Cliff Hall - Ideas and Light

This is the story of Cliff Hall, photographer and automobile designer. Cliff was born in Los Angeles, where he spent the majority of his adult life after serving in the Navy in World War II. Cliff took photography classes at the Fred Archer School of Photography, then went on to become an in-demand celebrity photographer for the Beverly Hills elites.

Using his Navy experience with electronics, Cliff designed an automobile that he intended to be built in the local Black community. He sought funding, got African-American celebrities involved, and completed a prototype automobile called the Corwin Getaway. While the Corwin never reached the production line, the prototype has been added to the Peterson Automotive Museum, a Los Angeles-based automobile museum.

Cliff was a fountain of ideas, and he frequently engaged students from a local design college to do the sketches for him. Cliff also mentored other photographers, many of whom went on to have significant careers of their own. He has been featured in numerous articles over the years.

A video of his life story is available on this site.

Cliff Hall passed away on January 5, 2020. This website is dedicated to him for his life, his influence on the Black Community, and his contributions to our culture.