Dear Editor:
My late husband, Roger Hall, was a columnist (“On the Beach”) for The Fire Islander [which later became this paper] in 1955 and 1956, when Wolcott Gibbs was editor. I discovered a treasure trove of back issues from these years when sorting through his personal papers recently, and am glad to donate them to your archives. Roger’s obituary, “Roger Hall, A Spy with a Sense of Humor, is Dead at 89” written by Bruce Weber, was featured in the July 28, 2008 edition of The New York Times.
Roger was a marvelous storyteller, and often talked about the fun he had during the 1950s when he rented houses in Ocean Beach. He had great admiration for Wolcott Gibbs, enjoyed working with him and Bill Birmingham on the paper, and was fond of Mrs. Gibbs and their children. Roger was a lifeguard, and a member of the “Stars of the Past” baseball team with people such as Mel Brooks, Harry Bellafonte, and Carl Reiner (who wore black socks with his sneakers!) He often told me how “little Robbie Riener” would follow him around “like a puppy.” Roger and Mel Brooks used to try to top each other with one-liners. At one point, Mel said to Roger, “You’re the funniest goy I’ve ever met!” Two of Roger's personal highlights during his time on Fire Island were: July 27, 1953, when his beautiful girlfriend, Mona McHenry, was on the cover of Life magazine, modeling “Can Can” lingerie. In 1957, Roger's first book, You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger (W.W. Norton, recently reprinted by Naval Institute Press), was published to rave reviews, and there was a lot of excitement on Fire Island. Roger wrote a marvelous poem in the August 31, 1956, edition of The Fire Islander , bidding farewell to his friends—he cleverly included the names of many of the famous people who summered on the island.
A humorous picture of Roger, submerged in the water, holding onto a water ski rope, was taken in the ocean off Fire Island for the jacket of his second book. The caption reads: “Mr. Hall may be seen conducting research in depth before writing All My Pretty Ones.”
I’m sure Roger is smiling, wherever he is, knowing that his beloved Fire Island newspapers are finding their way back home.
Sincerely,
Linda Hall
Wilmington, Dela.
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