Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. Hall is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), and Magnolia (1999). He also starred in leading roles in films, such as Secret Honor (1984) and Duck (2005). Hall had supporting roles in many films, including Say Anything... (1989), The Truman Show (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Insider (1999), Lost Souls (2000), The Contender (2000), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), Zodiac (2007), 50/50 (2011), and Argo (2012). He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for his role in Hard Eight and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture for Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Hall is also known for his prolific work on television. His early television work included M*A*S*H, Murder, She Wrote, and Cheers. One of his most memorable television roles was as Lt. Joe Bookman, the "Library cop", in Seinfeld. He had recurring roles in The Practice, The West Wing, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Modern Family, and BoJack Horseman. Early life Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio. His mother was Alice Birdene (née McDonald), and his father, William Alexander Hall, was a factory worker from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. He served in Germany as a United States Army translator and as a high school teacher. Career After his film debut Cowards, he joined the Los Angeles Theatre Center. His first television role came for an episode of Good Times. Hall guest starred in episodes of M*A*S*H and Man from Atlantis. He had over 200 guest roles since 1977. He played Richard Nixon in the one-character film Secret Honor and reprised his role he had created during the play's original Off-Broadway run. Roger Ebert said about Hall and the film: "Nixon is portrayed by Philip Baker Hall, an actor previously unknown to me, with such savage intensity, such passion, such venom, such scandal, that we cannot turn away. Hall looks a little like the real Nixon; he could be a cousin, and he sounds a little like him. That's close enough. This is not an impersonation, it's a performance." Vincent Canby of The New York Times also said about Hall: "Mr. Hall's immense performance, which is as astonishing and risky – for the chances the actor takes and