Hatten was born 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.

In 1952, he 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. He followed "Skipper Frank" Herman who appeared earlier in the afternoon with Cartoon Carousel.

The Family Film Festival was a weekend afternoon feature on KTLA 5 between 1978 and 1992, with Hatten screening a classic movie, often from the 40's, 50's or 60's. 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). Many "Gen X"-aged men and women, born throughout the 1970s and raised in Los Angeles, were introduced to the films of Jerry Lewis, The Little Rascals, and Pippi Longstocking as well as animated films as Gay Purr-ee, Hoppity Goes to Town, The Phantom Tollbooth,Once Upon a Time and Star Blazers, through Hatten's Family Film Festival. The Little River Band's song Reminiscing was used as bumper music.

Hatten's show aired on Saturday and Sunday until 1985. The guests and games were gone, but it still featured Tom's cartoons. Hatten then hosted KTLA's Family Film Festival, where his cinema expertise was again displayed.