Second Lieutenant Rondo Hatton

Rondo Hatton (1894–1946) was born in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1894, and grew up in North Carolina, where he became known as a gifted athlete and was even voted the most handsome boy in his high school. In 1916, he enlisted in the Florida National Guard and soon entered federal service with the U.S. Army’s 124th Infantry Regiment, rising from corporal to sergeant and ultimately earning a commission as a second lieutenant during World War I. After suffering a lung injury from gas exposure, he was discharged in 1919 and returned to Tampa, where he lived with his grandmother and became a respected sports writer for the Tampa Tribune.

His life took an unexpected turn when director Henry King noticed him on the set of Hell Harbor and offered him a small role, inspiring Hatton to pursue acting. Moving to Hollywood in 1935, he embraced the effects of his developing acromegaly and carved out a career in horror films, becoming known for memorable roles in movies such as The Pearl of Death, House of Horrors, and The Brute Man. He died in Beverly Hills from complications of acromegaly and heart disease and was buried in Tampa, Florida. - Asher Koontz