From the Hollywood Exclusive column by Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith:Robert David Hall (pictured) is grateful to be back to work on the 10th season of “CSI,” yet is aware “It’s a tough time. All my brother and sister actors are struggling. I love working on the show, but I’d like to see other people working as well.” At the forefront of his concerns are actors with disabilities, for whom Hall has advocated tirelessly, having served in positions including that of chairman of the Performers with Disabilities Committee of the Screen Actors Guild Hall.
A double amputee himself, he was in Washington, D.C., during hiatus at the invitation of President Barack Obama, “to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And I was asked to speak to some disabled artists at the Kennedy Center. I worked the night before, caught the red-eye — my wife went with me — and we had the day of our lives in Washington.”
Hall reports that before the prez gave his 20-minute speech at the anniversary event, “when he came up to the podium, he looked down at me and mouthed the words ‘CSI.’ I don’t know that he watches the show, but it was nice,” says Hall, who’ll see Obama again this fall when he’s honored for his civic contributions. Hall adds that “We were seated in the first row and there were all these senators and Cabinet people and it really was overwhelming and awe inspiring.”
Especially for Hall, who grew up in D.C. and remembers lots of “mandatory field trips.”