes of the Western television series ''[[The Cisco Kid (TV series)|The Cisco Kid]]''. Her final Hollywood production was the 1951 film ''[[Bowery Battalion]]'',<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|50038|Bowery Battalion}}</ref> and her last recorded film is the 1952 [[Protestant Film Commission|PFC]] production ''The Congregation''.<ref name="EHmovref"/><ref>{{AFI film|53365|The Congregation}}</ref> She retired from making films at the age of {{age|1923|4|18|1952|01|01}}.

==Personal life==
===Marriage===
===Marriage===
[[File:LeeLangerEllenHall1944.jpg|thumb|{{center|L–R: Lee Langer, Ann Sheridan, Ellen Hall}}]]
In February 1944, actress [[Ann Sheridan]] was working on her role as [[Nora Bayes]] in the movie [[Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944 film)|Shine On, Harvest Moon]]. Hall was assisting Sheridan while she was working on the song. While on the movie set, Sheridan introduced Hall to Marine fighter pilot Captain Lee Langer. Captain Langer had seen action in the 1942 battle of [[Guadalcanal Campaign|Guadalcanal]]. Hall and Langer immediately connected and then adopted the song that "belongs to them", Shine on Harvest Moon. In March 1944, they announced their engagement.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine Will Wed Daughter of Actress|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/127762290/|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=March 12, 1944|page=16}}</ref> They planned an early marriage, but ended up waiting almost a year.

In February 1944, Hall was working with actress [[Ann Sheridan]] on a scene for the [[Warner Bros.]] production ''[[Shine On, Harvest Moon (1944 film)|Shine On, Harvest Moon]]''.<ref name="LATmwda">{{cite news| title=Marine will Wed Daughter of Actress| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380669417/ |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times| location=Los Angeles, California| date=March 12, 1944| page=16| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=December 30, 2023}}</ref> While on set, Sheridan introduced Hall to Lee Langer, a Marine fighter pilot who had seen action in the [[Guadalcanal campaign]].{{efn|Nathan Hale "Toots" Langer was born on February 3, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Cook County, Illinois, Birth Certificates Index, 1871–1922| url=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/119229561/person/370192853823/facts| year=2011|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|NARA]] |url-access=subscription| access-date=January 2, 2024}}</ref> His Jewish parents immigrated to the United States from Austria in 1910.<ref>{{cite web|title=1920 Fourteenth Census United States Federal Census| url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4300188_00981|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|NARA]]|date=2010|access-date=January 2, 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref> After earning his diploma from Chicago's [[Bowen High School]], he became a student at [[Bradley University|Bradley Polytechnic Institute]], in Peoria, Illinois.<ref name="ChicBack11071943">{{cite news| title=Chicagoan Back on Leave After Scoring on Japs| url= https://archive.org/details/per_chicago-daily-tribune_1943-11-07_102_45/page/n132/mode/1up| newspaper=Chicago Sunday Tribune| location=Chicago, Illinois| date=November 7, 1943| page=132| access-date=December 26, 2023}}</ref> On September 26, 1941, Langer was {{age|1919|2|3|1941|09|26}} years old and a second-year student at Bradley when he volunteered for the [[United States Marine Corps]];<ref>{{Cite web| title= U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850–2010| url= https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/119229561/person/370192853823/facts| year=2011|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|NARA]] |url-access=subscription| access-date=January 2, 2024}}</ref> he secured his commission as a second lieutenant in June 1942.<ref>{{cite news| title=At Pacific base| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/580195267/ |newspaper=San Fernando Valley Times| location=San Fernando, California| date=June 7, 1945| page=2| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| url-access=subscription| access-date=December 27, 2023}}</ref>{{break|2}}
Lieutenant Langer received his assignment to the marine squadron [[VMA-124]]. It became operational on December 28, 1942, and subsequently deployed to [[Guadalcanal campaign|Guadalcanal]] on February 12, 1943. VMA-124 remained in the [[Solomon Islands campaign|Solomon Islands]] until September 1943.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA192519.pdf | title=U.S.Marine Aviation in World War II;VMF 124 in the Solomons| last=Kwallek| first=Major Jeffrey| date = April 1988| page=84| publisher=Air Command and Staff College| location=Maxwell AFB, AL| access-date=January 2, 2024}}</ref>}} Hall and Langer immediately connected, and two weeks later, on March 13, 1944, they announced their engagement. Hall was {{age|1923|4|18|1944|03|13}} years old, while Langer was {{age|1919|2|3|1944|03|13}}.<ref>{{cite news| title=Marine Will Wed Daughter of Actress| url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/127762290/|newspaper=Los Angeles Times| location=Los Angeles, California| date=March 12, 1944| page=16| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=December 19, 2023}}</ref> The couple married on December 3, 1944, in [[North Hollywood, Los Angeles|North Hollywood]].<ref name="CCMmar">{{cite web| title=California, County Marriages, 1850–1953| url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G93H-W93V-K?i=2013&wc=96PR-2NL%3A147625001&cc=1804002| via=[[GenealogyBank.com]]| publisher=multiple county courthouses, California| date=2022| access-date=January 5, 2024| url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Mildred Kornman|Rickie VanDusen]] was Hall's [[Bridesmaid|maid of honor]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Looking at Hollywood with Hadda Hopper| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372415312/ |newspaper=Chicago Tribune| location=Chicago, Illinois| date=November 5, 1944| page=89| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=January 4, 2024}}</ref><ref name="LATmfw">{{cite news| last=Hopper |first=Hedda |title=Marine Flyer Wins Daughter of Silent Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/127762479/|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times| location=Los Angeles, California| date=December 2, 1944| page=2| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=December 19, 2023}}</ref> Hall's mother, Ella, was friends with [[Mary Pickford]],{{sfn | Goldrup |Goldrup| 2012 | p=592}} who arranged for the [[wedding reception]] to be held at the Hollywood home of her friend [[Frances Marion]]. Along with Hall's mother, Pickford was in the [[Wedding reception#Receiving line|receiving line]].<ref name="LATmfw" /> A newspaper article describing the wedding referenced Hall's father as "the late Emory Johnson"; father and daughter were estranged at the time.<ref name="LATmfw" />


After the wedding, Langer remained on active duty. The couple moved into a three-bedroom Spanish stucco-style home<ref>{{cite web|title=4421 Talofa Ave |url=https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/M2096446912 |website=realtor.com |access-date=August 7, 2024}}</ref> in Los Angeles.<ref name="SFVclip01">{{cite news| title=At Pacific Base| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/580195267/ |newspaper=San Fernando Valley Times | location=San Fernando, California| date=June 7, 1945| page=2| via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription| access-date=December 26, 2023}}</ref> The military discharged Langer from active service on February 21, 1946.<ref>{{cite web| title=U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010| url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5531061:2441| publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|NARA]]| date=2011 | url-access=subscription |access-date=January 6, 2024}}</ref> A son was born to the couple on March 4, 1949.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} They would remain married until Langer's death, in 1995.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}
On a Sunday afternoon in December 1944, they married at the Hollywood home of [[Frances Marion]]. Since Hall was a [[Goldwyn Girls|Goldwyn girl]], it made sense to have a "Diamond Horseshoe" girl, [[Mildred Kornman|Rickie VanDusen]], as her maid of honor. Hall's mother considered [[Mary Pickford]] a good friend.<ref>{{cite book|author=Tom and Jim Goldrup|title=The Encyclopedia of Feature Players of Hollywood, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZNTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT592|date=August 22, 2012|publisher=BearManor Media|pages=592–|id=GGKEY:PY57872CSAN}}</ref> At the reception following the wedding, Pickford was in the receiving line. A newspaper article describing the wedding referenced her father as "The late Emory Johnson." Father and daughter were estranged at the time.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hopper |first1=Hedda |title=Marine Flyer Wins Daughter of Silent Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/127762479/|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=December 2, 1944|page=2}}</ref> Hall was 21 at the time of her marriage.


===Post movies===
===Retirement===
After her 1944 marriage, she acted in six more movies and appeared in three episodes of The Cisco Kid. By 1952 she had retired from films. The couple moved to a quiet cul-de-sac in [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles]]. She devoted herself to raising her son and local volunteer work. She was a member of the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund's volunteer group. She served as its volunteer president from 1969 to 1970. She was also a member of the Women's Club of the Desert met regularly at the Palm Desert Country Club.
By 1952, Hall had retired from acting. She was a [[Motion Picture & Television Fund]] volunteer group member and served as its volunteer president from 1969 to 1970.<ref>{{cite news| title=Film Guild to Fill Posts| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/383043385/| newspaper=The Los Angeles Times| location=los Angeles, California| date=June 15, 1969| page=227| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| url-access=subscription| access-date=January 19, 2024}}</ref>


Langer became a restaurateur, managing the upscale Encore Cafe on La Cienega Boulevard.<ref>{{cite news| title=Loot Hits $6000 in Wave of Sunset Strip Holdups| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/381104197| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| location=Los Angeles, California| date=May 19, 1952| page=1| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| url-access=subscription| access-date=January 19, 2024|quote=Lee Langer manager of Encore}}</ref> In 1951, he also became a major in the [[United States Marine Corps Reserve|Marine Reserves]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Four local Officers Advanced to Major in Marine Reserves| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/23603104| newspaper=The Van Nuys News| location=Van Nuys, California| date=August 9, 1951| page=43| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| url-access=subscription| access-date=January 19, 2024}}</ref>
Her husband became a Hollywood restaurateur. He managed the upscale restaurant Encore Cafe, located on La Cienega Boulevard in North Hollywood. The restaurant was one of the many upscale diners located on La Cienega Boulevard in an area that became Hollywood's "Restaurant Row." In 1951, he also became a Major in the Marine Reserves.


===Death===
===Death===
After living in Los Angeles, the couple retired to [[Rosarito Beach]], Mexico. Langer died in [[San Ysidro, San Diego]], California at the age of 76 after he and Hall had been married for 50 years. After his death, Hall moved to Bellevue, Nebraska to be closer to her son. On March 24, 1999, Ellen Hall died of complications from a stroke while residing at the Hillcrest Care and Rehabilitation Center in Bellevue. A private service was held for her in Bellevue. Her ashes were interred with her mother and sister at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in Glendale, California. Her estranged father is interred a block away. Ellen Hall Langer was 75 at the time of her death.<ref>{{cite news|title=1940s Starlet dies in Bellevue|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105874986/ellen-hall/ |newspaper=Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, Nebraska)|date= March 29, 1999|page=10}}</ref>
The couple eventually{{When|date=August 2024}} retired to [[Rosarito Beach]], Mexico. Langer died in 1995 in [[San Ysidro, San Diego]], at the age of 76.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014| url=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/119229561/person/370192853823/facts| publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration|NARA]]|date=2011|access-date=January 19, 2024|url-access=subscription|quote=Lee Langer death February 24, 1995}}</ref> The couple had been married for 50 years. After Langer's death, Hall moved to [[Bellevue, Nebraska]]. On March 24, 1999, she died of complications from a stroke while residing in Bellevue's Hillcrest Care and Rehabilitation Center. She was 75 at the time of her death. Her [[Ash#Cremation ashes|ashes]] were transported west and interred with her mother and sister at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]] in Glendale, California. Her estranged father is buried a block away.<ref>{{cite news| title=1940s Starlet dies in Bellevue| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105874986/ellen-hall/ |newspaper=Lincoln Journal Star| location=Lincoln, Nebraska| date=March 29, 1999| page=10| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| url-access=subscription| access-date=December 19, 2023}}</ref>


==Filmography==
==Filmography==
Line 65: Line 91:
!style="border-bottom:2px solid black;border-top:2px solid black;background:#F2E0CE" |Released
!style="border-bottom:2px solid black;border-top:2px solid black;background:#F2E0CE" |Released
|-
|-
|1930||[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]||Young Girl||[[Universal Pictures|Universal]] ||[[Universal Pictures|Universal]] ||War||No||{{dts|format=mdy|1930|Apr|21}}
|1930||''[[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]''||Young girl||[[Universal Pictures|Universal]] ||Universal ||War||No||{{dts|1930|Apr|21}}
|-
|-
|1941||[[The Chocolate Soldier (film)|The Chocolate Soldier]]||Autograph Seeker||[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]||[[Loews Cineplex Entertainment#History|Loews Inc.]]||Musical|| No||{{dts|format=mdy|1941|Oct|31}}
|1933||''[[Secrets (1933 film)|Secrets]]''||Young girl|| [[Mary Pickford]]|| [[United Artists]] ||Drama||No||{{dts|1933|Mar|16}}
|-
|-
|1941||[[Louisiana Purchase (film)|Louisiana Purchase]]||atmosphere||[[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]|| [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]||Musical|| No||{{dts|format=mdy|1941|Dec|25}}
|1941||''[[The Chocolate Soldier (film)|The Chocolate Soldier]]''||Autograph seeker||[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]||[[Loews Cineplex Entertainment#History|Loews Inc.]]||Musical|| No||{{dts|1941|Oct|31}}
|-
|-
|1943||''[[Outlaws of Stampede Pass]]''||Mary Lewis||[[Monogram Pictures|Monogram]]||Monogram||Western||Yes||{{dts|1943|Oct|15}}
|1941||[[Hellzapoppin' (film)|Hellzapoppin']]||atmosphere||Alex Gottlieb|| Universal||Musical|| No||{{dts|format=mdy|1941|Dec|26}}
|-
|-
|1943||[[Outlaws of Stampede Pass]]||Mary Lewis||[[Monogram Pictures|Monogram]]||[[Monogram Pictures|Monogram]]||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1943|Oct|15}}
|1944||''[[Raiders of the Border]]''||Bonita Bayne||Monogram||Monogram||Western||Yes||{{dts|1944|Jan|31}}
|-
|-
|1944||[[Raiders of the Border]]||Bonita Bayne||Monogram||Monogram||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Jan|31}}
|1944||''[[Up in Arms]]''||Goldwyn Girl||[[Samuel Goldwyn Productions|Samuel Goldwyn]]||[[RKO Pictures|RKO]]||Musical||No ||{{dts|1944|Feb|17}}
|-
|-
|1944||[[Up in Arms]]||Goldwyn Girl||[[Samuel Goldwyn Productions|Samuel Goldwyn]]||[[RKO Pictures|RKO]]||Musical||No ||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Feb|17}}
|1944||''[[Voodoo Man]]''||Evelyn Marlowe||Banner Prod||Monogram||Horror||Yes||{{dts|1944|Feb|21}}
|-
|-
|1944||[[Voodoo Man]]||Evelyn Marlowe||Banner Prod||Monogram||Horror||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Feb|21}}
|1944||''[[Lumberjack (film)|Lumberjack]]''||Julie Peters Jordan||[[Harry Sherman]]||United Artists||Western||Yes||{{dts|1944|Apr|28}}
|-
|-
|1944||[[Lumberjack (film)|Lumberjack]] ||Julie Peters Jordan||[[Harry Sherman]]||[[United Artists]]||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Apr|28}}
|1944||''[[Range Law (1944 film)|Range Law]]''||Lucille Gray||Monogram||Monogram||Western||Yes||{{dts|1944|Jun|24}}
|-
|-
|1944||[[Range Law (1944 film)|Range Law]]||Lucille Gray||Monogram||Monogram||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Jun|24}}
|1944||''[[Call of the Rockies (1944 film)|Call of the Rockies]]''||Marjorie Malloy||[[Republic Pictures|Republic]]||Republic||Western||Yes||{{dts|1944|Jul|14}}
|-
|-
|1944||[[Call of the Rockies (1944 film)|Call of the Rockies]]||Marjorie Malloy||[[Republic Pictures|Republic]]||[[Republic Pictures|Republic]]||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Jul|14}}
|1944||''[[Brand of the Devil]]''||Molly Dawson||Arthur Alexander||[[Producers Releasing Corporation|PRC]]||Western||Yes||{{dts|1944|Jul|30}}
|-
|-
|1944||[[Brand of the Devil]]||Molly Dawson||Arthur Alexander||[[Producers Releasing Corporation|PRC]]||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Jul|30}}
|1944||''[[Here Come the Waves]]''||Johnny Cabot Fan||Mark Sandrich||Paramount||Musical||No||{{dts|1944|Dec|18}}
|-
|-
|1945||''[[A Royal Scandal (1945 film)|A Royal Scandal]]''||Unknown||Ernst Lubitsch||[[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]]||Drama||No||{{dts|1945|Apr|11}}
|1944||[[Here Come the Waves]]||Johnny Cabot Fan||Mark Sandrich||Paramount||Musical||No||{{dts|format=mdy|1944|Dec|18}}
|-
|-
|1945||[[Having Wonderful Crime]]||Bathing Beauty||Robert Fellows||RKO||Comedy||No||{{dts|format=mdy|1945|Apr|12}}
|1945||''[[Having Wonderful Crime]]''||Bathing beauty||Robert Fellows||RKO||Comedy||No||{{dts|1945|Apr|12}}
|-
|-
|1945||[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]||Goldwyn Girl||Samuel Goldwyn||RKO||Musical||No||{{dts|format=mdy|1945|Jun|08}}
|1945||''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]''||Goldwyn Girl||Samuel Goldwyn||RKO||Musical||No||{{dts|1945|Jun|08}}
|-
|-
|1946||[[Cinderella Jones]]||Junior Leaguer||[[Warner Bros.]]||[[Warner Bros.]]||Musical||No||{{dts|format=mdy|1946|Mar|09}}
|1946||''[[Cinderella Jones]]''||Junior Leaguer||[[Warner Bros.]]||Warner Bros.||Musical||No||{{dts|1946|Mar|09}}
|-
|-
|1946||[[Thunder Town]]||Betty Morgan||PRC||PRC||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1946|Apr|12}}
|1946||''[[Thunder Town]]''||Betty Morgan||PRC||PRC||Western||Yes||{{dts|1946|Apr|12}}
|-
|-
|1949||[[Lawless Code]]||Rita Caldwell||Monogram||Monogram||Western||Yes||{{dts|format=mdy|1949|Dec|04}}
|1949||''[[Lawless Code]]''||Rita Caldwell||Monogram||Monogram||Western||Yes||{{dts|1949|Dec|04}}
|-
|-
|1951||[[Bowery Battalion]]||WAC||Jan Grippo||Monogram||Comedy||No||{{dts|format=mdy|1951|Jan|24}}
|1951||''[[Bowery Battalion]]''||{{center|–}}||Jan Grippo||Monogram||Comedy||No||{{dts|1951|Jan|24}}
|-
|1952||The Congregation||Unk||Paul F. Heard Prod||[[Protestant Film Commission|PFC]]||Religious||No||{{dts|format=mdy|1952|Jan|01}}
|-
|-
|1952||''The Congregation''||{{center|–}}||Paul F. Heard Prod||[[Protestant Film Commission|PFC]]||Religious||No||{{dts|1952|Jan|01}}
|}
|}



==Television==
==Television==
Line 121: Line 145:
!style="border-bottom:2px solid black;border-top:2px solid black;background:#F2E0CE" |Air Date
!style="border-bottom:2px solid black;border-top:2px solid black;background:#F2E0CE" |Air Date
|-
|-
|1950||The Cisco Kid||Elaine Jarrett||1||16||Newspaper Crusader ||Western||Dec 19, 1950
|1950||''[[The Cisco Kid (TV series)|The Cisco Kid]]''||Elaine Jarrett||1||16||"Newspaper Crusader" ||Western||December 19, 1950
|-
|-
|1951||The Cisco Kid||Elaine||1||22||Freight Line Feud||Western||Jan 27, 1951
|1951||''The Cisco Kid''||Elaine||1||22||"Freight Line Feud"||Western||January 27, 1951
|-
|-
|1951||The Cisco Kid||Elaine Wilson||2||1||Performance Bond||Western||Sep 03, 1951
|1951||''The Cisco Kid''||Elaine Wilson||2||1||"Performance Bond"||Western||September 3, 1951
|-
|colspan="8" style="border-bottom:1px solid black;background:lightgrey;|{{center|[[The Cisco Kid (TV series)|The Cisco Kid]] aired 156 [[List of The Cisco Kid episodes|episodes]] between 1950 - 1956}}
|-
|-
|}
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px" caption="Ellen's Family">
EmoryJohnsonColorized1925.jpg|[[Emory Johnson]]<br />Father<br />1925
EllaHall1915.png|[[Ella Hall]]<br />Mother<br />1915
EllaHallWithKidsOct1924.jpg| Bernard, Ellen, Ella, and Waldemar<br />1924
Richard Emory 1952.jpg|Emory Waldemar Johnson<br />[[Richard Emory]]<br />1952
Ellen Hall.jpg|Ellen Joanna Johnson<br />Ellen Hall<br />1944
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px" caption="Cast member with on-screen credit">
Outlaws of Stampede Pass 1943.jpg|''[[Outlaws of Stampede Pass]]''<br />1943
Raiders Of The Border.jpg|''[[Raiders of the Border]]''<br />1944
Voodoo Man lobby card 1944.JPG|''[[Voodoo Man]]''<br />1944
Range Law.jpg|''[[Range Law (1944 film)|Range Law]]''<br />1944
Call of the Rockies.jpg|''[[Call of the Rockies (1944 film)|Call of the Rockies]]''<br />1944
Brand of The Devil1944.jpg|''[[Brand of the Devil]]''<br /> 1944
Ellen Hall in Thunder Town.jpg|''[[Thunder Town]]''<br />1946
Lawless Code.jpg|''[[Lawless Code]]''<br />1949
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{notelist|refs=}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last=Berg | first=A.S. | title=Goldwyn: A Biography | publisher=Penguin Publishing Group | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-101-49735-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjwTszlu7DsC&pg=PT271 | language=pl | access-date=January 7, 2024}}
* {{cite book |last=Bubbeo |first=Daniel |date=2002 |title=The Women of Warner Brothers – The Lives and Careers of 15 Leading Ladies, with Filmographies for Each| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OfwMkz8vpIgC|isbn=0-7864-1137-6| publisher=McFarland & Company Inc. Jefferson, North Carolina |pages= 199–200}}
* {{cite book| last1=Goldrup| first1=Tom| last2=Goldrup | first2=Jim| title=The Encyclopedia of Feature Players of Hollywood, Volume 1| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZNTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT592|date=2012| publisher=BearManor Media| page=592}}
* {{cite book | last=Lentz | first=H.M. | title=Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits: 1903–1995 | publisher=McFarland | year=1996 | url=https://archive.org/details/westernfrontierf0002lent/mode/1up | access-date=January 14, 2024}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [https://catalog.afi.com/Person/46750-Ellen-Hall Ellen Hall] at [[American Film Institute]] Catalog
* [https://catalog.afi.com/Person/46750-Ellen-Hall Ellen Hall] at the [[American Film Institute]] Catalog
* [https://www.allmovie.com/artist/ellen-hall-an137129 Ellen Hall] at [[AllMovie]]
* {{AllMovie name|29761}}
* {{Find a Grave|id=20341|name=Ellen Hall|work=Actor|date=22 February 2001|accessdate=December 22, 2023}}
* {{Find a Grave|id=20341|name=Ellen Hall|date=February 22, 2001|accessdate=December 22, 2023}}
* {{IMDb name|0355551}}
* {{IMDb name|0355551}}
* [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/79485%7C46750/Ellen-Hall/#overview Ellen Hall] at [[Turner Classic Movies#TCM Movie Database (2006–2019)|TCM Movie Database]]
* [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/79485%7C46750/Ellen-Hall/#overview Ellen Hall] at the [[Turner Classic Movies#TCM Movie Database (2006–2019)|TCM Movie Database]]
* [https://obscureactresses.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/ellen-hall/ Those obscure objects of desire - Ellen Hall]
* [https://obscureactresses.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/ellen-hall/ "Those obscure objects of desire" – Ellen Hall]

{{Commons category|Ellen Hall|position=left}}
{{sisterlinks|auto=1|d=Q5364861|position=left}}
{{Portal bar|Film|Biography|Greater Los Angeles|California|United States}}
{{Portal bar|Film|Biography|Greater Los Angeles|California|United States}}
{{Authority control|qid=Q5364861}}
{{Authority control|qid=Q5364861}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Ellen}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Ellen}}
[[Category:Actresses from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Actresses from Los Angeles]]

Latest revision as of 03:17, 8 August 2024

Ellen Hall
Ellen Hall
Hall in 1943
Born
Ellen Joanna Johnson

(1923-04-18)April 18, 1923
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 24, 1999(1999-03-24) (aged 75)
Bellevue, Nebraska, U.S.
Other namesEllen Langer
OccupationActress
Years active1941–1952
Known for
Spouse
Lee Langer
​
​
(m. 1944; died 1995)​
Parents
RelativesRichard Emory (brother)

Ellen Hall was an American actress and showgirl. She was introduced to the film industry when her mother, Ella Hall, got an uncredited cameo as a nurse in the 1930 Universal production All Quiet on the Western Front.

In 1943, Hall joined the Goldwyn Girls, a musical stock company of female dancers formed by Samuel Goldwyn, based on the Ziegfeld Girls. In 1944, 20th Century Fox invited her to join the newly formed Diamond Horseshoe Girls.

During her career, she acted in Westerns, a popular genre in the 1940s, as well as family comedies and musicals. In 1951, she appeared in the television series The Cisco Kid.

Hall performed her last acting role in 1952, when she was 28.

Early years

[edit]

Ellen Hall's mother was the actress Ella Hall, and her father was actor-turned-director Emory Johnson. The couple married in a private ceremony in 1917.[1] After their honeymoon, the newlyweds moved into Johnson's Los Angeles residence, which they shared with his mother, Emilie Johnson. The oldest of Hall's siblings, Emory Waldemar Johnson Jr, was born on January 27, 1919.[2] The Johnson's second child, Alfred Bernard Johnson, was born on September 26, 1920.[3] Ellen Hall was born Ellen Joanna Johnson on April 19, 1923.[4]

In 1924, Ellen's mother filed for divorce, though the couple reconciled in late 1925. In March 1926, a truck fatally struck the five-year-old Alfred while the kids were crossing a busy street in Hollywood. The Johnson couple subsequently had another child, Diana Marie, on October 27, 1929.[5]

Hall's parents eventually divorced in 1930, and Ella and her three children found residence with Ella's mother, who lived in North Hollywood. Ella got work at the upscale department store I. Magnin.[6] In 1932, Emory Johnson declared bankruptcy to reduce his financial obligations towards Ella and their children.[7]

Career

[edit]

Hall appeared in her first large-scale production when she was seven. Her mother secured roles for her and her ten-year-old brother, Waldmar, in the 1930 Universal production All Quiet on the Western Front.[8]

According to another newspaper account, Hall made her first appearance in front of the cameras at age nine, with an uncredited role in Mary Pickford's Secrets, released in 1933.[6]

Comedies, glamour, and musicals

[edit]

At the age of 18, Hall was chosen to play one of the background autograph seekers in the 1941 musical comedy The Chocolate Soldier.[9][10]

At 21, in 1943, Hall became one of the thirty-four Goldwyn Girls, created by Sam Goldwyn. This led her to appear in the 1944 Samuel Goldwyn Productions musical Up in Arms.[11] Her promotional photo from the shoot states, She is 5'6" tall, weighs 123 pounds, and has brown hair and blue eyes.[12] In 1944, she appeared in Here Come the Waves;[9][13] in 1945, Wonder Man;[9][14] and in 1946, Cinderella Jones.[9][15] This role would be her last in a musical. In late 1944, Hall was selected by 20th-Century Fox producer William Perlberg to join the fourteen Diamond Horseshoe Girls.[16]

Westerns

[edit]

Although she had work in other genres, Hall found her acting niche in B movie Westerns. Out of her filmography of twenty movies, eight were Westerns.[17] In 1943, the 20-year-old actress got her first female lead in the Monogram Pictures production Outlaws of Stampede Pass.[9][18] Hall would act in five Westerns in 1944: in January, she got top female billing in Raiders of the Border;[9][19] in April, she appeared in Lumberjack;[9][20] in June, Range Law;[9][21] and in July, Call of the Rockies[9][22] and Brand of the Devil.[9][23]

Following her 1944 marriage, Hall began accepting fewer film roles. In 1946, she acted in Thunder Town,[9][24] and in 1949, she accepted her final role in a Hollywood Western, in Lawless Code.[9][25]

Other genres and mediums

[edit]

Interspersed with her 1944 Western roles, Hall also landed a role as the long-dead wife of Bela Lugosi in the 1944 film Voodoo Man.[9][26] After getting married, she acted in six more movies, and in 1951, she appeared in three episodes of the Western television series The Cisco Kid. Her final Hollywood production was the 1951 film Bowery Battalion,[9][27] and her last recorded film is the 1952 PFC production The Congregation.[9][28] She retired from making films at the age of 28.

Personal life

[edit]

Marriage

[edit]
L–R: Lee Langer, Ann Sheridan, Ellen Hall

In February 1944, Hall was working with actress Ann Sheridan on a scene for the Warner Bros. production Shine On, Harvest Moon.[29] While on set, Sheridan introduced Hall to Lee Langer, a Marine fighter pilot who had seen action in the Guadalcanal campaign.[a] Hall and Langer immediately connected, and two weeks later, on March 13, 1944, they announced their engagement. Hall was 20 years old, while Langer was 25.[36] The couple married on December 3, 1944, in North Hollywood.[37] Rickie VanDusen was Hall's maid of honor.[38][39] Hall's mother, Ella, was friends with Mary Pickford,[40] who arranged for the wedding reception to be held at the Hollywood home of her friend Frances Marion. Along with Hall's mother, Pickford was in the receiving line.[39] A newspaper article describing the wedding referenced Hall's father as "the late Emory Johnson"; father and daughter were estranged at the time.[39]

After the wedding, Langer remained on active duty. The couple moved into a three-bedroom Spanish stucco-style home[41] in Los Angeles.[42] The military discharged Langer from active service on February 21, 1946.[43] A son was born to the couple on March 4, 1949.[citation needed] They would remain married until Langer's death, in 1995.[citation needed]

Retirement

[edit]

By 1952, Hall had retired from acting. She was a Motion Picture & Television Fund volunteer group member and served as its volunteer president from 1969 to 1970.[44]

Langer became a restaurateur, managing the upscale Encore Cafe on La Cienega Boulevard.[45] In 1951, he also became a major in the Marine Reserves.[46]

Death

[edit]

The couple eventually[when?] retired to Rosarito Beach, Mexico. Langer died in 1995 in San Ysidro, San Diego, at the age of 76.[47] The couple had been married for 50 years. After Langer's death, Hall moved to Bellevue, Nebraska. On March 24, 1999, she died of complications from a stroke while residing in Bellevue's Hillcrest Care and Rehabilitation Center. She was 75 at the time of her death. Her ashes were transported west and interred with her mother and sister at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Her estranged father is buried a block away.[48]

Filmography

[edit]
          ◆   Filmography of Ellen Hall   ◆          
Year Film Role Production Distribution Genre Credit Released
1930 All Quiet on the Western Front Young girl Universal Universal War No Apr 21, 1930
1933 Secrets Young girl Mary Pickford United Artists Drama No Mar 16, 1933
1941 The Chocolate Soldier Autograph seeker MGM Loews Inc. Musical No Oct 31, 1941
1943 Outlaws of Stampede Pass Mary Lewis Monogram Monogram Western Yes Oct 15, 1943
1944 Raiders of the Border Bonita Bayne Monogram Monogram Western Yes Jan 31, 1944
1944 Up in Arms Goldwyn Girl Samuel Goldwyn RKO Musical No Feb 17, 1944
1944 Voodoo Man Evelyn Marlowe Banner Prod Monogram Horror Yes Feb 21, 1944
1944 Lumberjack Julie Peters Jordan Harry Sherman United Artists Western Yes Apr 28, 1944
1944 Range Law Lucille Gray Monogram Monogram Western Yes Jun 24, 1944
1944 Call of the Rockies Marjorie Malloy Republic Republic Western Yes Jul 14, 1944
1944 Brand of the Devil Molly Dawson Arthur Alexander PRC Western Yes Jul 30, 1944
1944 Here Come the Waves Johnny Cabot Fan Mark Sandrich Paramount Musical No Dec 18, 1944
1945 A Royal Scandal Unknown Ernst Lubitsch 20th Century Fox Drama No Apr 11, 1945
1945 Having Wonderful Crime Bathing beauty Robert Fellows RKO Comedy No Apr 12, 1945
1945 Wonder Man Goldwyn Girl Samuel Goldwyn RKO Musical No Jun 8, 1945
1946 Cinderella Jones Junior Leaguer Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Musical No Mar 9, 1946
1946 Thunder Town Betty Morgan PRC PRC Western Yes Apr 12, 1946
1949 Lawless Code Rita Caldwell Monogram Monogram Western Yes Dec 4, 1949
1951 Bowery Battalion
–
 Jan Grippo Monogram Comedy No Jan 24, 1951
1952 The Congregation
–
 Paul F. Heard Prod PFC Religious No Jan 1, 1952

Television

[edit]
          ◆   Television Roles for Ellen Hall   ◆          
Year Series Role Season Episode Name Genre Air Date
1950 The Cisco Kid Elaine Jarrett 1 16 "Newspaper Crusader" Western December 19, 1950
1951 The Cisco Kid Elaine 1 22 "Freight Line Feud" Western January 27, 1951
1951 The Cisco Kid Elaine Wilson 2 1 "Performance Bond" Western September 3, 1951
[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Nathan Hale "Toots" Langer was born on February 3, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois.[30] His Jewish parents immigrated to the United States from Austria in 1910.[31] After earning his diploma from Chicago's Bowen High School, he became a student at Bradley Polytechnic Institute, in Peoria, Illinois.[32] On September 26, 1941, Langer was 22 years old and a second-year student at Bradley when he volunteered for the United States Marine Corps;[33] he secured his commission as a second lieutenant in June 1942.[34]

    Lieutenant Langer received his assignment to the marine squadron VMA-124. It became operational on December 28, 1942, and subsequently deployed to Guadalcanal on February 12, 1943. VMA-124 remained in the Solomon Islands until September 1943.[35]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ella Hall Takes the Step". Motion Picture News. Motion Picture News, inc. September–October 1917. p. 2202. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". California Department of Public Health – Vital Records. 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2024. Waldemar Johnson Jr
  3. ^ "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". California Department of Public Health – Vital Records. 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2024. Alfred Bernard Johnson
  4. ^ "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". California Department of Public Health – Vital Records. 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2024. Ellen Joanna Johnson
  5. ^ "California Birth Index, 1905–1995". California Department of Public Health – Vital Records. 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Daughter of Ella Hall, former film star, makes debut with Mary Pickford". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. January 19, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Emory Johnson Broke". Variety. March 8, 1932. March 8, 1932. p. 10.
  8. ^ "Ellen Hall Langer". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, California. March 30, 1999. p. 39. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Ellen Hall Filmography at the American Film Institute Catalog
  10. ^ The Chocolate Soldier at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  11. ^ "Samuel Goldwyn Grabs Off Galaxy of Glamour Girls by Hedda Hopper". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 3, 1943. p. 50. Retrieved January 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Description of Ella Hall from her Commons Photograph
  13. ^ Here Comes the Waves at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  14. ^ Wonder Man at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  15. ^ Cinderella Jones at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  16. ^ "Glamour Girls Given Long-term Contracts by Hedda Hadda Hopper". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 5, 1944. pp. 28–29. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. New Hollywood Beauty Boss Launches Policy of Attempting to Gild Lilies
  17. ^ Ellen Hall § Filmography
  18. ^ Outlaws of Stampede Pass at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  19. ^ Raiders of the Border at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  20. ^ Lumberjack at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  21. ^ Range Law at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  22. ^ Call of the Rockies at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  23. ^ Brand of the Devil at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  24. ^ Thunder Town at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  25. ^ Lawless Code at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  26. ^ "Reviews of New Films – Voodoo Man – Hollywood Review". The Film Daily. New York, Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc. February 15, 1944. p. 433. Archived from the original on May 3, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  27. ^ Bowery Battalion at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  28. ^ The Congregation at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  29. ^ "Marine will Wed Daughter of Actress". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. March 12, 1944. p. 16. Retrieved December 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Cook County, Illinois, Birth Certificates Index, 1871–1922". NARA. 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  31. ^ "1920 Fourteenth Census United States Federal Census". NARA. 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  32. ^ "Chicagoan Back on Leave After Scoring on Japs". Chicago Sunday Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. November 7, 1943. p. 132. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  33. ^ "U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850–2010". NARA. 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  34. ^ "At Pacific base". San Fernando Valley Times. San Fernando, California. June 7, 1945. p. 2. Retrieved December 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ Kwallek, Major Jeffrey (April 1988). "U.S.Marine Aviation in World War II;VMF 124 in the Solomons" (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Air Command and Staff College. p. 84. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  36. ^ "Marine Will Wed Daughter of Actress". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. March 12, 1944. p. 16. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "California, County Marriages, 1850–1953". multiple county courthouses, California. 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via GenealogyBank.com.
  38. ^ "Looking at Hollywood with Hadda Hopper". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. November 5, 1944. p. 89. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ a b c Hopper, Hedda (December 2, 1944). "Marine Flyer Wins Daughter of Silent Star". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 2. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ^ Goldrup & Goldrup 2012, p. 592.
  41. ^ "4421 Talofa Ave". realtor.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  42. ^ "At Pacific Base". San Fernando Valley Times. San Fernando, California. June 7, 1945. p. 2. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ "U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010". NARA. 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  44. ^ "Film Guild to Fill Posts". The Los Angeles Times. los Angeles, California. June 15, 1969. p. 227. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "Loot Hits $6000 in Wave of Sunset Strip Holdups". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. May 19, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Lee Langer manager of Encore
  46. ^ "Four local Officers Advanced to Major in Marine Reserves". The Van Nuys News. Van Nuys, California. August 9, 1951. p. 43. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  47. ^ "U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014". NARA. 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2024. Lee Langer death February 24, 1995
  48. ^ "1940s Starlet dies in Bellevue". Lincoln Journal Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. March 29, 1999. p. 10. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

Bibliography

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