Arch Hall, Jr.

Arch Hall, Jr. (born December 2, 1943) is an American actor, musician, aviator, and author.

Early career

Born in Van Nuys, California, Hall began his career as a teen actor and musician, appearing in a number of 1960s films that were all produced by his father, Arch Hall, Sr. Most of Hall Jr.'s films featured his particular musical abilities, a teenager's tenor voice and guitar riffs played with swamp blues inflection. 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 No. 1 pop hits in the 1970s) played Sunset Strip clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go and Pandora's Box.

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, and the late night comedy horror series Macabre Theater. In The Sadist (1963), Hall portrayed a psychopathic killer based in part on teenage murderer Charles Starkweather.