A Brief History of Glove an Uncredited 30 Rock Extra

This is the story of “Glove,” a rubber glove that made four separate appearances on TV comedy fave 30 Rock. The mastermind (er, hand) inside “Glove” is R.C. Hall, a New York-based hip-hop artist, skateboard enthusiast and background gypsy who, in a meta-twist redolent of the show itself, portrayed a set painter for TGS With Tracy Jordan. To get to the bottom of “Glove,” The Apiary dropped a few questions on Hall, to which kindly replied. His responses were edited for space and clarity.

What’s the story behind Glove?

Background work is usually supposed to be subtle and should go unnoticed — I wanted to see what I could get away with. Clearly, the greatest background moment is in the movie Teen Wolf. There is a crowd scene where an extra pulls his penis out for the world to see. It ended up in the final edit but was later removed from retail copies. I also know someone who was a reoccurring background character on another show. He used to scratch his ass in every scene. He was noticed and eventually fired. Glove was just a subtle story behind the story.

I always had my arm in a fixed position with the glove. Most of the crew were aware of it and found it amusing. I was considering developing a video about the origin of Glove; however, one day the assistant director noticed it and the message was sent that Glove would need to retire. I had literally been doing this for months.

Another crew member said to me: “He just noticed???” The next day I came to work with an R.I.P. Glove shirt. I’m not sure if the AD noticed my shirt, or if he even understood it, but I got the feeling he was not amused. I’m still asked by crew and other actors about Glove and when he will be back. I have to lower my head and explain that he is dead. God bless Glove.

How was Glove able to make so many appearances on the show?

Glove did a lot of work on 30 Rock before he was fired. Although I work on many other films, television shows, and movies, I never appeared with Glove anywhere but 30 Rock. But now that Glove is dead I shed tears almost nightly. I do believe in magic.

Glove has had opportunities to resurrect but it’s just not the same. It feels like a Glove copy. I want the romantic feelings of the original Glove. Maybe he could be back someday, but it seems unlikely. He would be a zombie then. It would be scary.

Does Tina Fey know about Glove?

Tina is a very busy person. She smiles at me sometimes. Although I’m around her on the regular, I never attempt to speak to her. I like my job, I like Tina and I’m very happy to be a part of 30 Rock. I respect what she’s doing, and if she feels like she needs to speak to me then she will. I’m sure she’s currently much too broken up about Glove to want to socialize.

What’s the funniest things you ever saw on the 30 Rock set (that wasn’t filmed)?

Funny? Not sure if this stuff is funny but Alec has great emotional outbursts and likes the set very cold temperature-wise.

Tracy [Morgan] has had some hungover days and sick days but manages to run his lines regardless. Tina can be very funny off the cuff. Jack [McBrayer] snaps in and out of character like a pro. Jane [Krakowski] does a great black face.

Who is this “Hardest Working Asian”? I am quite fascinated by him.

His name is Henry Kwan. He does a lot of work on Law & Order, but I see him all over the place. It’s not uncommon to find him sleeping on any given set at some point. I like the challenge of taking photos of sleeping people. Henry is one of my many subjects. I got ninja camera skills.

In fact, you have quite a few “Napping on Set” photos. What’s the deal?

The challenge. Sneak moves. Ninja style. No need to ask permission. Endless hours of entertainment. I took photos of someone sleeping on set today actually.