Grayson Hall

Grayson Hall was an American actress of Jewish descent. She is better known for her role as Dr. Julia Hoffman in Gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" (1966-1971). She was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1922, Hall was born Shirley Grossman in Philadelphia. Her father Joseph Grossman was from Latvia, and her mother Eleanor was from South Africa. Eleanor was a theatrical actress, who performed in the Yiddish theatre. Her parents had separated by 1930, but never officially received a divorce. Hall became interested in an acting career since childhood, and auditioned for plays as a high school student. She made her professional theatrical debut in 1942, at the age of 20. She performed with a summer stock company in Long Island In 1946, Hall married fellow actor Bradbart "Ted" Brooks. They separated in 1949, and she married her second husband, screenwriter Sam Hall (1921-2014) in 1952. She changed her professional name to Grayson Hall at that time. Hall