Tom Hatten

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}} {{Infobox person |image = Tom-Hatten 2013-11-15.jpg |caption = Hatten in 2013 |alt = A photo of Tom Hatten in 2013 |name = Tom Hatten |birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|11|14}} |birth_place = Jamestown, North Dakota, U.S. |death_date = {{dda|2019|3|16|1926|11|14}} |death_place = California, U.S. |othername = |occupation = {{hlist|Actor|TV kids' show host|radio broadcaster}} |years_active = |spouse = |domesticpartner = |website = }} '''Tom Hatten''' (November 14, 1926 – March 16, 2019) was an American radio, film and television personality and actor, known as the long-time host of ''The Popeye Show'' (originally ''The Pier Point 5 Club'') and ''Family Film Festival'' on KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles from the 1960s until the 1980s. Hatten was one of those television "pioneers"—from the 1950s and 1960s programs done "live"—no matter what mistakes happened. He also appeared in dozens of musicals, films and television shows.

==Early life== Hatten was born in Jamestown, North Dakota.<ref name="deadlineobit">{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/tom-hatten-dies-at-92-1202577018/|title=Tom Hatten Dies: Former 'Popeye and Friends' & 'Family Film Festival' Host Was 92|last=Bennett|first=Anita|date=March 17, 2019|website=Deadline|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=March 19, 2019|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He served in the United States Navy during World War II and used the GI Bill<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last1=Pinsky |first1=Mark L. |title=The Fruits of Being a Second Banana |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27727705/tom_hatten/ |access-date=28 January 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=January 1, 1991 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=F 15|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Von Blon |first1=Katherine |title='Shucks' Gets Good Rating |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27687679/the_los_angeles_times/ |access-date=27 January 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=August 6, 1949 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=7|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> He graduated cum laude<ref name=ds/> in 1950.<ref name=":0" />

==''The Popeye Show''== In 1952, Hatten started working as a broadcaster at KTLA in Hollywood. He was a newscaster and announcer when the station launched the afternoon children's show, ''The Pier 5 Club'', with Hatten as Skipper Tom in September 1956.<ref name="htbg">{{cite book |last1=Hollis |first1=Tim |title=Hi There, Boys and Girls!: America's Local Children's TV Shows |date=2001 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781604738193 |pages=46–47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UWlOQfdQ64C&q=%22Tom+Hatten%22+actor&pg=PA47 |access-date=27 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

The demise of ''The Pier 5 Club'' came in 1964 when Hatten left KTLA. In 1976, however, he returned to the station and revived the series as ''Popeye and His Friends'', which ran until 1988.<ref name=htbg/>

Following the end of the Popeye program, Hatten was host of KTLA's ''Family Film Festival''.<ref name="ds">{{cite news |last1=Bray |first1=Jamie Shoop |title=Tom Hatten tipping his hat to McCallum's Dolly |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27688792/tom_hatten/ |access-date=27 January 2019 |work=The Desert Sun |date=February 22, 1991 |location=California, Palm Springs |page=55|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==''Family Film Festival''== {{Unreferenced section|date=May 2022}} The ''Family Film Festival'' was a weekend-afternoon feature on KTLA 5 between 1978 and 1992, with Hatten screening a classic film, often from the 1940s, 1950s or 1960s. During breaks in the show, he would offer anecdotes about the film's history or its actors, or conduct brief interviews with a cast or crew member. Many Gen X men and women, born throughout the 1970s, were introduced to the films of Jerry Lewis, The Little Rascals, and Pippi Longstocking, as well as animated films like ''Gay Purr-ee'', ''Hoppity Goes to Town'', ''The Phantom Tollbooth'', ''Once Upon a Time'' and ''Star Blazers'' through Hatten's Family Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=Shemaiah |date=2016-08-23 |title=Family Film Festival |url=https://www.shemaiahgonzalez.com/blog/2016/8/23/family-film-festival |access-date=2026-02-19 |website=Shemaiah Gonzalez |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Career== Hatten's acting credits include portraying a corrupt US Army general in the comedy film ''Spies Like Us'' (1985), with Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. He appeared as Captain Murdock in several episodes of the television show ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' and had a minor role as an officer in three episodes of ''Hogan's Heroes''. Hatten provided the voice of the character Farmer Fitzgibbons in the animated film ''The Secret of NIMH''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

On stage, in 1959, Hatten performed in a Los Angeles production of ''The Billy Barnes Revue'' concurrently with hosting the ''Popeye'' TV show.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alpet |first1=Don |title=Hatten: From TV to Stage in One Run |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27727286/tom_hatten/ |access-date=28 January 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=August 9, 1959 |location=California, Los Angeles |page=Part V, p 3|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> He portrayed Horace Vandergelder in the West Coast Opera Theatre's production of ''Hello, Dolly!'' in 1991. He also appeared in a touring production of the musical ''Annie'' as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.<ref name=ds/>

For nearly 20 years, Hatten worked as an award-winning entertainment reporter for KNX 1070 News radio in Los Angeles, filing regular reports on the movie industry, new films, and celebrity news.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.knxnewsradio.com/pages/3275.php?contentType=4&contentId=94499|archive-date=2007-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928072358/http://www.knxnewsradio.com/pages/3275.php?contentType=4&contentId=94499|title=KNX - Tom Hatten|date=September 28, 2007|website=knxnewsradio.com}}</ref> He left the station in 2007.

Hatten served on the board of the National Student Film Institute and was a frequent presenter at its annual film festival.<ref>{{cite book|title=National Student Film Institute/L.A: The Sixteenth Annual Los Angeles Student Film Festival|date=June 10, 1994|location=The Directors Guild Theatre|pages=10–11|ref=Program}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Los Angeles Student Film Institute: 13th Annual Student Film Festival|date=June 7, 1991|location=The Directors Guild Theatre|page=3|ref=Program}}</ref>

== Personal life == Hatten was in a relationship with costume and set designer Peter Menefee for over fifty years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Local TV host charmed L.A. for generations |url=https://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=233180f3-4d32-475c-8234-94cf885f9136 |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=enewspaper.latimes.com}}</ref>

==Death== Hatten died on March 16, 2019, at the age of 92.<ref name="deadlineobit"/>

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 1965 || ''I Saw What You Did'' || Gerald Nyes || |- | 1965 || ''A Very Special Favor'' || Therapy Group Member || Uncredited |- | 1967 || ''Easy Come, Easy Go'' || Lt. J.G || Uncredited |- | 1969 || ''Sweet Charity'' || Man in Tandem || Uncredited |- | 1975 || ''Promise Him Anything'' || O'Brien || TV movie |- | 1982 || ''The Secret of NIMH'' || Farmer Fitzgibbons || Voice |- | 1985 || ''Spies Like Us'' || General Miegs || |- | 2004 || ''Bravura'' || Mr. Casey || Short, (final film role) |}

==References==

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071006104520/http://latvlegends.com/TomHatten/TOMHAT.htm L.A. Local TV Legends - Tom Hatten (Archive)] * {{YouTube|KR2jj4t539I|Tom Hatten Interview (Part I) on Marty's Corner, 2004}} * {{YouTube|-mpTIpSlPh8|Tom Hatten Interview (Part II) on Marty's Corner, 2004}} * {{IMDb name|0369000}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatten, Tom}} Category:Male actors from North Dakota Category:People from Jamestown, North Dakota Category:Military personnel from North Dakota Category:1926 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Place of death missing Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II