Tom Hatten, TV Legend, Is Honored at Musso's

Legendary actor & TV host Tom Hatten, was honored in a special dinner last night at the Musso & Frank Grill for his decades of great work. Councilman Tom LaBonge joined with Jimmy Pappas (Fox executive aka "The Mayor of Musso's), Greg Williams (author of "The Story of Hollywood"), Bernie Shine and others to celebrate Hatten's remarkable career.

Hatten was an announcer at KTLA in the baby days of television, and stayed there for years, hosting its two versions of the local "Popeye" kid's show, which showed the famous Fleischer Brothers "Popeye the Sailorman" cartoons. 

"As long as it had the name Fleischer on it," Tom said, "you knew it would be good." 

When he first came to town, he had aimed to be a movie-star, but needed work and so answered a call at KTLA, which adjoined Paramount at Bronson & Melrose,  in 1946 to do TV hosting. 

"I really wasn't sure what TV was going to be all about," he said. "But I needed a job." 

When they began searching in 1952 for a "Popeye" host, he stood up and told them he was an expert on Popeye and would be the ideal host. After auditioning others, they realized he was best. 

Soon he was a beloved local TV presence, who wore sailor whites and was admired, as I learned from several of his fans who came to the table, for his fine physique. "He was buff," said one. 

The job ended abruptly, he said, in 1964, "when rock and roll came in, and they cancelled all the kid's shows." But when they brought it back as a special and its rating went through the roof, they realized they needed Tom Hatten back, and they reinvented the show. 

He bought a home, he said, on Sunset Plaza up above the Sunset Strip in 1967, and years later bought the house next door so the first house could be put up for rental. 

"It was ideal for actors coming to town to work on movies," he said. The first to rent it were Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. "They ended up staying there for two full years," he said with a laugh. "Which was okay with me, as he was a great handyman, and built a lot of great things all around the house."  

His reputation as a Popeye spokesman, he said, precluded him from being considered seriously for movie parts, which he longed to land. But he soon was acting on many TV shows, including "Hogan's Heroes," on which he appeared many times, as well as "Gomer Pyle," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Get Smart" and "The Man from Uncle."  

He also starred alongside Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd in the movie Spies Like Us, directed by John Landis. "I got a call one day," he recalled, "from the Landis office. They said that John was a fan of me on the Popeye show, and offered me the part."

"They said the money wasn't much," he said, "but it was filming at Pinecrest in London and I would get first-class tickets back and forth. And I love London, so I agreed."

When it turned out his payment would be $40,000 for what amounted to about twenty lines in the film, he was astounded. "For years they paid me $100 a week at KTLA," he said. "Can you imagine getting paid that?" 

He went on to host KTLA’s Family Film Festival, which was a weekend afternoon feature  between 1978 and 1992. 

Councilman Tom LaBonge presented him with the following official Los Angeles proclamation: 

WHEREAS, Tom Hatten is a veteran radio, film and television personality who has also appeared in dozens of musicals, movies and television shows. He is best 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 in the 1960s through the 1980s; and

WHEREAS, Tom Hatten was born on November 14, 1927 in Jamestown, North Dakota. He served in the Navy during World War II and used the GI Bill to study acting at the Pasadena School of Theater. He graduated magna cum laude in 1950; and

WHEREAS, in 1952, Tom Hatten started working as a broadcaster at KTLA in Hollywood, later landing the part of the friendly sailor in the station's afternoon children's show, The Pier Point 5 Club. Dressed in Navy whites, Hatten would present the animated works of Max and Dave Fleischer, starring as the spinach eating Popeye. After this show was given a more elaborate studio set, it was renamed The Popeye Show; and  

WHEREAS, Tom Hatten’s show aired on weekends until 1985. Afterwards, he went on to host KTLA’s Family Film Festival, a weekend afternoon feature on KTLA 5 between 1978 and 1992 with Hatten screening a classic movie. During breaks, he would offer anecdotes about the film’s history or conduct interviews with cast and crew members; and

WHEREAS, Tom Hatten’s acting credits also include roles in Spies Like Us with Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Secret of NIMH and Hogan’s Heroes; and

WHEREAS, Tom Hatten worked for nearly 20 years as an award-winning entertainment reporter for KNX 1070 News Radio in Los Angeles, filing regular reports on the movie industry and celebrity news. He left the station in 2007:

NOW THEREFORE, on behalf of the City of Los Angeles, we hereby recognize TOM HATTEN, a familiar figure and voice for many in our City and our Country. We salute him on his great career and many achievements. We thank him for his heart and hand to the community, and we wish him all the best in future endeavors. Tom, you are truly an Angel in the City of Angels!