‘The Hard Eight’ and ‘Seinfeld’ star Philip Baker Hall dies at 90

NEW YORK (AP)—Philip Baker Hall, prolific film and stage character actor who starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s early films and tracked down an overdue library book in Seinfeld, has died. 90 years old.

The actor’s wife of nearly 40 years, Holly Woolfle Hall, said on Monday that Hall died Sunday in Glendale, California, surrounded by loved ones. She said a few weeks ago that Hall was feeling better and had spent her last days in good shape, reflecting on her life.

“He’s just as loud at the end,” Wolfl Hall said.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Hall was a widely traveled stage actor and appeared in several episodes in film and television before being sought after by the unknown Paul Thomas Anderson for a role in the 1993 short film Cigarettes and Coffee. After a short film featuring Hall as a traveling gambler hit the Sundance Film Festival, Anderson expanded on the film with his 1997 feature The Hard Eight, which dramatically changed Hall’s career. Anderson starred again for Boogie Nights and Magnolia.

Hall was instantly recognized by many from one of the busiest guest appearances on Seinfeld. In episode 22 of the 1991 sitcom, Hall played Lieutenant Joe Bookman, a library researcher who comes to pick up Seinfeld for a much-overdue Tropic of Cancer copy. Hall plays him as an old-school film noir detective and tells Seinfeld, “I’ve got a flash for you Joy-boy: party time is over.”

Philip Baker Hall, Susan Sarandon (as Margherita Sarfatti) and John Cusack (as Nelson Rockefeller) in The Cradle Will Rock. Written and directed by Tim Robbins. Photo Credit: Demmie Todd Touchstone Pictures

Hall’s other credits include the role of Richard Nixon in Robert Altman’s 1984 drama Secret Honor. He has appeared in The Truman Show, The Insider, Zodiac, Argo and Rush Hour.

Hall is survived by his wife, four daughters, four grandchildren, and a brother.