HAROLD JOSEPH ARCHAMBAULT, KNOWN PROFESSIONALLY AS ARCH WHITING, WAS BORN SEPTEMBER 29, 1936 IN LARCHMONT, NY, AND PASSED AWAY MAY 07, 2007, IN BLACK MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA, AT AGE 70. HE BEGAN WORKING IN TV IN THE 1950s, INITIALLY BEHIND THE SCENES AS A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT OF THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW.
WHITING’S MOST RECOGNIZABLE PART WAS AS “SPARKS,” THE RADIO ENGINEER ON “VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA” TV SERIES. HE ALSO GUEST-STARRED IN SHOWS INCLUDING “STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES,” “MANNIX,” “THE FUGITIVE,” “LAND OF THE GIANTS,” “THE FBI,” “CANNON,” BARNABY JONES” AND MORE.
THOUGH HE DIDN’T BECOME A HOUSEHOLD NAME, ARCH WHITING REPRESENTS A TYPE OF WORKING ACTOR IN MID-20TH CENTURY AMERICAN TELEVISION WHOSE CAREER WAS BUILT ON VERSATILLITY AND STEADY APPEARANCES. HIS ROLES TELLS US A LOT ABOUT TELEVISION IN THAT ERS____GENRE WORK (SCIENCE FICTION, CRIME, DRAMA), GUEST STAR CULTURE, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRACTER ACTORS TO FILLING OUT THE MANY WEEKLY SERIES.