Karen Hall

Karen L. Hall (born 1956) is an American television writer best known for her work on the television series Judging Amy and M*A*S*H.

Early life

Hall was born in Chatham, Virginia. Hall's parents are Ervis Hall and Flo Hall. Hall has an older sister Barbara Hall, a television producer. In 1974, Hall graduated from Chatham High School.

Education

In 1978, Hall graduated with a BA degree in English from College of William and Mary. Hall was then awarded a fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to the University of Virginia, where she was in graduate school in the MFA Playwriting Program.[1]

While at William and Mary, Hall took a three-week trip to Hollywood with students from the University of Richmond. There she attended writing seminars hosted by Earl Hamner and Alan Alda. Impressed by her talent, both Hamner and Alda kept in touch with her after she returned to Virginia. With their encouragement, she decided to move to California after graduating from the University of Virginia in 1979.

Career

Hall started her TV writing career as a story editor of Eight Is Enough and writing scripts for M*A*S*H. In her career as writer, producer and creative consultant, Hall has worked on numerous series including Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, Roseanne and Grace Under Fire.[2] Shows for which she wrote individual episodes include Northern Exposure, I'll Fly Away, Judging Amy, and The Good Wife.

Among other recognitions, Hall has received the Humanitas Prize, the Women in Film Luminas Award and the Writers Guild of America Award. She has received seven Emmy Award Nominations. In 1984 she was listed by Esquire Magazine in its first annual register, "The Best of the New Generation: Men and Women under 40 Who Are Changing America".[3]

Hall is also the author of the novel Dark Debts, a supernatural thriller combining horror, Southern Gothic, humor, romance and theological mystery. Dark Debts was a Book of the Month Club main selection and has been translated into French, German and Japanese.[3]

Personal life

Hall is married to her high school sweetheart, Chris Walker, and has four children. She and her husband own Black Bear Books, an independent bookstore in Boone, North Carolina. Hall maintains residences in Los Angeles and North Carolina.

Select filmography

  • Eight Is Enough (1977)
  • Hill Street Blues (1981)
  • M*A*S*H (1980–1983)
  • Moonlighting (1985)
  • The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
  • Northern Exposure (1990)
  • Judging Amy (1999)
  • Brotherhood (2008)
  • The Good Wife (2010)
  • The Glades (2011)

Publications

  • Dark Debts. New York: Random House, 1996: ISBN 978-0-517-26786-8. Ivy Books, 1997: ISBN 978-0-8041-1655-8. Pan Books (UK), 1998: ISBN 978-0-330-35107-2.

References

  1. ↑ Joe Alexander. "Karen Hall", The Lamplighter, January 2002.
  2. ↑ Kimberly R. Clifton. "Karen Hall: You've Come a Long Way, Baby", Evince magazine, March 2005.
  3. 1 2 Karen Hall: Curriculum Vitae
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