Hal Kanter (born December 18, 1918) is a veteran writer, producer and director, principally for comedy actors such as Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, and Elvis Presley, for both feature films and television. Kanter helped Tennessee Williams turn the play by Williams into the film version of The Rose Tattoo. Since 1991, he's been regularly credited as a writer for the Academy Award broadcasts.

Hal Kanter started out writing variety shows and revues for television in the early 1950s. He turned to screenwriting in the mid-1950s, specializing in comedies (he wrote for Bob Hope (I) and Martin & Lewis) but also turning out dramas. He directed a few movies, but they didn't meet with much success, and he returned to television. In the 1970s he was the executive producer of the landmark series "All in the Family" (1971).