[1] He served in the United States Navy during World War II and used the GI Bill[2] to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.

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.

During breaks in the show, he would offer anecdotes about the film's history or its actors, or even conduct brief interviews with a cast or crew member (a practice that originally predated the cable networks American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies; see those articles for details).

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.

[citation needed] On stage, in 1959, Hatten performed in a Los Angeles production of The Billy Barnes Revue concurrently with hosting the Popeye TV show.