Irma P. Hall, who played Big Mama in 'Soul Food', dies at 91
Hall died in Dallas surrounded by loved ones, her family said; no cause of death was given.
Irma P. Hall, the former Dallas teacher who played Sunday-dinner matriarch Big Mama in the 1997 film "Soul Food," died Tuesday at 91, her family announced.
Hall died in Dallas with loved ones around her, her family said in a press release. No cause of death was given.
She taught for 27 years in the Dallas Independent School District and was discovered as an actress at 36. Her "Soul Food" role made her recognizable to strangers in Chicago.
"Down in the Loop, they'll see me across the street: 'Hey, Big Mama, how you doing? Can I have a hug?' 'Yeah, baby, come on.' I get lots of hugs and things," Hall said in 2008.
Born Irma Dolores Player on June 3, 1935, in Beaumont, Texas, Hall grew up in Chicago. Her mother worked as a housekeeper, while her father played saxophone with big bands. Hall graduated from Texas College in Tyler before moving to Dallas to teach English and foreign languages.
Teaching didn't keep her offstage. Hall co-founded the Dallas Minority Repertory Theatre, performing there and working as an administrator while she was still a teacher. She was reciting a poem during a production when she was discovered and cast in "Book of Numbers", the 1973 film, though she continued teaching.
Hall played Tilly, the Ewings' housekeeper, on CBS' "Dallas" in 1978. She later appeared in TV films featuring the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders before leaving teaching for full-time acting.
National attention followed her portrayal of Aunt T. in "A Family Thing" (1996), which starred Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones. The next year, Hall appeared in "Soul Food" and later returned as Mama Joe in Showtime's series based on George Tillman Jr.'s film.
Hall played Marva Munson, a churchgoing Mississippi woman who rents a room to a crook played by Tom Hanks, in the Coen brothers' "The Ladykillers" (2004). The Washington Times reported that Hall received a Jury Prize at that year's Cannes Film Festival for the role and an NAACP Image Award for "Soul Food."
In January of that year, a car accident during a Chicago snowstorm seriously injured Hall, who needed open-heart surgery to repair a punctured aorta. Joel and Ethan Coen introduced her the next year when she entered the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin.
Hall later played Meemaw, a wise neighbor who made pies, on SundanceTV's "Hap and Leonard." Her family called her "a beloved actress, author, poet, educator and public speaker whose contributions touched countless lives throughout her remarkable career."
The family said Hall was a longtime member and Church Mother of Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas. Senior pastor Rickie G. Rush said he had known Hall since she taught him speech.
"When I was just 14 years old, Mother Hall looked at me during one of our public speaking lessons and told me, 'One day, you will be my pastor,'" Rush said.
