Car Accident Was The Beginning, Not The End, Says Hall

Robert David Hall (Dr. Al Robbins) talked to the Pueblo Chieftain about the car accident that took both his legs and ended up changing his life drastically.

The actor was part of an accident in 1978 that landed him in the hospital for 6 months and resulted in the amputation of both his legs. The event, however, gave him reason to prove himself. "What I thought ended things was really a beginning," he told the newspaper. "It threw enough of an obstacle in my way that I had to work harder than I would have to overcome it."

Today, Hall is part of the number one television show, but the actor admitted his character wasn't part of the initial blue prints of the show. "The original character breakdown was for a woman. And I think they wanted someone from an ethnic background. The first woman they had was a wonderful actress, but just didn't care for the part or didn't enjoy the 10-syllable medical words or whatever. So they hired somebody else for a one-shot, and that didn’t work out."

Hall, however, never thought it would stick. "Me being an actor who's just knocked his head against the wall for years, I thought, 'Oh, this is nice. I'm getting a little recurring part on this show that'll probably never last.' Ended up doing 15 one-shots. But about the middle of the first season the show took off like a rocket to Mars and it's never looked back. The beginning of the second season they made me a regular."

Hall keeps busy outside the set as well. He's the Board of Directors of the National Organization on Disability and is very vocal in his campaign to see more disabled actors in Hollywood. Hall also plays in a band. "It's about your ability, not your disability," he said.

Head over to the Pueblo Chieftain's official website to read the rest of the article.

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