Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538080
7 6 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 M I L E S T O N E S Barbara Hall 1961 – 2025 B Y T H O M A S A . WA L S H , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R On May 24, 2025, ADG archivist Barbara Hall passed away after a long and heroic battle with cancer, surrounded by her husband Val and loving family. Barbara was an exceptional film historian, published author and former archivist at the Margaret Herrick and Writers Guild Libraries. Barb was also a consummate interviewer, researcher, mentor, dreamcatcher and so much more. Professor and film scholar Mary Desjardin, a very close friend of 40 years said, "I first met Barbara when she was a MA student at USC back when the cinema school was (literally) an old barn." In her thoughtful Facebook posting, Mary went onto share some of the following memories. "We bonded as native Southern Californians, baby boomers, 'Catholic girls,' lovers of See's Candy, and wanting to have meaningful work, as well as meaningful personal relationships. In the fall of 1987, after she came back to USC for the PhD program, I was the lead TA for the Intro to Film class, and Barb had been assigned to be one of the TAs. Her mentor, Rick Jewel, asked me to look after Barb, as she was re-entering USC from Iowa (where she had just earned her MA) and had recently lost her father. Well, Barbara didn't need looking after, but I felt from that point on, she looked after me as a treasured friend. One of the things we talked about was her desire to leave the doctoral program and work as an oral historian for the Margaret Herrick Library, which, by 1989, she did, and it was one of her first professional triumphs—all the qualities of her disarming and charming sociality, humor and enthusiastic and expert knowledge about film history was brought to those interviews. Despite having to write in the past tense, I know Barbara will continue to have a presence in my life—when you have such a deep and loving friendship, you change one another, and I think you exchange some emotional/ intellectual DNA that always lives inside you." The ADG is one of only a few leading entertainment institutions to value and protect its history by maintaining an archives and research library devoted to our profession. Building upon the exceptional work of the ADG's founding archivist, Rosemarie Knopka, our membership was twice blessed when Barbara Hall became our archivist. Barb brought many years of experience to our archive's mission which greatly facilitated the continuing process of unpacking and organizing A. BARBARA HALL, COURTESY VAL ALMENDAREZ B. BARBARA CONDUCTING AN EARLY AMPAS ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW (1989) EDWARD C. CARFAGNO, MGM VETERAN ART DIRECTOR, THREE-TIME OSCAR WINNER AND SEVEN -TIME NOMINEE. COURTESY MHL-AMPAS. A B