# Mary Hatcher
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{{Short description|American actress (1929–2018)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mary Hatcher
| image_size =
| image = Mary Hatcher in The Big Wheel (1949).jpg
| caption = Hatcher in ''[The Big Wheel](/source/The_Big_Wheel_(film))'' (1949)
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|06|06|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [Haines City, Florida](/source/Haines_City%2C_Florida), U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|04|03|1929|06|06|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [Riverside, California](/source/Riverside%2C_California), U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1946–1951
| spouse = {{ubl|James Alexander
({{abbr|m.|married}} 1946; {{abbr|annulled|annulled}} 19??)
Herkie Styles
({{abbr|m.|married}} 1949; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)
{{marriage|[Alvin Stoller](/source/Alvin_Stoller)|1951|1992|reason=his death}}}}
| children = 2
| parents =
}}
'''Mary Hatcher''' (June 6, 1929 – April 3, 2018) was an American [coloratura soprano](/source/coloratura_soprano)[{{cite news|last1=McLaughlin|first1=Will|title='Twixt Stage and Screen|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13394444/mary_hatcher|work=The Ottawa Journal|date=March 22, 1947|location=Canada, Ottawa, Ontario|page=10|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=August 27, 2017}} {{Open access}}] and actress whose screen career spanned the years from 1946-51. During that time she appeared in eight films, mostly in credited roles and several times as leading lady.
==Early life and career==
She was the daughter of William Frank Hatcher.[{{cite news |title=Mary Hatcher Denies She Is Expecting Baby |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23729473/mary_hatcher/ |work=The Tampa Times |date=March 21, 1950 |location=Florida, Tampa |page=1|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = September 14, 2018}} {{Open access}}] His employer, Ralph Polk, heard one of Mary's weekly broadcasts that featured operatic and classical songs, and he provided funds so that she could obtain professional voice training, including attending the [Gardner School for Girls](/source/Gardner_School_for_Girls) and the school of Queens Mario of the Metropolitan Opera.[{{cite news |title=A Hoosier Heard Her Sing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23724533/mary_hatcher/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=January 9, 1946 |location=Indiana, Indianapolis |page=8|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = September 14, 2018}} {{Open access}}]
==Film career==
By 1944, the Hatcher family had moved to California, and in August that year [Paramount Pictures](/source/Paramount_Pictures) signed Mary to a seven-year contract. When she was 15, Hatcher was selected to play Laurey in a road production of ''[Oklahoma!](/source/Oklahoma!)'' At the same time, she was already signed to the movie contract, but her film debut was delayed for a year while she toured with the play.[{{cite news|last1=Corby|first1=Jane|title=Screenings|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13394174/mary_hatcher|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|date=January 15, 1950|location=New York, Brooklyn|page=25|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=August 27, 2017}} {{Open access}}]
In 1946, Hatcher made her first film appearance, an uncredited role as a chorus girl in M-G-M's ''[Till the Clouds Roll By](/source/Till_the_Clouds_Roll_By)''. Her first credited screen role came later that year when she played Dibs Downing in ''[Our Hearts Were Growing Up](/source/Our_Hearts_Were_Growing_Up)''. She had another uncredited role in the 1947 film, ''[The Trouble with Women](/source/The_Trouble_with_Women_(film))''. Later in 1947, Hatcher's career received a major boost when Paramount gave her the title role in the all-star revue ''[Variety Girl](/source/Variety_Girl)''.[{{cite news |title=Metropolitan: 'Variety Girl' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23722377/the_boston_globe/ |work=The Boston Globe |date=August 29, 1947 |location=Massachusetts, Boston |page=21|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = September 14, 2018}} {{Open access}}] The film's sketchy plot followed the exploits of two young women trying to break into the movies. Their adventures on the Paramount lot provided a frame for short cameo performances by practically every player the studio had under contract, including stars like [Bing Crosby](/source/Bing_Crosby), [Bob Hope](/source/Bob_Hope), [Gary Cooper](/source/Gary_Cooper), [Paulette Goddard](/source/Paulette_Goddard) and [Burt Lancaster](/source/Burt_Lancaster).
In 1948, Hatcher was featured as [Veronica Lake](/source/Veronica_Lake)'s sister in the musical ''[Isn't It Romantic?](/source/Isn't_It_Romantic%3F_(1948_film))''. Her show business career reached its high point in 1949 when she starred in two pictures, first in ''[The Big Wheel](/source/The_Big_Wheel_(film))'', an auto racing action film with [Mickey Rooney](/source/Mickey_Rooney) and [Thomas Mitchell](/source/Thomas_Mitchell_(actor)), then opposite [Desi Arnaz](/source/Desi_Arnaz) in the Latin musical frolic ''[Holiday in Havana](/source/Holiday_in_Havana)''. Also in 1949, she appeared on Broadway as Dallas Smith, the female lead in [Johnny Mercer](/source/Johnny_Mercer)'s musical ''Texas, L'il Darlin'',[{{cite web|title=("Mary Hatcher" search results)|url=http://www.playbill.com/searchpage/search?shows=on&people=on&theatres=on&q=Mary+Hatcher&qasset=00000150-ac80-d16d-a550-ecbee8790002|website=Playbill Vault|publisher=Playbill|accessdate=August 28, 2017|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20170828024807/http://www.playbill.com/searchpage/search?shows=on&people=on&theatres=on&q=Mary+Hatcher&qasset=00000150-ac80-d16d-a550-ecbee8790002|archivedate=August 28, 2017|url-status=dead}}] which opened to a mixed reception and closed after a medium-length run of 293 performances. Her Broadway credits also include ''Oklahoma!''.[{{cite web |title=Mary Hatcher |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-hatcher-93606 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |accessdate=September 14, 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914191714/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-hatcher-93606 |archivedate=September 14, 2018}}]
==Personal appearances==
Hatcher visited Tampa in 1951 to perform with her husband, Herkie Styles, at the Skyline Room of the Bayshore Royal Hotel.[{{cite news|title=Back Home by Popular Demand|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23729759/mary_hatcher|work=The Tampa Times|date=January 20, 1951|location=Florida, Tampa|page=10|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=September 14, 2018}} {{Open access}}] The local press described the formerly brunette Hatcher as "very blond", noting she had recently been singing with [Howard Keel](/source/Howard_Keel) in the extended Broadway run of ''Oklahoma!''. In February 1951, Hatcher was a headliner at the [El Rancho Vegas Hotel](/source/El_Rancho_Vegas_Hotel) in Las Vegas on a bill including Herkie Styles and [Benny Goodman](/source/Benny_Goodman). In 1951-52, she starred as Maid Marian in ''[Tales of Robin Hood](/source/Tales_of_Robin_Hood)''.{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}}
==Later life==
Hatcher left show business in 1952, partially due to the fact that her marriage to Styles had ended. She declined the offer to play Alice Kramden in ''[The Honeymooners](/source/The_Honeymooners)''.[{{cite web|url=https://www.tampapix.com/tampa1940s5.htm|title=Mary Hatcher, Tampa's 'Variety Girl'|website=Tampapix.com|access-date=April 9, 2018}}] On September 23, 1951, she married drummer Alvin Stoller in Westwood, California,[{{cite news|title=Marriages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kyEEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Mary+Hatcher%22+actress&pg=PA42|accessdate=August 27, 2017|magazine=Billboard|date=October 13, 1951|page=42}}]["Mary Hatcher Weds Drummer." Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, 25 September 1951, 14.] and became a housewife. She remained married to Stoller until his death in 1992.[{{cite news |last1=Monahan |first1=Kaspar |title=Curley Loves Laurey -- And No Fooling! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23721500/mary_hatcher/ |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=December 29, 1946 |location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh |page=33|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = September 14, 2018}} {{Open access}}] Her father had the marriage annulled.[{{cite journal |last1=Wagner |first1=Laura |title=Mary Hatcher |journal=Films of the Golden Age |date=Summer 2018 |issue=93 |pages=66, 70}}] On May 9, 1949, Hatcher married Herkie Styles in St. Louis. At the time, Styles was a comedian with Benny Goodman's orchestra.[{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Mary+Hatcher%22+actress&pg=PT47|title=Marriages|date=May 21, 1949|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=August 27, 2017|page=49}}]
==Death==
Hatcher died at the age of 88 from [bile duct cancer](/source/bile_duct_cancer) at a hospital in [Riverside, California](/source/Riverside%2C_California).[{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mary-hatcher-dead-mickey-rooneys-star-big-wheel-was-88-1100941|title=Mary Hatcher, Mickey Rooney's Co-Star in 'The Big Wheel,' Dies at 88|first=Mike|last=Barnes |magazine=[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)|date=April 9, 2018}}] Her death was announced by her grandson, John Stoller. She was also survived by her brother, two children, six other grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.