Irma P. Hall Dies: ‘Soul Food’, ‘Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil’ Actor Was 91

Irma P. Hall, who portrayed “Big Mama Jo” in the 1997 film Soul Food and, that same year, the memorable character of “root doctor” Minerva in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, died Tuesday, November 10, in Dallas. She was 91.

Her death was announced by family. Although a cause was not specified, it was noted that she passed away surrounded by loved ones.

Best known for her work in director George Tillman Jr.’s ensemble film Soul Food also starring Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey D. Sams, Gina Ravera and Brandon Hammond, Hall had a career that spanned nearly five decades, appearing in film, TV and on stage.

In addition to Soul Food and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, her expansive body of work included A Family Thing (1996), Beloved (1998), Patch Adams (1998), The Ladykillers (2004), Collateral (2004) and Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns (2008). She reprised her role as Mama Joe in Showtime’s Soul Food television series (2000-2004).

Hall won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Soul Food and a Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for her performance opposite Tom Hanks in the Coen brothers’ The Ladykillers. She also received recognition from the Chicago and Kansas City film critics associations for her performance in A Family Thing and was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

Her Soul Food character inspired the Boyz II Men hit “A Song for Mama,”written and produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

Born Irma Dolores Player on June 3, 1935, in Beaumont, Texas, Hall was raised in Chicago before returning to Texas to pursue her education at Texas College in Tyler. She taught English and foreign languages in Dallas public schools for two decades before launching her film career, receiving an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts and Education from Texas College.

She began her acting career when actor and director Raymond St. Jacques discovered her talent during a poetry reading in Dallas. She made her film debut in Book of Numbers (1973).

In addition to her acting career, Hall was an advocate for the arts and the development of emerging talent, helping to establish the Dallas Minority Repertory Theatre. Her contributions to theater and the performing arts continue to be celebrated through the Irma P. Hall Black Theatre Awards, also known as The Irmas, an annual awards show founded in 2015 to celebrate artistic excellence in performing and technical theater across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

A longtime member and Church Mother at Inspiring Body of Christ Church, Hall remained actively involved in the arts through church’s theater ministry.

“She started as a teacher in the classroom but ended up being a teacher to the world,” said her only daughter, Irma Hall Crayton. “My mom used to always say, ‘To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.’ And she was just that to many people.”

Details regarding funeral services, memorial arrangements and special tributes will be announced at a later date.