Hal England(1932-2003)

Leading man of the American stage who played occasional character roles in film and television. England was a native of King's Mountain, North Carolina and a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He made his Broadway debut in 1958, directed by Alfred Drake in "Love Me Little." He followed this with a success in "Say, Darling", written and directed by Abe Burrows, whom England credited as his mentor. He understudied Robert Morse in the lead of "How to Succeed in Business...Without Really Trying", playing Jenkins for a year on Broadway and then taking the lead role of J. Pierpont Finch in the national touring company. He starred on Broadway in Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Conversations at Midnight" in 1964 and appeared in three plays in the inaugural season of the Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park in New York. He moved to California in the early 1960s and guest-starred in numerous television programs. A longtime member of the Actors Studio, he also spent years as a member of Theatre West, in Hollywood, performing in scores of plays there. His life partner for forty years was producer Fred W. Bennett. England died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, of a heart attack at 71.