Her family moved to Hollywood in the early days of silent films so her mother could pursue an acting career.

On June 13, 1917, the President of Universal Film Manufacturing Company, Carl Laemmle, held a gala for his employees.

He had spent considerable time managing the affairs at Universal City in California.

The petite, blue-eyed blond beauty first found work as a Universal ingénue.

At an appropriate moment during the ball, glasses were clinked, and Emory and Hall professed their love and announced their engagement.

Thus, we had a girl from New Jersey married to a laid-back Californian while living with a strict Scandinavian mother, all under one roof.

[citation needed] Their first son (Richard), Walter Emory, was born on January 27, 1919, in Santa Barbara, California.

[6] Their second son Bernard Alfred was born on September 26, 1920, in Santa Barbara, California.

Hall cited the main problem was the conflict between her and Johnson's overbearing mother.

While Hall and the kids were walking down a street in Hollywood, little Bernard was run over and killed by a truck.

Diana Marie (Dinie) was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 27, 1929.

So I'm in neither picture nor marriage" From 1924 onwards, the couple had engaged in highly publicized disputes revolving around alimony payments, child support, visitation rights, and living arrangements.

Hall had difficulty reconciling her emotions regarding Johnson's status as an only child and what she perceived as his excessive attachment to his mother.