William Bradford Hall (born March 21, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1984. He was also known for manning the Weekend Update (then rebranded as Saturday Night News) anchor desk on the show.
He also created the sitcoms The Single Guy and Watching Ellie.
Hall was a producer, writer, and director on the Golden Globe winning sitcom Brooklyn Bridge, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He has appeared in various motion pictures, most notably the 1986 cult classic Troll and as Nancy Allen's boyfriend in 1989's Limit Up. In 2012, he directed Picture Paris, which appeared at the Tribeca Film Festival. He also has guest-starred on series such as Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Early and personal life Hall was born William Bradford Hall on March 21, 1958 and raised in Santa Barbara, California. He was an avid surfer as a child, saying that he "learned how to surf as soon as I could walk."
Hall is married to actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whom he met while both were attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. They met in a comedy troupe that Hall started, called The Practical Theater. They both performed on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1984, appeared together in Troll (1986), and guest-starred together on two episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. They have two sons, Henry (b. 1992) and Charles (b. 1997). He and his wife lost their Pacific Palisades house, which they purchased in the 1990s, in the 2025 Palisades Fire.
Hall serves on the US Board of Directors of SurfAid International.
Filmography + Film Year Title Role Notes 1986 Troll William Daniels1989 Worth Winning Eric Limit Up Marty Callahan 1990 The Guardian Ned Runcie 1995 Bye Bye Love Phil Also writer and producer 1998 A Bug's Life Grasshopper Voice 2005 Must Love Dogs Stanley Also executive producer 2010 Love Shack Dr. Alan Rudnick 2012 Picture Paris Short filmWriter and director 2023 First Time Female Director Miles Paris
+ Television Year Title Role Notes 1982–1984 Saturday Night Live Himself/various characters Series regular (39 episodes) 1986 9 to 5 Devlin Episode: "Even Super Women Get the Blues" 1988 CBS Summer Playhouse Montanna Episode: "Mad Avenue" 1989 Empty Nest Chuck Episode: "Full Nest" 1989 Day by Day Charlie Episode: "The Music Man" 1990 American Dreamer WriterEpisode: "Flight of the Dodo" 1991–1993 Brooklyn Bridge Writer – 32 episodesSupervising producer – 13 episodesDirector – 1 episode 1993 Frasier WriterEpisode: "Here's Looking at You" 1995–1997 The Single Guy 44 episodesCreator, writer, and executive producer 2000–2001 Curb Your Enthusiasm Himself 2 episodes 2002–2003 Watching Ellie 19 episodesCreator, writer, and executive producer 2006 Saturday Night Live Audience Member Episode: "Julia Louis-Dreyfus/Paul Simon" 2012 Parks and Recreation Wreston St. James Episode: "Pawnee Commons" 2016 Brooklyn Nine-Nine John William Weichselbraun Episode: "House Mouses" 2016 Veep Director – 3 episodes2019UndoneCharlie3 episodes2022–2023American AutoRichard Hastings4 episodes
Recurring characters on SNL Mike Phillips, friend of El Dorko (Gary Kroeger) The Human Stapler, a superhero who uses his hands to bind his victims (a member of The Interesting Four) Larry Rolans, the host of Larry's Corner
Celebrity impersonations John DeLorean John Hinckley Noel Paul Stookey Pete Best William F. Buckley John Lennon
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