Raymond Hatton

Legendary actor Raymond Hatton got his start in the film business in 1909 with an appearance in a short film called "Tragic Love." After a string of short pictures, he began to make a name for himself as a comic sidekick. Hatton often played his characters as clever, crafty, and witty, as opposed to the usual characterizations of the day where the sidekick was often a buffoon and clown. By the time sound came to motion pictures, Hatton had already established a remarkable career in silent films, having appeared in hundreds of them, including many as part of a comedy team with actor Wallace Beery. Sound gave Hatton's career a further boost, however, as audiences could finally hear the gravelly voice of his crusty sidekick characters.

One of his most memorable characters of this era was Rusty Joslin, a tobacco-chewing tough-guy adventurer, who appeared in nine films of the "The Three Mesquiteers" series--51 Western B-movies released between 1936 and 1943, each featuring three stars, including John Wayne. Hatton appeared in his last role as an elderly hitchhiker in the 1967 film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel "In Cold Blood," which told the real-life story of a botched robbery that results in a brutal murder. It is estimated that Hatton appeared in over 500 films throughout his illustrious career, which spanned almost six decades.