Actor Kevin Peter Hall

Attention has been focused on the death of Alaina Reed Hall-Amini.  The 63-year-old actress and widow of actor Kevin Peter Hall died on December 17, 2009, from breast cancer.  The actress passed away at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica.  She had been battling breast cancer for two years prior to her death.  She is best known for a number of roles, including a recurring role on Sesame Street and the sitcom 227.  She played the role of Olivia the photographer on the favorite children's show from 1976 up  to 1988.  She would later move on to star in the sitcom 227, and would marry for the first time both on and off screen.  Her soon to be husband's name was Kevin Peter Hall, who was primarily known for his costumed roles that benefited from his enormous stature.

Alaina Reed Amini, would later remarry and has a number of roles to add to her acting resume, including on stages appearances in hair and Chicago and smaller roles in several movies and television shows.  She will be sorely missed and is survived by two children and her husband, Tamim Amini.

Kevin Peter Hall Biography

The acclaimed actor, known primarily for his large size and strong acting skills, was known more for his numerous costumed roles in larger films, including Harry and the Hendersons and the Predator movies.  He large size made his a favorite in the monster movie business, and he would have a long list of credits before his death. 

As a man, Kevin Peter Hall stood at 7'2", and had attended George Washington University, studying theactrical arts and paying basketball.  He had attended high school at Penn Hills High School in the Pittsburgh area.  Following his graduation, he would move to Venezuela to play basketball. 

He started his professional acting career in 1979, playing a small role in Prophecy.  While the role of Mutant Bear was uncredited, it was an essential role in the film.  This movie should not be confused with The Prophecy, starring Christopher Walken.  Instead, Prophecy was a film that decried the dangers of industrial pollution, and would eventually have a giant mutant bear attacking a camp in search of her cubs.  That bear was Kevin Peter Hall.

His career would remain on a similar course for a number of years, including his credited roles as The Alien in Without Warning, Bouncer in The Wild Life, and Monster in Monster in the Closet.  It was then, following all of these very impressive roles, that he would receive one of his most famous roles.  In 1987, he donned both a Bigfoot outfit for the film Harry and the Hendersons and a large amount of latex and technology to become the Predator in the Predator movies. 

Harry and the Hendersons is a film about a family traveling through the woods on vacation, who happen to take out the one and only Bigfoot.  Thinking he was dead, they take him home with them on the roof of their car, only to have him regain consciousness.  Predator was an action movies about an alien hunter tracking down and killing a number of army elites deep in the jungle.  The movie starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, and other large than life characters.  Originally, Jean Claude Van Damme was supposed to play the alien hunter, but following some of the initial beginning scenes, they decided to cast Kevin Peter Hall in the role.  The new cast addition made it so the Predator became a monstrous alien creature, dwarfing the cast full of big men.

Kevin Peter Hall would eventually take Harry to the small screen and have a number of parts in television shows and movies.  He would also go on to play Big John in Big Top Pee-wee and have a recurring role in 227, where he would meet his soon to be wife Alaina Reed.  The two would be wed, but later, he would face complications from AIDS. 

During a blood transfusion, he contracted AIDS before common testing was conducted.  AIDS would eventually lead to his death on April 10, 1991, from pneumonia. 

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