Rondo Hatton
Encyclopedia
Rondo Hatton was an American
actor
who had a brief, but prolific career playing thuggish bit parts in many Hollywood B-movies. He was known for his brutish facial features which were the result of acromegaly
, a disorder of the pituitary gland
.
to Stewart Price and Emily Zarring Hatton, a pair of Missouri-born teachers. The Hatton family moved several times during Rondo's youth, to Hickory, North Carolina
, and to Charles Town, West Virginia
, and at last to Tampa, Florida
, where family members owned a business. Following his father's death, Hatton, his mother, and his younger brother Stewart moved in with his maternal grandmother in Tampa. There he obtained work as a sportswriter for the local newspaper. He worked as a journalist until after World War I
when the symptoms of acromegaly
developed.
Acromegaly
distorted the shape of Hatton's head, face, and extremities in a gradual but consistent process. Hatton, who reportedly had been voted the handsomest boy in his class at Hillsborough High School, eventually became severely disfigured by the disease. Because the symptoms developed in adulthood (as is common with the disorder), the disfigurement was incorrectly attributed later by film studio publicity departments to his exposure to a German mustard gas attack during service in World War I
. Whether Hatton actually served in combat is unclear, though it has been reported that he served on the Mexican border
and in France.
Director Henry King
noticed Hatton when he was working as a reporter with The Tampa Tribune
covering the filming of Hell Harbor (1930) and hired him for a small role. After some hesitation, Hatton moved to Hollywood in 1936 to pursue a career playing similar, often uncredited, bit roles. His most notable of these were as a contestant in the "ugly man competition" (which he loses to a heavily made up Charles Laughton
) in the RKO
production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
and as Gabe Hart, a member of the lynch mob in the 1943 film of The Ox-Bow Incident
.
Universal Studios
attempted to exploit Hatton's unusual features to promote him as a horror star after he played the part of the Hoxton Creeper in its sixth Sherlock Holmes
film, The Pearl of Death
(1944). He made a half dozen minor films playing variations of the Creeper character, including The Brute Man
(1946). Hatton died of a heart attack
(a direct result of his acromegalic condition) in 1946.
, Jim Rockford, exasperated at a friend who dismisses himself as unattractive, exclaims "you're no Rondo Hatton!" Hatton's physical likeness appears as the Lothar character in Dave Stevens' 1980s Rocketeer Adventure Magazine stories, as well as Disney
's 1991 film version, The Rocketeer
, where the character is played by actor Tiny Ron in "Hatton" make-up.
The 2000 AD
comic book character Judge Dredd
, who is rarely seen without his helmet on, used "face-changing technology" to make himself look like Rondo Hatton in a 1977 issue - the first time the character's face was shown. As the artist Brian Bolland
revealed in an interview with David Bishop
: "The picture of Dredd’s face – that was a 1940s actor called Rondo Hatton. I've only seen him in one film." Additionally, the character "The Creep" in the Dark Horse Presents comic-book series strongly resembled Hatton.
Hatton is regularly name-checked in the novels of Robert Rankin
, (often referred to as "the now-legendary Rondo Hatton") and credited as appearing in films which are either fictional, or which he clearly had no part in, such as the Carry On
films. Rankin's references to Hatton routinely occur in the form of "he had a Rondo Hatton" (hat on). Another namecheck occurs in Rafi Zabor's PEN/Faulkner-award winning 1998 novel The Bear Comes Home
, where the name is used as a nickname for good-natured but unrefined minor character Tommy Talmo. In the 2004 Stephen King novel, The Dark Tower VII, a character is described as looking "like Rondo Hatton, a film actor from the 30's, who suffered from acromegaly and got work playing monsters and psychopaths..." The episode of Doctor Who
entitled "The Wedding of River Song
" features Mark Gatiss
as a character whose appearance (achieved through prosthetics) is based on Hatton's, credited under the pseudonym "Rondo Haxton" for his performance.
The play with music entitled "The Return of Dr. X" written by Welsh playwright Chris Amos contains a dedication to Rondo Hatton and the story (of a horror star named Gabriel Hayton) is loosely based on the life of Rondo Hatton. The show has been produced in several UK regional theatres and was nominated for the Cameron MackIntosh Award in 2000.
Since 2002, The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards
represent Hatton in both name as well as his likeness. The physical award is a representation of Hatton, and is based on the bust of "The Hoxton Creeper," portrayed by Hatton in the 1946 Universal Pictures
film House of Horrors
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who had a brief, but prolific career playing thuggish bit parts in many Hollywood B-movies. He was known for his brutish facial features which were the result of acromegaly
Acromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty...
, a disorder of the pituitary gland
Pituitary gland
In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g , in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold...
.
Biography
Hatton was born Rondo K. Hatton in Hagerstown, MarylandHagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
to Stewart Price and Emily Zarring Hatton, a pair of Missouri-born teachers. The Hatton family moved several times during Rondo's youth, to Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina. Hickory has the 162nd largest urban area in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 341,851, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in North Carolina. The city's population was 37,222...
, and to Charles Town, West Virginia
Charles Town, West Virginia
Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2000 census. Due to its similar name, travelers have sometimes confused this city with the state's capital, Charleston.-History:...
, and at last 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....
, where family members owned a business. Following his father's death, Hatton, his mother, and his younger brother Stewart moved in with his maternal grandmother in Tampa. There he obtained work as a sportswriter for the local newspaper. He worked as a journalist until after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the symptoms of acromegaly
Acromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty...
developed.
Acromegaly
Acromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty...
distorted the shape of Hatton's head, face, and extremities in a gradual but consistent process. Hatton, who reportedly had been voted the handsomest boy in his class at Hillsborough High School, eventually became severely disfigured by the disease. Because the symptoms developed in adulthood (as is common with the disorder), the disfigurement was incorrectly attributed later by film studio publicity departments to his exposure to a German mustard gas attack during service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Whether Hatton actually served in combat is unclear, though it has been reported that he served on the Mexican border
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
and in France.
Director Henry King
Henry King (director)
Henry King was an American film director.Before coming to film, King worked as an actor in various repertoire theatres, and first started to take small film roles in 1912. He directed for the first time in 1915, and grew to become one of the most commercially successful Hollywood directors of the...
noticed Hatton when he was working as a reporter with The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune, published in Tampa, Florida, is one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area, second in circulation and readership to the St. Petersburg Times. The paper's tagline is "Life...
covering the filming of Hell Harbor (1930) and hired him for a small role. After some hesitation, Hatton moved to Hollywood in 1936 to pursue a career playing similar, often uncredited, bit roles. His most notable of these were as a contestant in the "ugly man competition" (which he loses to a heavily made up Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
) in the RKO
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American monochrome film starring Charles Laughton as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
and as Gabe Hart, a member of the lynch mob in the 1943 film of The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell...
.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
attempted to exploit Hatton's unusual features to promote him as a horror star after he played the part of the Hoxton Creeper in its sixth Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
film, The Pearl of Death
The Pearl of Death
The Pearl of Death is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. The story is loosely based on Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" but features some additions, such as Evelyn Ankers as an accomplice of the villain, played...
(1944). He made a half dozen minor films playing variations of the Creeper character, including The Brute Man
The Brute Man
The Brute Man is a 1946 American horror thriller film starring Rondo Hatton as the Creeper, a murderer seeking revenge against the people he holds responsible for the disfigurement of his face. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, the film features Tom Neal and Jan Wiley as a married pair of friends the...
(1946). Hatton died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
(a direct result of his acromegalic condition) in 1946.
Legacy
Hatton's name - and simple but brutish face - have become recurring motifs in popular culture. In an episode of the 1970s television series, The Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files
The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
, Jim Rockford, exasperated at a friend who dismisses himself as unattractive, exclaims "you're no Rondo Hatton!" Hatton's physical likeness appears as the Lothar character in Dave Stevens' 1980s Rocketeer Adventure Magazine stories, as well as Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's 1991 film version, The Rocketeer
The Rocketeer (film)
The Rocketeer is a 1991 period superhero adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and based on the character of the same name created by comic book writer/artist Dave Stevens. Directed by Joe Johnston, the film stars Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino...
, where the character is played by actor Tiny Ron in "Hatton" make-up.
The 2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
comic book character Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
, who is rarely seen without his helmet on, used "face-changing technology" to make himself look like Rondo Hatton in a 1977 issue - the first time the character's face was shown. As the artist Brian Bolland
Brian Bolland
Brian Bolland is a British comics artist, known for his meticulous, detailed linework and eye-catching compositions. Best known in the UK as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology 2000 AD, he spearheaded the 'British Invasion' of the American comics industry, and in...
revealed in an interview with David Bishop
David Bishop
David Bishop is a screenwriter and author. Born in New Zealand, he was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000....
: "The picture of Dredd’s face – that was a 1940s actor called Rondo Hatton. I've only seen him in one film." Additionally, the character "The Creep" in the Dark Horse Presents comic-book series strongly resembled Hatton.
Hatton is regularly name-checked in the novels of Robert Rankin
Robert Rankin
Robert Fleming Rankin is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies...
, (often referred to as "the now-legendary Rondo Hatton") and credited as appearing in films which are either fictional, or which he clearly had no part in, such as the Carry On
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
films. Rankin's references to Hatton routinely occur in the form of "he had a Rondo Hatton" (hat on). Another namecheck occurs in Rafi Zabor's PEN/Faulkner-award winning 1998 novel The Bear Comes Home
The Bear Comes Home
The Bear Comes Home is a novel written by Rafi Zabor. It won the 1998 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. It was selected as an alternate for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award....
, where the name is used as a nickname for good-natured but unrefined minor character Tommy Talmo. In the 2004 Stephen King novel, The Dark Tower VII, a character is described as looking "like Rondo Hatton, a film actor from the 30's, who suffered from acromegaly and got work playing monsters and psychopaths..." The episode of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
entitled "The Wedding of River Song
The Wedding of River Song
"The Wedding of River Song" is the thirteenth and final episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 1 October 2011.-Plot:...
" features Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
as a character whose appearance (achieved through prosthetics) is based on Hatton's, credited under the pseudonym "Rondo Haxton" for his performance.
The play with music entitled "The Return of Dr. X" written by Welsh playwright Chris Amos contains a dedication to Rondo Hatton and the story (of a horror star named Gabriel Hayton) is loosely based on the life of Rondo Hatton. The show has been produced in several UK regional theatres and was nominated for the Cameron MackIntosh Award in 2000.
Since 2002, The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards
Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards
The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award is an award presented annually by the Classic Horror Film Board to honor the top works in horror in film, television, home video, and publishing.-The award:...
represent Hatton in both name as well as his likeness. The physical award is a representation of Hatton, and is based on the bust of "The Hoxton Creeper," portrayed by Hatton in the 1946 Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
film House of Horrors
House of Horrors
House of Horrors was a low-budget horror film released by Universal Pictures, starring Rondo Hatton as a madman, named "The Creeper." It was also known as Murder Mansion and in the United Kingdom as Joan Medford is Missing.-Plot:...
.
Filmography
Because of the numerous uncredited extra roles in Hatton's career, compiling a complete and accurate filmography is problematic. The following list is incomplete.- 1927 Uncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's Cabin (1927 film)Uncle Tom's Cabin is a silent film directed by Harry A. Pollard and released by Universal Pictures. The film is based on the eponymous novel written by Harriett Beecher Stowe and was the last silent film version....
(uncredited - in same scene with Dick SutherlandDick SutherlandDick Sutherland was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 76 films between 1921 and 1932. His crude threatening looking features were a result of acromegaly...
) - 1930 Hell Harbor (uncredited)
- 1937 In Old ChicagoIn Old ChicagoIn Old Chicago is a 1937 American drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys." The film is a fictionalized account about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and stars Alice Brady as Mrs. O'Leary, the owner of...
- 1938 Alexander's Rag Time Band (uncredited)
- 1939 Captain FuryCaptain FuryCaptain Fury is a 1939 adventure film directed by Hal Roach. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction by Charles D. Hall.-Cast:* Brian Aherne - Captain Michael Fury* Victor McLaglen - Blackie* Paul Lukas - Francois Dupre...
(uncredited) - 1939 The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American monochrome film starring Charles Laughton as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
(uncredited) - 1939 The Big Guy (uncredited)
- 1939 Union Pacific (film)Union Pacific (film)Union Pacific is a 1939 American dramatic western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea. Based on the novel Trouble Shooter by Western fiction author Ernest Haycox, the film is about the building of the railroad across the American West.-Plot:The 1862...
(uncredited) - 1939 Gun Cargo (uncredited)
- 1940 Chad HannaChad HannaChad Hanna is a 1940 film directed by Henry King, and was adapted from a bestseller of sorts that was published that same year. The novel was written by Walter Dumaux Edmonds It stars Henry Fonda and Dorothy Lamour.-Cast:*Henry Fonda as Chad Hanna*Dorothy Lamour as...
- 1940 Moon Over Burma
- 1942 The Cyclone Kid (uncredited)
- 1942 The Black SwanThe Black Swan (film)The Black Swan is a 1942 swashbuckler Technicolor film by Henry King, based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini, and starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, and won one for Best Cinematography, Color.-Plot:...
(uncredited) - 1942 Tales of ManhattanTales of ManhattanTales of Manhattan is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart worked on the six stories in this film.-Cast:...
(uncredited) - 1942 Sin Town (uncredited)
- 1942 Moon and Sixpence (uncredited)
- 1943 Sleepy Lagoon
- 1943 The Ox-Bow IncidentThe Ox-Bow IncidentThe Ox-Bow Incident is a 1943 American western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan and Jane Darwell...
(uncredited) - 1944 The Princess and the PirateThe Princess and the PirateThe Princess and the Pirate is a 1944 American comedy film released by Samuel Goldwyn, starring Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo. This was the only appearance in a Goldwyn film by Paramount Pictures star Hope.-Plot:...
(uncredited) - 1944 The LodgerThe LodgerThe Lodger may refer to:* The Lodger, a 1913 horror novel by Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes** The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, a 1927 British silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the 1913 novel...
(uncredited) - 1944 Raiders of Ghost CityRaiders of Ghost CityRaiders of Ghost City is a Universal movie serial.-Cast:* Dennis Moore as Captain Steve Clark* Wanda McKay as Cathy Haines* Lionel Atwill as Erich von Rugen, alias Alex Morel* Joe Sawyer as Idaho Jones* Regis Toomey as Captain Clay Randolph...
(uncredited) - 1944 Johnny Doesn't Live Here Anymore (uncredited)
- 1944 The Pearl of DeathThe Pearl of DeathThe Pearl of Death is a 1944 Sherlock Holmes film starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. The story is loosely based on Conan Doyle's short story "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" but features some additions, such as Evelyn Ankers as an accomplice of the villain, played...
- 1945 The Royal Mounted Rides AgainThe Royal Mounted Rides AgainThe Royal Mounted Rides Again was a Universal film serial. Adventure serials of this type were popular in the early days of cinema. The serial, often called cliffhangers, would show one episode per week, with an ending that would hide the outcome of an exciting event, sometimes ending with "tune...
(uncredited) - 1945 The Jungle CaptiveThe Jungle CaptiveThe Jungle Captive is a 1945 sequel to Jungle Woman , which had been preceded by Captive Wild Woman . The Jungle Captive features Otto Kruger, Amelita Ward, and Rondo Hatton . Vicky Lane plays Paula Dupree, a lead character from the two earlier films. The movie was written by Dwight V...
- 1946 Spider Woman Strikes Back
- 1946 House of HorrorsHouse of HorrorsHouse of Horrors was a low-budget horror film released by Universal Pictures, starring Rondo Hatton as a madman, named "The Creeper." It was also known as Murder Mansion and in the United Kingdom as Joan Medford is Missing.-Plot:...
- 1946 The Brute ManThe Brute ManThe Brute Man is a 1946 American horror thriller film starring Rondo Hatton as the Creeper, a murderer seeking revenge against the people he holds responsible for the disfigurement of his face. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, the film features Tom Neal and Jan Wiley as a married pair of friends the...