Advertisement

Marilyn Hall, Emmy-winning producer and wife of game show host Monty Hall, dies at 90

Monty and Marilyn Hall in 2002.
Monty and Marilyn Hall in 2002.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Share via

Marilyn Hall, an Emmy-award winning producer and matriarch of a show business family that included her longtime husband Monty Hall, has died at the age of 90.

Hall was also noted for her philanthropy — supporting after-school programs for children in Los Angeles and charitable causes like the Jewish Welfare Fund — and hands-on involvement in developing programs for institutes like Tel-Aviv University, the Julia Ann Singer School and Variety Clubs International.

Born in Winnipeg, Canada, on May 17, 1927, Hall began her career as a writer and teacher before moving to New York and trying her hand at songwriting. She broke into the television industry as a writer, with credits such as “Love, American Style” and the ABC special “Lights, Cameras, Monty.”

Advertisement

Hall, who died Monday, is survived by her husband, three children, five grandchildren and a sister.

Hall was an associate producer on the Emmy-winning “A Woman Called Golda,” a television movie that traced the life of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and starred Ingrid Bergman. She then won an Emmy herself for her work on “Do You Remember Love?”, an early look at the far-reaching cruelties of Alzheimer’s disease.

Advertisement

She also was a producer on the miniseries “The Ginger Tree” and the TV movie “The Little Traitor,” the story of a young Palestinian boy growing up as the state of Israel was forming.

She and Monty Hall were married in 1947 and their children followed them into show business. One daughter, Joanna Gleason, is a Tony Award-winning actress and singer and a second, Sharon Hall, is president of Endemol Shine Studios. Their son, Richard, is a producer who won an Emmy for his work on the reality show “The Amazing Race.”

At the age of 50, Hall returned to college and earned a master’s in fine arts from UCLA.

Hall was the author of “Celebrity Kosher Cookbook,” which offered recipes favored by celebrities, such as William Shatner’s matzo ball soup and Kirk Douglas’ chicken in dill sauce. She also wrote book reviews for the Los Angeles Times.

Advertisement

steve.marble@latimes.com

twitter.com/stephenmarble

Advertisement