(FreedomBeacon.com)- Character actor Philip Baker Hall passed away on Sunday at the age of 90.
Hall was a prolific actor on both stage and screen, who starred in some of director Paul Thomas Anderson’s earliest films, including “Magnolia” and “Boogie Nights.”
He is widely known for playing a cameo role in an episode of “Seinfeld” in 1991. Hall played the library investigator who comes to retrieve from Seinfeld a long-overdue copy of the book “Tropic of Cancer,” giving his character a 1940s film noir detective style.
Watch a scene from the episode “The Library Cop” HERE.
Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, and later performed on stage and in bit parts in films and on television. In 1993, an unknown director named Paul Thomas Anderson asked Hall to star in his short film “Cigarettes & Coffee” where Hall played an itinerate gambler.
After that, Anderson expanded his short film into his first feature, “Hard Eight” in 1997 which launched Philip Baker Hall’s film career. He went on to work with Anderson again on “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.”
Hall also played Richard Nixon in Robert Altman’s 1984 film “Secret Honor.” His other credits include “The Truman Show,” “Argo,” “Rush Hour,” “The Insider,” and “Zodiac.”
His wife of almost 40 years, Holly Wolfle Hall said on Monday that Hall passed away in Glendale, California surrounded by his loved ones. She said he became unwell a few weeks ago and was able to spend his last days in good spirits.
