Arch Hall Jr.
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| Arch Hall Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 2, 1943 |
| Occupation | Film actor |
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Arch Hall Jr. (born December 2, 1943) is a teen actor and musician who appeared in a number of 1960s films, all of which were produced by his father, Arch Hall Sr. Most of Arch Hall Jr.'s films feature his musical abilities, particularly a teenage tenor and swamp blues inflected, guitar riffs. Hall was also the frontman for the rock n' roll combo Arch Hall Jr. and the Archers. The band, formed with high school friend Alan O'Day (who later wrote #1 pop hits in the 1970s) played Sunset Strip clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go and Pandora's Box.
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For the most part the films produced by the Halls and their associates, which at one point included cult director Ray Dennis Steckler, are considered B-movies. Hall's roles ranged from dunebuggy-driving teenager to a rock n' roll singing spy in a white dinner jacket.
It is perhaps Hall's second movie, Eegah (1962), which has won him the most recognition, due in part to the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 featuring the movie in a 1993 episode. Hall starred as California teenager Tom Nelson; his most notable co-star was 7'1" Richard Kiel who played the eponymous Eegah, a prehistoric caveman who happened to live in California's Palm Desert. The movie begins one night when Eegah meets Tom's upper class girlfriend Roxy Miller (Marilyn Manning) on a lonely stretch of highway near the desert. His appearance and music became the fodder for many jokes on the MST3K episode.
In The Sadist (1963), Hall portrayed a psychopathic killer based in part on teenage murderer Charles Starkweather.
After his acting career, Hall became an airline pilot. In 1967 he went to work for cargo carrier Flying Tiger Airlines as an apprentice co-pilot on the L-1049H, and eventually became a captain flying the Boeing 747. In 1989, Flying Tiger was purchased by FedEx and Hall flew the DC-10 until he retired in 2003. He later flew for a private company with businesses in the U.S. and Japan.
Hall wrote the novel Apsara Jet, which was published in 2001 under the pen name Nicolas Merriweather (a name often used by his father). The book draws on Hall's knowledge of both commercial airlines and South East Asia in telling the story of a Vietnam War vet who gets involved in the illegal drugs trade.
Hall's anthology, Wild Guitar, was released on Norton Records.[1] This twangy anthology, with liner notes and biography, collects the original '60s output of Arch Hall Jr. and the Archers, much of which was unreleased until now.
A 51-page interview with Hall appears in the 2005 book "Earth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers" by Tom Weaver (North Carolina: McFarland & Co.). In March of 2006, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania film crew began shooting a documentary[2] that details Hall and Fairway International Films.
[edit] Filmography
- (1961) The Choppers
- (1962) Eegah
- (1962) Wild Guitar
- (1963) The Sadist
- (1964) The Nasty Rabbit
- (1965) Deadwood '76
[edit] Discography
- (2005) Wild Guitar — recording as Arch Hall, Jr. and the Archers
[edit] Books
- (2001) Apsara Jet — ISBN 0-9708862-0-9; writing as Nicolas Merriweather
