Tom Hatten's Shows!
There just isn't enough hours in the week for me to blog about everyone I would like to mention here and keep up with 'current events' also!
So I am taking the time this holiday weekend's Sunday morning to mention another one of my early childhood heroes, Tom Hatten of Los Angeles area local TV shows fame.
Earlier in this same blog I mentioned some of my other favorites from Los Angeles TV Shows.
They were 'Bozo' and Sheriff John (Rovick) along with 'Engineer Bill' who were pioneers in early kids shows.
The year I was born, (1952), Tom Hatten launched his TV Show career in downtown Hollywood at the KTLA studios.
It was Tom's first broadcasting job period. In those early days of KTLA, most of the employees wore many hats at the station.
Those 'hats' would range from commercial spokesman, staff announcer and even newsman on occasion.
What Tom Hatten found to fit him and really launched his career was wearing a sailor's hat for KTLA Channel 5's afternoon kid's show, which was named 'The Pier 5 Club'.
Shortly afterwards it was renamed "The Popeye Show".
Why change the name? Well, KTLA had just acquired 300 of the classic Max Fleishcher's Popeye cartoons!
A lot of Los Angeles area kids will remember that Skipper Tom Hatten's Popeye / Pier 5 club show ran on TV five days a week on a set that actually looked like a ship!
The original TV show aired from the years 1956 to 1964, and featured Skipper Tom and his 'Squiggle Game'.
Why Squiggles and what were they?
Squiggles were impromptu drawings that Tom drew 'on the air' for the kids on the studio set and at home.
Tom would ask his young guests to 'squiggle' something on his sketch board. Then he would 'magically' create a finished picture out of the 'squiggle'.
Of course the picture would usually be of a characer found in Popeye cartoon!
Tom Hatten actually was so interested in the Max Fleishcher's classic Popeye cartoons that he became an authority on the subject!
Tom's show was a three-time Emmy nominee during this time.
My Dad was transferred to San Diego in 1961 where we didn't get reception of all of the LA TV Shows so I missed several during that period.
Then we were transferred to Kodiak Island Alaska, where they had only ONE TV Station that reached the island! Talk about hardship!!
Thus I missed the demise of the first show that Tom had in the LA area.
Of this period Tom has been quoted as saying: "Rock-and-roll shows took over the afternoon airwaves, and kid's shows went out the window, or somewhere".
So I left the LA area, and then Tom also left the KTLA TV Station for twelve years, but then he came back to the station in a new version of "Popeye And His Friends" in 1976.
By this time I was back to LA area also and was newly married. However I would occasionally flip by the new 'color version' of his cartoon show which lasted till 1988.
What really interested me though was a new show that KTLA had asked Tom to host once a week.
KTLA had offered him a weekend hosting spot in 1978. That began the "Family Film Festival" and its 14-year run on KTLA.
"Family Film Festival" wasn't a cartoon show. It actually aired classic films with Tom adding interesting commentary and information on the film being shown.
This concept was a precursor to Bob Dorian at American Movie Classics!
Tom's show usually would air on the weekends and during weeklong marathons. The marathons themselves would feature a theme such as "Warner Brothers Musicals" or "Universal Pictures Horror".
The "Family Film Festival" lasted until 1988. By that time I had moved back to the San Diego area. Tom Hatten himself stayed on at KTLA till 1992!
Tom went on to KNX1070 News Radio in LA, as an entertainment reporter, where he stayed until 2007.
I want to thank Tom Hatten for the years of entertainment that he provided me and later for my family members.
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