Mary Hatcher
Encyclopedia
Mary Hatcher is an American singer and actress whose screen career spanned the years from 1946 to 1951. During that time she appeared in eight films, mostly in credited roles and several times as leading lady.
At the time of Mary's birth, her father Frank was employed by the Polk Company, a large citrus canning firm owned by Ralph Polk Sr. When the company relocated to Tampa, Florida
, the Hatcher family followed. Mary grew up in Tampa, attending Gorrie Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Junior High, where she often sang at student assemblies (her favorite song being "Alice Blue Gown).
Her father's employer Ralph Polk was impressed with young Mary's singing talent, and provided funds so that she could obtain professional voice training. In 1937 at age 8, she began music lessons with Frank Grasso, a popular Florida band leader who was also musical director at Tampa's WFLA radio. Before long, she was singing for local radio broadcasts. Her first public performance was a singing engagement at Tampa's Latin-American Fiesta in 1940. During the early months of World War II
, Mary sang at a number of events in Tampa to raise money for British War Relief
. In 1941 her mother took her to New York City, where she performed at Carnegie Hall
. While in New York, continued financial aid from Mr. Polk enabled Mary to obtain vocal instruction from the Juilliard School
of Music.
By 1944, the Hatcher family had moved to California, and in August that year Paramount Pictures
signed Mary to a seven-year contract. In 1945, Paramount "loaned" Hatcher to the Theatre Guild of New York to play the role of Laurie in a road show version of the musical Oklahoma!. In 1946 she made her first film appearance, an uncredited role as a chorus girl in Paramount's Till the Clouds Roll By. Her first credited screen role came later that year when she played Dibs Downing in Our Hearts Were Growing Up. She had another uncredited role in the 1947 film The Trouble With Women.
Later in 1947 Mary's career got a major boost when the studio gave her the title role in Paramount's all-star revue Variety Girl. The film's sketchy plot followed the exploits of two young women trying to break into the movies. Their adventures on the Paramount lot provided a frame for short cameo performances by practically every player the studio had under contract, including stars like Bing Crosby
, Bob Hope
, Gary Cooper
, Paulette Goddard
, and Burt Lancaster
. In September, Hatcher returned to Tampa for a gala opening of the film at the Tampa Theatre. Crowds turned out to honor their home-town movie star, and Tampa mayor Curtis Hixon presented Mary with a golden key to the city.
In 1948, Hatcher was featured as Veronica Lake
's sister in the rather forgettable musical Isn't It Romantic? Mary's show business career reached its high point in 1949.
That year she starred in two pictures, first in The Big Wheel, an auto racing action film with Mickey Rooney
and Thomas Mitchell
, then opposite Desi Arnaz
in the Latin musical frolic Holiday in Havana. Also in 1949, she appeared on Broadway as Dallas Smith, the female lead in Johnny Mercer
's musical Texas, L'il Darlin, which opened to a mixed reception and closed after a medium-length run of 293 performances.
Mary Hatcher visited Tampa in 1950 to perform with her husband, comedian Herkie Styles (1921–1986), at the roof-top dinner club of the city's posh Bayshore Royal Hotel. The local press described formerly-brunette Mary as "very blond," noting that she had recently been singing with Howard Keel
in the extended Broadway run of Oklahoma!. In February 1951, Mary was a headliner at the El Rancho Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas on a bill including Herkie Styles and Benny Goodman
. In 1951-52, she starred as Maid Marion in Tales of Robin Hood, a film which reportedly was the pilot for a projected but never-realized television series.
That, unfortunately, is where the narrative of Mary Hatcher's career ends at present. After a promising start in show business, she seems to vanish from public view around 1952; or at least from the view of readily accessible print and electronic resources. Her husband Herkie Styles died in 1986, but the question "Whatever happened to Mary Hatcher?" remains unanswered.
Hawes, Leland. "Whatever Happened to Tampa Starlet?" Tampa Tribune, Baylife Section, p. 10, 2/4/2001.
At the time of Mary's birth, her father Frank was employed by the Polk Company, a large citrus canning firm owned by Ralph Polk Sr. When the company relocated to Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, the Hatcher family followed. Mary grew up in Tampa, attending Gorrie Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Junior High, where she often sang at student assemblies (her favorite song being "Alice Blue Gown).
Her father's employer Ralph Polk was impressed with young Mary's singing talent, and provided funds so that she could obtain professional voice training. In 1937 at age 8, she began music lessons with Frank Grasso, a popular Florida band leader who was also musical director at Tampa's WFLA radio. Before long, she was singing for local radio broadcasts. Her first public performance was a singing engagement at Tampa's Latin-American Fiesta in 1940. During the early months of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Mary sang at a number of events in Tampa to raise money for British War Relief
British War Relief Society
The British War Relief Society was a US-based humanitarian umbrella organisation dealing with the supply of non-military aid such as food, clothes, medical supplies and financial aid to people in Great Britain during the early years of the Second World War...
. In 1941 her mother took her to New York City, where she performed at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. While in New York, continued financial aid from Mr. Polk enabled Mary to obtain vocal instruction from the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
of Music.
By 1944, the Hatcher family had moved to California, and in August that year Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
signed Mary to a seven-year contract. In 1945, Paramount "loaned" Hatcher to the Theatre Guild of New York to play the role of Laurie in a road show version of the musical Oklahoma!. In 1946 she made her first film appearance, an uncredited role as a chorus girl in Paramount's Till the Clouds Roll By. Her first credited screen role came later that year when she played Dibs Downing in Our Hearts Were Growing Up. She had another uncredited role in the 1947 film The Trouble With Women.
Later in 1947 Mary's career got a major boost when the studio gave her the title role in Paramount's all-star revue Variety Girl. The film's sketchy plot followed the exploits of two young women trying to break into the movies. Their adventures on the Paramount lot provided a frame for short cameo performances by practically every player the studio had under contract, including stars like Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich...
, and Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
. In September, Hatcher returned to Tampa for a gala opening of the film at the Tampa Theatre. Crowds turned out to honor their home-town movie star, and Tampa mayor Curtis Hixon presented Mary with a golden key to the city.
In 1948, Hatcher was featured as Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
's sister in the rather forgettable musical Isn't It Romantic? Mary's show business career reached its high point in 1949.
That year she starred in two pictures, first in The Big Wheel, an auto racing action film with Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
and Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell (actor)
Thomas Mitchell was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. Among his most famous roles in a long career are those of Gerald O'Hara, the father of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, the drunken Doc Boone in John Ford's Stagecoach, and Uncle Billy in It's a Wonderful Life...
, then opposite Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
in the Latin musical frolic Holiday in Havana. Also in 1949, she appeared on Broadway as Dallas Smith, the female lead in Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
's musical Texas, L'il Darlin, which opened to a mixed reception and closed after a medium-length run of 293 performances.
Mary Hatcher visited Tampa in 1950 to perform with her husband, comedian Herkie Styles (1921–1986), at the roof-top dinner club of the city's posh Bayshore Royal Hotel. The local press described formerly-brunette Mary as "very blond," noting that she had recently been singing with Howard Keel
Howard Keel
Harold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
in the extended Broadway run of Oklahoma!. In February 1951, Mary was a headliner at the El Rancho Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas on a bill including Herkie Styles and Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
. In 1951-52, she starred as Maid Marion in Tales of Robin Hood, a film which reportedly was the pilot for a projected but never-realized television series.
That, unfortunately, is where the narrative of Mary Hatcher's career ends at present. After a promising start in show business, she seems to vanish from public view around 1952; or at least from the view of readily accessible print and electronic resources. Her husband Herkie Styles died in 1986, but the question "Whatever happened to Mary Hatcher?" remains unanswered.
Filmography
- Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946)
- Till the Clouds Roll ByTill the Clouds Roll ByTill The Clouds Roll By is a 1946 American musical film made by MGM. The film is a fictionalized biography of composer Jerome Kern, who was originally involved with the production of the film, but died before it was completed...
(1946) (uncredited) - The Trouble with Women (1947) (uncredited)
- Variety GirlVariety GirlVariety Girl is an all-star movie musical produced by Paramount Pictures. Numerous Paramount contract players and directors make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bing Crosby...
(1947) - Isn't It Romantic? (1948)
- Holiday in Havana (1949)
- The Big WheelThe Big Wheel (film)The Big Wheel is a 1949 film starring Mickey Rooney and Thomas Mitchell.-Plot:Rooney plays Billy Coy, a young man determined to follow in his father's footsteps as a race car driver. Despite the fact that his father, "Cannonball" Coy, was killed in a fiery crash during the Indianapolis 500, Billy...
(1949) - Tales of Robin Hood (1951)
Sources
Mary Hatcher Filmography for the New York TimesHawes, Leland. "Whatever Happened to Tampa Starlet?" Tampa Tribune, Baylife Section, p. 10, 2/4/2001.