(Enlarge) A display case at Riderwood Elementary School exhibits the bright Red Reader costume and other props used by the late Bob Hallett, the school's popular library specialist, who died last month of lymphocytic leukemia. (Photo by Jay R. Thompson)

Riderwood Elementary School lost a librarian last month, but students also lost a brilliant on-screen personality.

Bob Hallett, 60, was known for his talent, wit, singing voice and positive influence on students.

But he was also a superhero.

"He's a mild-mannered librarian by day, (pause for effect) until he gets the call!"

That was the opening of the Red Reader television program, broadcast daily on the county school system's Education Channel. Wearing a form-fitting red costume and a cape, the Red Reader was a superhero who encouraged students to read.

"My friends were always jealous that my dad was a superhero," said Marni Hallett, Bob Hallett's daughter and a senior theater major at Towson University.

But like many superheroes, the Red Reader had a kryptonite.

Hallett was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in July. He died Oct. 19.

Hallett was honored with "A Night To Remember," a read-a-thon at the school Nov. 13.

Lynn Detter, fourth-grade teacher and faculty adviser for the school's Student Council Association, helped put together the event.

"I really loved Bob and I really respected him, and it was important to me to offer the kids the opportunity to pay tribute to him," Detter said.

The event brought hundreds of students and parents to the school, as well as former students and colleagues.

In the school's cafetorium, clips of Hallett performing as the Red Reader and another persona, Professor Q, were shown on a screen. The crowd laughed out loud several times.

After the presentation, teachers and administrators read children's stories aloud in several classrooms. Students chose which stories they wanted to hear and pledged 25 cents admission to attend each reading.

The final tally of pledges wasn't in yet as of Nov. 16, but the sale of baked goods at the event raised $275.

The money raised will pay for a bronze plaque with Hallett's name and an etching of his likeness, which will be hung in the school's library. Any extra funds will be given to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Hallett's honor.

At Friday night's event, fifth-grader and Lutherville resident Jacob Schindler, president of the Student Council Association, took the podium to make a surprise announcement.

"The Riderwood Library will from now on be known as the 'Robert Hallett Library,' " Schindler said to the crowd's cheers.

From 1974 to 1980, Hallett had been a librarian at Riderwood. For a few years, he worked at other county schools, then returned to Riderwood in 1996 and stayed.

"He was the spirit of Riderwood. Just an incredible man," Detter said. "I don't think I ever saw him upset, cross, anything."

Before the Red Reader, Hallett served for a decade as puppeteer and voice for Professor Q, a character on the call-in show "Math Homework Helpers," which featured math teachers and puppets that also aired on the Education Channel.

Todd Porter, producer for the math help program, said, Hallett "was the comic relief and kind of the host of the show."

Professor Q had a generic Austrian-German accent and would sometimes elicit giggles from the more serious people on screen, Porter said.

"There were times that he would go off on these tangents and it was hard for the hosts to maintain composure," he said.

"Bob encompassed so many aspects of an entertainer. He had the complete package."

The little things

Heather Buchman, a kindergarten teacher at Riderwood, shared her own memories of Hallett at Friday's event.

One of these, she said, came when she was a kindergarten assistant. A girl in her class wanted to be an author when she grew up and made books for fun, so Buchman took the girl to the library to show Hallett one of her books.

"He put the book up on the 'everybody' shelf with the 'real' books, and in that moment he validated that girl's self-image in a meaningful way," she said.

"I loved that his voice was the last voice the kids heard on the afternoon announcements, because he was always saying something funny and giving the kids something to look forward to for the next day," Buchman said.

"I've never known a person as creative, and being so humble at the same time," said Jackie Vadala, a third-grade teacher who knew Hallett for 21 years.

"On 'Back to School Night,' he would take a song and he would fit in the teachers' names," Vadala said. "It was the focal point of the PTA meeting."

Sometimes, Hallett performed Elvis Presley songs instead.

"Oh god, he loved Elvis," Vadala said.

"He never took himself too seriously," said Mary Stude, in her 25th year as a fifth-grade teacher at the school. "He was the first one to put himself out there -- whatever it took to get children to read."

Stude said Hallett's position at the library will not be filled this year. "Because he's irreplaceable, we're going to have long-term substitutes for the rest of the year."

His biggest fans

The night ended with a slideshow of Hallett singing, spending time with friends and performing with students.

The background music was a recording of Hallett singing Frank Sinatra and Elvis songs.

Attending the event were Hallett's wife of 25 years, Debby, as well as son, Lee, and his daughter.

"It's absolutely amazing. I'm overwhelmed and touched," she said.

Lee Hallett, a music technology major at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said he wasn't surprised by the school's reaction to his father's death, because the younger Hallett often visited for "Bring Your Child To Work Day" and saw how people behaved toward his father.

"I know the kids loved him," he said.

Bob Hallett is also survived by three brothers -- Jay, Dan and Norman. Debby recalled that Norman, Bob's twin, honored his brother by performing a magic trick with a handkerchief at the burial of the urn containing her husband's ashes.

"We laughed, we cried and we cheered at the funeral," she said.

Marni called her father "a one-man-band."

But when Hallett's curtain came down, Marni and Debby were by his side.

"We held his hand," Marni said.

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