# Arch Hall Sr.

Archibald Williams Hall (December 21, 1908 – April 28, 1978), known as Arch, was an American actor and filmmaker, best known for making a series of B-movies in the early 1960s starring his son, Arch Hall Jr. Hall used various names throughout his career including Nicholas Merriwether, William Waters, and Archie Hall.

## Early life and career

Hall was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in South Dakota as a genuine cowboy. Hall spoke the Sioux language and had a Sioux name, "Waa-toe-gala Oak-Shilla" (translation: Wild Boy).
Hall graduated from the University of South Dakota, wrote for radio, interviewing elderly Native Americans on KOTA, and was a pilot in the United States Army Air Forces.
Hall then worked as a stuntman in Hollywood in the 1930s, a job which expanded into small acting roles in various films, usually Westerns. Hall formed his own movie studio, Fairway Productions, in Burbank, California. In the early 1960s, Fairway Productions made a series of B-films targeted towards the drive-in market, and were later hailed as some of the worst films ever made. They starred himself, his son Arch Jr., and his wife Addalyn, who would appear as a background extra or character actor. The sound was handled by Arch Jr. and his friend from high school, Alan O'Day, who later rose to notoriety as a writer of hit pop songs in the 1970s.
Hall's experience in the Air Force was satirized in The Last Time I Saw Archie, a 1961 film written by Bill Bowers (Hall's real-life platoon mate). The film starred Robert Mitchum as Archie Hall, alongside Jack Webb and France Nuyen, and was loosely based on Hall's experience in the army after being declared to be too old to fly fighters, but too inexperienced to fly bombers, leaving his only option to fly troop transport gliders. Hall allegedly sued the makers of the film for the unauthorized use of his name, leading to an out-of-court settlement. This was later reported to have merely been a publicity stunt engineered to give the film more newspaper coverage.

## Personal life

Hall married Addalyn Faye Pollitt (born June 5, 1906) who worked with Hall as a staff writer in Hall's radio days. During World War II, Addalyn was a Navy Inspector at Lockheed Aircraft. They had one child, Arch Hall Jr., born in 1943.

## Death

Hall died of a heart attack on April 28, 1978, in Los Angeles, and was buried with honors in a Sioux funeral in Philip, South Dakota. The service was presided over by the Lakota Sioux spiritual leader Frank Fools Crow.
Hall's life and times are extensively discussed in the 51-page interview with Arch Hall Jr. that appears in the 2005 book Earth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers, by Tom Weaver, which was published by McFarland & Co. in North Carolina.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1938 | Dick Tracy Returns | Blackie, Phony Intern (Chs. 11–12) | Uncredited |
| 1938 | Overland Stage Raiders | Joe Waddell | Credited as Archie Hall |
| 1938 | The Mysterious Rider | Rancher Andrews | Credited as Arch Hall Alternative title: Mark of the Avenger |
| 1938 | Rhythm of the Saddle | Rusty – Henchman in Stage | Credited as Archie Hall |
| 1940 | The Sagebrush Family Trails West | Jim Barton | Credited as Archie Hall Alternative title: The Sagebrush Kid Goes West |
| 1941 | Two Gun Sheriff | Henchman Dunn | Credited as Archie Hall |
| 1941 | Tumbledown Ranch in Arizona | Rodeo announcer | Uncredited |
| 1941 | The Lone Rider in Ghost Town | Brent's partner | Credited as Archie Hall Alternative title: Ghost Mine |
| 1941 | The Lone Rider in Frontier Fury | Clyde Barton | Credited as Archie Hall Alternative title: Rangeland Racket & Frontier Fury |
| 1941 | Billy the Kid Wanted | Henchman | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Raiders of the West | Entertainer Tex | Uncredited |
| 1942 | The Lone Rider in Texas Justice | Trimmer Davis | Alternative title: Texas Justice |
| 1945 | His Brother's Ghost | Deputy Bentley | Credited as Archie Hall |
| 1945 | Apology for Murder | Paul | Credited as Archie Hall Alternative title: Murder with Apology |
| 1945 | Border Badmen | Banker Gillian | Credited as Archie Hall |
| 1961 | Magic Spectacles | - | Producer Alternative title: Tickled Pink |
| 1961 | The Choppers | Jim Bradford | Uncredited Producer Writer (as Arch Hall) |
| 1962 | Eegah | Robert Miller | Credited as William Watters Alternative title: Eegah! The Name Written in Blood Producer (as Nicholas Merriwether) Director and story (as Nicholas Merriwether) |
| 1962 | Wild Guitar | Mike McCauley | Credited as William Watters Producer and writer (as Nicholas Merriwether) |
| 1963 | The Sadist | Opening Narration/Radio Announcer (Voice) | Uncredited Alternative titles: Sweet Baby Charlie & Profile of Terror |
| 1964 | What's Up Front! | Cash Johnson | Credited as William Watters Alternative titles: The Fall Guy & A Fourth for Marriage Executive producer (as Nicholas Merriwether) Writer |
| 1964 | The Thrill Killers | - | Producer |
| 1964 | The Nasty Rabbit | Marshall Malout/Malcolm McKinley | Credited as William Watters Alternative title: Spies-a-Go-Go Producer (as Nicholas Merriwether) |
| 1965 | Deadwood '76 | Boone May | Credited as William Watters Producer (as Nicholas Meriwether) Story Writer |
| 1971 | The Irv Carlson Show | Morrison Whales | Credited as Arch Hall Alternative title: The Weird Ones Producer Writer |
| 1972 | The Corpse Grinders | - | Writer (as Arch Hall) Alternative title: The Flesh Grinders |
| 1974 | Thieves Like Us | Alvin | Credited as William Watters |

## Sources

Earth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers, a book by Tom Weaver, published by McFarland & Co. in North Carolina. ISBN 9780786422104, 0786422106