Sam Hall(1921-2014)

Born Allison Samuel Hall in Carrollton, Ohio, he graduated from Dartmouth and Yale. A veteran of the World War II Battle of the Bulge, Hall married actress Grayson Hall in 1952. His first major writing gig was the iconic gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966) which he joined in 1967. There he met his writing partner Gordon Russell. They teamed up again after that show's cancellation as head-writers on One Life to Live (1968) taking over the reigns from series creator Agnes Nixon. They received two Daytime Emmy Award-nominations in 1980 and 1981 as they created memorable characters like Clint, Bo and Asa Buchanan, started the Viki/Dorian-feud which would last for decades and wrote the famous Karen Wolek on the witness stand-arc which won actress Judith Light an Emmy as well as a long-running career in prime time television. Hall worked alongside his wife on both Dark Shadows and One Life To Live and his son Matthew Hall also served as script writer under his father's guidance on One Life To Live and the Dark Shadows (1991) revival. In addition to his 10 years as head writer for the Llanview citizens, Hall also wrote for General Hospital (1963) and Santa Barbara (1984).