Trivia

Was using the stage name Shirley Grayson when she became involved with Sam Hall. He called her "Grayson" like he would an old army buddy. After her marriage, she took the name Grayson Hall because she had been hired for an acting job, and the person who wrote the contract had always heard her husband call her "Grayson" and assumed that it was her first name, so he wrote up the contract for "Grayson Hall." She kept it as her professional name.

Perhaps the greatest testament to her talent and appeal is that when she was first cast on TV's enormously popular supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows (1966) as Dr. Julia Hoffman, who tries to cure Barnabas Collins of being a vampire, the original intention was to have Barnabas kill her character off within a few weeks. However, Hall proved to be so effective in the role that those plans were changed, and she remained with the series for its entire run.

Made few films during her career, but her performance in The Night of the Iguana (1964) earned her both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.

Her husband, Sam Hall, was hired as a writer on Dark Shadows (1966) after producer Dan Curtis attended a party at the Halls' home, and asked Sam to come and write for the show. She had been acting on the show for several months at that time.

Appeared on One Life to Live (1968) in 1983. At that time her husband Sam Hall and son Matthew Hall were writers for the show.

Her mother, Eleanor (Witkins), was born in South Africa, to a Russian Jewish family. Her father, Joseph Grossman, was a Latvian Jewish immigrant.

Known for sometimes outré performances on Broadway, the slim, sharp-featured, red-headed actress was a perfect choice for the cult TV series Dark Shadows (1966) (her husband Sam Hall was a head writer).

Believed for many years to be the female storyteller on the Disney album, "Chilling, Thrilling Sound of the Haunted House". However, Walt Disney records in "Mousetracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records" and Hall's biography state that the actress on the album is Laura Olsher.

First husband Ted (Bradbart) Brooks, while an actor, is no relation to the Conrad Brooks listed on this site.