After he mustered out of the Navy, Hal Riddle decided that it was now or never to try for his dreams. He made his way to Broadway, but realized quickly that breaking in would be harder than he thought. As World War II ended, stage stars and actors called up for military service returned en masse. A market oversaturated with actors meant that the roles were just not there for a Kentucky boy still fighting against his Southern accent, so Riddle used his degree in business to work as a salesman for the National Cash Register Company. Lucrative work, Riddle found he had a knack for sales. Offered a promotion to regional sales manager, he turned it down upon finally finding an opportunity to claw his way into Broadway as a secretary for the Hayloft Summer Theater for $25 a week; he was promised potential parts if there were any leftovers.

At Hayloft, Riddle roomed with a man about five years his younger, who would become one of his closest friends and a star in his right: Jack Lemmon. It was through Jack’s success in the 1954 film It Should Happen to You that Riddle finally got a chance to shine. When Lemmon left to go film, Riddle was able to take over his remaining parts. As he continued on Broadway, Riddle would be praised for his performances in Mr. Roberts alongside Henry Fonda as well as Hatful of Rain. Like his friend Lemmon, Riddle preferred the stage to film, but would leave Broadway for Hollywood in search of a place on the screen. Riddle thought he could have been more of a star in Hollywood if he had built his name longer on Broadway. “I probably should have stayed on stage longer to develop a real name for myself,” he regretted, “but I was so anxious to get to Hollywood.”

The Kentucky native lit out for Hollywood sometime around 1955, just in time to star in Norman Taurog’s 1958 film Onionhead, whom Riddle had corresponded with since the mid-1930s, alongside Andy Griffith. While auditioning for early roles, Riddle crossed paths with several stars. He met James Dean while auditioning for early roles, not long before Dean’s death. He found that shared a barber with his hero, Clark Gable, and met and auditioned for roles under him (no luck). He had minor parts in several movies starring Elvis Presley: Speedway, Love a Little Live a Little, and It Happened at the World’s Fair. They became fast friends, bonding over their shared Southern heritage, and talked often while filming together.

Riddle’s first major role was as the titular character in William Berke’s 1958 film Cop-Hater, playing a murderer who targets law enforcement. He appeared most often as a character actor on various TV shows: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Charlie’s Angels, Dallas, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, and Days of Our Lives. He collaborated several times with his old pal Jack Lemmon: he played alongside him in 1965’s The Great Race and 1973’s Save the Tiger. Touchingly, upon Lemmon’s death, among his notes for that evening was a reminder to “Call Hal for Lunch.”

One of Riddle’s last roles was as “The Warden” alongside Michael Keaton in the 1984 crime comedy film Johnny Dangerously. He was in his 60s, “late in the day,” but perhaps he would finally find fame, “something could pop up here.” Featuring music from Weird Al Yankovic and a clever parody of the noirs of the 1930s, the film nevertheless received mixed reviews and a poor showing at the box office. Riddle’s work, as long and as extensive as it is, never won him fame. But he regretted little and made many friends and many more memories. As he told Chris Nashawaty in 2003, “People ask me if I had it all to do over again, would I change anything? And I don’t think I would. I had a goal. I went for Hollywood!...something inside me always just said, ‘Hal, this is what you came for…’”

Sources

McClain, Sherry. “Hal’s Success No Riddle.” Murray State University Magazine (Spring 2001): 16-18.

Nashawaty, Chris. “The Riddle of Fame.” Entertainment Weekly September 19, 2003. https://ew.com/article/2003/09/19/riddle-fame/.

Riddle, Hal. “I Remember Gypsy.” William Harold Riddle collection. MS20-04, Box 2, Folder 9. Forrest C. Pogue Special Collections Library and University Archive, Murray State University, Murray, KY.

Wainess, Lacy. “All This and Heaven Too.” William Harold Riddle collection. MS20-04, Box 2, Folder 9. Forrest C. Pogue Special Collections Library and University Archive, Murray State University, Murray, KY.