Carol Hall, the Texas-born songwriter who earned Drama Desk Awards for the music and lyrics of the 1978 hit Broadway musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” died Thursday at age 82.
According to TheaterMania, she had been suffering from a rare form of dementia for the last few years.
Hall also gained fame for her work with Marlo Thomas, composing multiple songs for Thomas’ Emmy- and Peabody-winning 1974 ABC special “Free to Be…You and Me” and its follow-ups.
Her songs included such favorites as “It’s All Right to Cry” and “Glad to Have a Friend Like You.”
“Carol is gone but her music and words will live in our hearts forever,” Thomas wrote in tribute on her Twitter account.
After running for four years and 1,584 performances on Broadway, “Best Little Whorehouse” became a 1982 film starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton — whose recording of Hall’s “Hard Candy Christmas” earned an ASCAP Award as “Most Performed Country Song” of the year.
A native of Abilene, Texas, Hall also wrote the lyrics for “A Christmas Memory,” a musical based on a Truman Capote story, as well as “Good Sports” and “Paper Moon.”
Online tributes quickly poured in for Hall.
With great sadness I say goodbye to Carol Hall who passed away yesterday. 2 of her iconic songs “It's Alright to Cry” and “Parents Are People” inspired 3 generations of children to be Free To Be…You and Me Carol is gone but her music and words will live in our hearts forever.
— Marlo Thomas (@MarloThomas) October 12, 2018
So very sad to hear this! Loved Ms. Carol Hall. Broadway's Carol Hall Passes Away at Age 82 https://t.co/bfabyJH7zu
— Betty Buckley (@BettyBuckley) October 12, 2018
Just heard that the wonderful Carol Hall passed away. A great Texas lady! Here is my deconstruction of her FANTASTIC opening number from “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas”. https://t.co/pBrP8p9Dy3
— Seth Rudetsky he/him (@SethRudetsky) October 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/lippaofficial/status/1050707050479661056