Frank Hall

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Frank Hall (1921 - 21 September 1995) was an Irish journalist, satirist and broadcaster. He was the second presenter of RTÉ's long-running The Late Late Show.

Hall was born in Newry in County Down in 1921. He left school at the age of 12 to work in a local shop. He also worked in London as a waiter before returning to Dublin. On his return he began a journalistic career with the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald. After that, he moved to RTÉ where he worked in the newsroom. From 1964 to 1971 he presented Newsbeat [1], a regional news programme. He also presented The Late Late Show for the 1968/1969 season, but his lack of success in that seat led to the return of the previous presenter, Gay Byrne. When Newsbeat ended, Hall started writing and presenting Hall's Pictorial Weekly, a political satire show that ran for over 250 episodes until 1982.

Hall won two Jacob's Awards, in 1966 and 1975, for his work on Newsbeat and Hall's Pictorial Weekly respectively.

In 1978, Hall was appointed Ireland's national film censor. During his period as censor he was known for his strict application of Irish censorship and his defence of family values. Among the films banned by him was Monty Python's The Life of Brian.

Frank Hall died in 1995 in Dublin.