Actor, Writer, and Film Producer. Born in St. Louis, Missouri. Hall Sr. grew up in South Dakota, a genuine cowboy. He spoke the Sioux language and had a Sioux name, "Waa-toe-gala Oak-Shilla" (translation: Wild Boy). He graduated from the University of South Dakota, wrote for KOTA radio, interviewing elderly Native Americans, and was a pilot in the Army Air Force. He worked as a stuntman in Hollywood in the 1930s, a job which expanded into small acting roles in various films, usually Westerns. Hall Sr. formed his own movie studio, Fairway Productions, in Burbank, California. In the early 1960s it was best known for making a series of B-movies (including: Eegah, 1962) mostly starring his son, Arch Hall Jr., whom he had hoped would be the next Elvis. His movies were targeted towards the drive-in market, which were later hailed as some of the worst films ever made. In 1961, a highly fictionalized biopic movie about the war experiences of Arch W. Hall Sr. was made: The Last Time I Saw Archie, a comedy directed by its star Jack Webb and co-starred Robert Mitchum as Archie. Writer William Bowers (played by Webb) used his own army experiences (rather than Hall's) for the script, but the real Arch Hall Sr. sued for invasion of privacy anyway. In 1966, Hall Sr. stopped producing and directing films. Hall died of a heart attack while teaching a film class in Los Angeles, and was buried with honors in a Sioux funeral in Philip, South Dakota. The service was presided over by Chief Frank Foolscrow.
Actor, Writer, and Film Producer. Born in St. Louis, Missouri. Hall Sr. grew up in South Dakota, a genuine cowboy. He spoke the Sioux language and had a Sioux name, "Waa-toe-gala Oak-Shilla" (translation: Wild Boy). He graduated from the University of South Dakota, wrote for KOTA radio, interviewing elderly Native Americans, and was a pilot in the Army Air Force. He worked as a stuntman in Hollywood in the 1930s, a job which expanded into small acting roles in various films, usually Westerns. Hall Sr. formed his own movie studio, Fairway Productions, in Burbank, California. In the early 1960s it was best known for making a series of B-movies (including: Eegah, 1962) mostly starring his son, Arch Hall Jr., whom he had hoped would be the next Elvis. His movies were targeted towards the drive-in market, which were later hailed as some of the worst films ever made. In 1961, a highly fictionalized biopic movie about the war experiences of Arch W. Hall Sr. was made: The Last Time I Saw Archie, a comedy directed by its star Jack Webb and co-starred Robert Mitchum as Archie. Writer William Bowers (played by Webb) used his own army experiences (rather than Hall's) for the script, but the real Arch Hall Sr. sued for invasion of privacy anyway. In 1966, Hall Sr. stopped producing and directing films. Hall died of a heart attack while teaching a film class in Los Angeles, and was buried with honors in a Sioux funeral in Philip, South Dakota. The service was presided over by Chief Frank Foolscrow.
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