Marilyn Hall was an actress, writer, Emmy Award-winning producer, philanthropist and wife of the renowned game show host Monty Hall.
A native of Winnipeg, Canada, Hall began her career as a writer and radio ingénue for the CBC, where she wrote radio dramas as well. She also taught writing focused on children's programming at Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario.
Moving to New York with her husband, she became a published songwriter, having her song, "Is It Possible That I've Been Gone So Long" — co-written with Helen Bilby — recorded by the famous cabaret singer, Hildegarde.
Hall was a tireless worker for Brandeis University, The Jewish Welfare Fund and Tel-Aviv University, for whom she made several documentary films. In 1972, she won an award for Best Documentary Campaign Film, for her film, A Fragile Sleep.
In addition, Hall was devoted patron of the arts, from After School Programs for the children of Los Angeles to her support of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. She devoted her talent and resources to several charities, and developed programs for the Julia Ann Singer Child Care Center, Guardians of Courage, Israel Bonds, Tel-Aviv University, The Jewish Home for the Aging and particularly for Variety Clubs International, where she served as a board member while also writing and producing their International Humanitarian Award event.
Her writing for television included Love, American Style, and the ABC special, Lights, Camera, Monty.
She was the executive producer of the four-part miniseries for PBS/NHK, The Ginger Tree (1989), written by Christopher Hampton; associate producer of the Emmy-winning telefilm, A Woman Called Golda, starring Ingrid Bergman and Leonard Nimoy (1982); co-executive producer of Do You Remember Love?, an Emmy-winning telefilm starring Joanne Woodward and Richard Kiley, and producer of Nadia, a telefilm about Olympic gymnastics champion Nadia Comaneci in 1984.
In 2007, she was executive producer of the feature film The Little Traitor, based on the novel by Amos Oz, starring Alfred Molina.
Hall was also an associate producer of the stage plays Jelly's Last Jam, as well as Angels in America.
Also an author, she wrote The Celebrity Kosher Cookbook, while herself on probation for killing brisket after brisket. And for several years, she wrote book reviews for the Los Angeles Times.
She held a B.A. from the University of Toronto and received an MFA from UCLA at age 50.
Hall passed away on June 5, 2017. She was 90.
She is survived by her husband, best friend and partner of 70 years, Monty Hall, and her children — Joanna Gleason (Chris Sarandon), Richard Hall, Sharon Hall (Todd Ellis Kessler.) Also survived by her obsessions — her grandchildren — Aaron David Gleason (Stacey Bone-Gleason), Mikka Tokuda-Hall (Mark Morgan), Maggie Tokuda-Hall (Adam Wolf), Jack Kessler and Levi Kessler. She is also survived by her loving, devoted sister, Peggy Cooper, and many nieces, nephews and friends who adored her.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor would be gratefully received by The Los Angeles Jewish Home For The Aging (LAJH.org), or Variety Clubs International, the children's charity (varietysocal.org)
