Arch Whiting (29 September 1936 – 7 May 2007; age 70) was an actor who made an appearance as an assistant engineer in the Star Trek: The Original Series first season episode "The Alternative Factor". He filmed his scenes on Monday 21 November 1966 at Desilu Stage 9.
Born Harold J. Archambault in Larchmont, New York, USA, Whiting is perhaps best known for playing the radio operator known only as "Sparks" on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea from 1964 through 1968. He also appeared in a 1968 episode of Land of the Giants, which also featured Don Marshall, Joseph Ruskin and Arthur Batanides. He also appeared in a number of made-for-TV movies, all of which also feature other Star Trek alumni. Among the more notable are The Stranger (1973, starring Glenn Corbett and Sharon Acker), Ordeal (1973, starring Diana Muldaur, Michael Ansara, and Bill Catching), The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One (1974, with Gary Lockwood, Harris Yulin, Whit Bissell, Lenore Kasdorf, Bill Zuckert, Dallas Mitchell, and James B. Sikking), Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975, with John McLiam, Logan Ramsey, and Don Keefer), and Sky Heist (1975, with Frank Gorshin, Ed McCready, and Bill Catching).
Whiting died on May 7, 2007, the same day as fellow Trek guest actor Nicholas Worth. [1] [2](X)