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This African-American actor attended Penn Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started his junior year at 6'5" and finished it at 6'9". He played basketball throughout his high-school years and won a scholarship. He averaged 18 points a game and 10 rebounds. He played basketball during college, but not when it would interfere with his major at George Washington University in Washington, DC, which was Theatrical Arts. During his college years, he met Jay Fenichel with whom he would later make musical productions. Upon graduation, Fenichel moved to Los Angeles and Hall moved to Venezuela to play basketball.

After a year, Hall lost interest and relocated to Los Angeles, California. Along with Fenichel, the duo put together two night-club acts/musicals. One was a semi-autobiographical, two-man musical, "In Five", and the other was a two-man show called "The Worst of Friends", both of which played in nightclubs throughout the LA area. They also had a business where they did promotional acts in department stores for new products.

While working on the set of the series 227 (1985), he met his co-star, Alaina Reed-Hall, who played Rose Lee Holloway. They married, both on the set, and in real life. Predator 2 (1990) was released December 1990, and in April 1991, he died of AIDS, which he contracted through a blood transfusion a few months before.

Kevin Peter Hall in Harry and the Hendersons (1991)

&quot;The problem is there aren&#39;t many calls for 7&#39;4&quot; black actors. Still,
if I had let myself get discouraged I wouldn&#39;t be here now. I believe
in myself and my acting.&quot; (from a 1985 &quot;Starlog&quot; interview)

When I first came to California it was fun and exciting to get any part
in any movie and get paid for it. Because of my size and my background
it seemed like I was right for just about anything. I did go through a
period where I thought it was time to give up monster movies. But then
the scripts and the effects started getting better. I was treated
better and starting getting paid more. Doing creatures these days is
more of a job for me than it was in the beginning. In the early days I
was creating these creatures and basically getting lost in them. Now
with creatures like Harry and the Predator it&#39;s more a matter of
getting deeper into their characters and making sure they work. (from a
1991 interview)

It&#39;s ironic. People know me because I play the monsters, but I&#39;m most
recognized from the small roles in which they see my face. None of that
stuff really bothers me. Whether I&#39;m recognized in or out of a costume
isn&#39;t a kind of pressure I put myself through anymore. (from a 1991
interview)

I&#39;ll always do costume roles. I&#39;m bigger than life and so, in a way,
I&#39;m part of the fantasy/science fiction/horror genre.. But I&#39;m more
than just a guy in a suit. When people want big and a performance along
with that big, I&#39;m the one they call. (from a 1991 interview)

With Harry, I am always in control of the expressions and the performance. With the Predator it is half performance and half dealing with the physical traps. There&#39;s a balance you got to keep inside the suit. You&#39;ve got to keep your character going while dealing with the fact that you&#39;ve got all these wires and FX things coming out of you. It all boils down to concentration and being well-rehearsed.

I&#39;m not just somebody shuffling around in a monster suit. I&#39;m a kind of puppeteer from the inside who is attempting through arm and body movements to give the creatures I play a sense of personality.

Quotes

Kevin Peter Hall

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