biography
Born in Van Nuys, California, on December 2, 1943, Arch Hall Jr. was just 15 years old when he starred in his first film, The Choppers
(1961; with Marianne Gaba and Bruno VeSota), which was shot in 1959 but wasn't released until 1961. Between 1959 to 1965, his father, Arch Hall Sr., made a handful
of successful drive-in flicks on practically nonexistent budgets. The senior Hall released his films through
his own Fairway-International Productions and sometimes served as his son's director and co-star.Wild Guitar (1962; with Nancy Czar and Ray Dennis Steckler) was a Fairway International production directed by Ray Dennis Steckler (aka Cash Flagg), who directed and starred in such features as the 1963 film The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. Arch Hall Sr. wanted his son to become a singing, acting teen idol, much like Frankie Avalon or Ricky Nelson. Therefore, Arch Hall Jr. sings in nearly one every of his films, and he often wrote his own songs. More interested in a career in music rather than acting, he nonetheless put a lot of effort into these films. In the late 1950s, he started a band with high school friend and pop singer Alan O'Day, and the band played venues such as the famed Whisky a Go Go in the early 1960s. Eegah! (1962; with Richard Kiel) was directed by the senior Hall on a budget of about $15,000---an amazingly low budget for a color film even by 1962 standards--in two weeks. Portions of the dialogue was lost during filming, so some scenes are dubbed. While Hall was nearly bankrupted by producing this film, upon its release in the spring of 1962 it quickly made back the production costs. By the time Arch Hall Sr. passed away in April 1978, the film had grossed more than $1 million. The movie's cast includes Richard Kiel (of Moonraker fame) and Marilyn Manning who, along with Arch Hall Jr., was in many Fairway's productions. In 1993, Eegah! was featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. |
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the films of arch hall jr.The Choppers (1961) Arch Hall Jr. portrays hot-rodder 'Cruiser' in The Choppers. LEFT: With Bruno VeSota. RIGHT: Cruiser in his rodWild Guitar (1962)  Scenes from my favorite Arch Hall Jr. movie, Wild GuitarEegah! (1962)  Stills from Eegah!, which is probably Hall's best-known filmThe Sadist (1963)   
LEFT and CENTER: Arch Hall makes a convincing case for himself as an actor in The Sadist. RIGHT: Poster for The Sadist. The Sadist was a departure for Arch Hall Jr. No guitars or singing this time out; rather, Hall portrays Charlie Tibbs, a homicidal maniac. Hall's performance is unrestrained but otherwise excellent. Charlie murders two teachers, two cops, and a member of his own gang before being killed by a fall into a snake pitarch hall jr. todayBy the mid 1960s, Arch Hall Jr. called an end to his film and music careers. By 1967, Hall earned his pilot's license and was employed as a pilot. Now in his late 70s, Hall is a retired accomplished pilot and world traveler. The father of three children and a grandfather, he lives in Florida and still enjoys playing the guitar. Hall has also taken up writing and published The Apsara Jet, written under the pen-name "Nicolas Merriweather," a pseudonym his father once used. The book has received great reviews. |
filmography
Deadwood '76 (1965) with Liz Renay and Robert Dix
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arch hall jr. trailers now showingarch hall jr. film now showing |
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This page premiered March 20, 1998.
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