Comic & Cartoonist

Rhode Island residents may recognize Charlie Hall’s name from his cartoons published in newspapers across the state, his comedy sketch show or his double act “Aging Disgracefully.” Perhaps they know him from his opening acts for Jerry Seinfeld, Kool & the Gang and Jon Stewart, his appearances on shows like Star Search or the lyrics he penned for the Rhode Island state song: “Rhode Island’s It for Me.”

Hall — whose comics have appeared in the Beacon for over 20 years — says all his pursuits “came up like parallel careers,” feeding into one another as his star rose throughout New England and beyond.

After graduating in 1978 from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in illustration, Hall honed his craft as a courtroom sketch artist for Channel 12 WPRI. He also ventured into standup comedy, appearing at local open mic nights and eventually opening the “Periwinkles” comedy club with friend and fellow comedian Frank O’Donnell in the early ’80s. Performers at the club included Jon Stewart, Dave Chapelle, Rob Schneider and Janeane Garofalo.

Then, “I combined my art and my comedy into cartoons,” Hall said.

Papers in the freshly-established Rhode Island News Group began publishing Hall’s comics even as his comedy career took off, leading to appearances on national television and the chance to open for Jerry Seinfeld, whose cursing-free act had inspired Hall to become a clean comedian.

“I told him how much his act had helped me, and he said, ‘That is maybe the nicest compliment I’ve ever gotten,’” Hall recalled. “I have pictures of me and him on my wall.”

In the early ’90s, Hall, four other comedians and a piano player started the Ocean State Follies, a sketch comedy show spoofing Rhode Island culture and politics — with songs like “Are You Going to Scarborough Beach?” and “East Side Story.”

“One would feed into the other,” Hall said. “A song would give me the idea for a cartoon, and vice versa.”

When creating his cartoons, Hall typically reads through local news, picking a few issues that jump out at him to turn into cartoons every week. He first draws his cartoons in pen and ink, then scans them and uses digital tools to shade the drawings. Sometimes, Hall said, he works from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on just two cartoons.

“The Washington Bridge has been good fodder,” Hall said. “I like finding the odd piece of truth in the news to comment on comedically.”

Recently, Hall’s comics were selected for exhibition at the Warwick Center for the Arts’ “Comics, Cartoons & Graphic Novels” show opening in August. After paging through his extensive catalog, he selected three comics where he admired both his comedy and his crosshatching.  In one of the comics, an RIDOT worker guides a line of pigeons to their own set of Porta Potties — a gag based on news reports that an excess of pigeon excrement may have hidden the extent of the bridge’s disrepair, Hall said.

Including the comics in the show, Hall’s comedy aims to poke gentle fun at Rhode Island and its residents, he said. One day in the early ’90s, then-mayor Buddy Cianci approached Hall to lodge a protest.

“He gave me job security — he was a charismatic character of Rhode Island politics,” Hall said. “He would say, ‘Why do you always have to do something negative about the state, about potholes, about this, about that? Why don’t you try something positive?’”

Taking Cianci’s challenge to heart, Hall sat down and wrote “Rhode Island’s It for Me,” extolling the state’s history and scenery. Ocean State Follies cast members put the song to music and performed it at every show until a Rhode Island senator nominated it for state song. It was signed into law on July 29, 1996, marking 28 years on Monday.

“Rhode Island, oh, Rhode Island, surrounded by the sea. Some people roam the earth for home; Rhode Island’s it for me,” the song’s refrain reads.

Hall is still active as part of a comedy duo with his former Ocean State Follies castmate, Doreen Collins. The duo’s act, “Aging Disgracefully,” explores “the perks and pitfalls of getting old,” with performances at restaurants and theaters across the state.

“If you wanna eat and maybe buy a house at some point, I’d get into I.T.,” Hall said of those with aspirations for a career in comedy. “But seriously, I am tickled that these guys let me do this.”