Provincetown native Elena Curtis Hall died Tuesday, June 2nd, at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis after a prolonged illness.
Elena was the daughter of the late Preston and Mary Cross Hall. She spent her early years between Florida and Provincetown, earning her high school diploma in Sarasota, Florida. She then moved to New York City to pursue and acting / modeling career. While in New York she studied with both John and Lee Strasberg as well as Alan Miller. Her acting credits include Andy Warhol's "Pork “in both the New York and London productions as well as a variety of other shows at the Drama Ensemble, WPA Theater, La Mama ETC, and the Tally Ho Theater.
While in New York Elena also worked in a variety of restaurants, the most notable being Windows on the World in the World Trade Center. She also received an advanced degree in Fine Arts from The New School in New York City.
Elena returned to Provincetown in the early 1980s to help her parents run the Hall family businesses, including Pat's Happy Park, The Gift Box, The Preston Hall Guest House, Cinnamon Sands and The Big Bad Wolf Ice Cream Shop. But it was in the parking lot she became a local fixture, exclaiming over dogs and disparaging trespassers with equal aplomb. A political enthusiast, she would eagerly spar on current events while sipping a martini at the Mews or Spindler’s, and was never too busy to share a favorite pun or two.
After the passing of her parents, Elena embarked on transforming her grandmother's house on Commercial Street into a guest house for chemically sensitive individuals. Everything used to build the Lucy Cross House, from the wood, to the varnish, to the threads used to sew the curtains were made with non-toxic materials. Not one to rest on her laurels, she was working on redesigning her two guest cottages, Cinnamon Sands, when she passed.
Miss Hall is survived by her cousin, Michael Gaucher, along with countless other family members and friends. Her loving animal companion, Mavis also survives her. She was predeceased by her brother, Preston Hall, Jr.
Due to the current health crisis and resulting government restrictions, Elena's Interment, at Provincetown Cemetery, will be private.
A Celebration of Elena’s Life will take place at a date and time to be announced.