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| “ | His name is Arch Hammer, he's 36 years old. He's been a salesman, a dispatcher, a truck driver, a con man, a bookie, and a part-time bartender. This is a cheap man, a nickel-and-dime man, with a cheapness that goes past the suit and the shirt; a cheapness of mind, a cheapness of taste, a tawdry little shine on the seat of his conscience, and a dark-room squint at a world whose sunlight has never gotten through to him. But Mr. Hammer has a talent, discovered at a very early age. This much he does have. He can make his face change. He can twitch a muscle, move a jaw, concentrate on the cast of his eyes, and he can change his face. He can change it into anything he wants. Mr. Archie Hammer, jack-of-all-trades, has just checked in at 3:80 a night, with two bags, some newspaper clippings, a most odd talent, and a master plan to destroy some lives. | „ |
| ~ Rod Serling at the beginning of the episode. |
Archie "Arch" Hammer is the protagonist villain of the Twilight Zone episode "The Four Of Us Are Dying". He is a con man with the supernatural ability to change his face to look like anyone. He is portrayed by the late Harry Townes (who also portrayed Del Frye's human form in the 1981 The Incredible Hulk series) as his true self, Ross Martin (who also portrayed Martin J. Hollister in Columbo) while impersonating Johnny Foster, the late Phillip Pine (who also portrayed Colonel Phillip Green in Star Trek: The Original Series) while impersonating Virgil Sterig and Don Gordon while impersonating Andy Marshak.
Biography[]
According to Rod Serling's narration, Hammer is a jack-of-all-trades who has been a salesman, a dispatcher, a truck driver, a con man, a bookie, and a part-time bartender, and he can change his face. This is proven at the beginning of the episode when Hammer meets the girlfriend of deceased trumpeter Johnny Foster in a nightclub and changes his face to look like Foster in order to steal her.
He later changes his face to look like gangster Virgil Sterig and goes to the house of his rival Mr. Pennell, to extort money from him. This unnerves Pennell, as he had had Sterig killed, and he sends men after Hammer when he leaves.
Pursued by Pennell's men, Hammer manages to escape by changing his face to look like boxer Andy Marshak. However, he then runs into Marshak's father, who believes him to be the real Marshak, and confronts him over betraying a girl who "would've cut off an arm for him". Hammer, panicking over what Mr. Marshak might do, pushes past him and runs back to his hotel room, where he changes back to his true self.
However, a police officer recognizes Hammer as a known criminal and chases him. In order to escape, Hammer gets out of sight and changes into Marshak again, only to run into Mr. Marshak, who pulls a gun on him. As Hammer desperately protests that he can show Mr. Marshak he isn't Marshak if he concentrates, Mr. Marshak shoots Hammer. As he dies on the ground, Hammer changes between Marshak, Sterig, and Foster before finally turning into his true self.
