Tom Hatten

Tom Hatten (November 14, 1926 – March 16, 2019) was an American actor, broadcaster, and radio personality whose career spanned television, film, stage, and radio. Born in Jamestown, North Dakota, he served in the United States Navy during World War II before using the GI Bill to pursue formal training in acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he graduated cum laude in 1950.

Hatten joined KTLA in Hollywood in 1952, initially working as a newscaster and announcer. In September 1956, the station launched an afternoon children's program called The Pier 5 Club, with Hatten appearing as the on-air host Skipper Tom. The show continued until 1964, when Hatten departed from KTLA. He returned to the station in 1976 and relaunched the series under the title Popeye and His Friends, which ran through 1988. Following the conclusion of that program, Hatten hosted the Family Film Festival, a weekend-afternoon feature on KTLA 5 that ran from 1978 to 1992. During the program, he screened classic films, frequently from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and filled commercial breaks with historical anecdotes about the films, commentary on the actors involved, or brief interviews with cast and crew members.

His acting credits in film and television were extensive. He portrayed a corrupt United States Army general in the 1985 comedy Spies Like Us, alongside Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. On television, he appeared as Captain Murdock in multiple episodes of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and held a minor recurring role as an officer in three episodes of Hogan's Heroes. He also contributed voice work to animation, providing the voice of Farmer Fitzgibbons in the feature film The Secret of NIMH.

Hatten's stage work included a 1959 Los Angeles production of The Billy Barnes Revue, performed while he was simultaneously hosting the Popeye television program. He later portrayed Horace Vandergelder in the West Coast Opera Theatre's production of Hello, Dolly! in 1991. His Broadway credit came in 1978, when he appeared in Annie, playing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a touring production of the musical.

For close to two decades, Hatten worked as an entertainment reporter for KNX 1070 News radio in Los Angeles, covering the film industry, new releases, and celebrity news. He left the station in 2007. He also served on the board of the National Student Film Institute and regularly presented at its annual film festival. Hatten was in a relationship with costume and set designer Peter Menefee for more than fifty years. He died on March 16, 2019, at the age of 92.