Temple Hatton

In the early 1950s, just as opportunities were opening up for African American actors to play more dignified film roles, Temple Hatton seemed poised to be a beneficiary of that emerging trend. At the time, he was making a name for himself on the stage in Santa Barbara, California. Unfortunately, Hollywood was not interested in casting a light-complexed African American in these new roles. Unlike Frank Silvera, and Noble Johnson before him, Hatton was not g…

In the early 1950s, just as opportunities were opening up for African American actors to play more dignified film roles, Temple Hatton seemed poised to be a beneficiary of that emerging trend. At the time, he was making a name for himself on the stage in Santa Barbara, California. Unfortunately, Hollywood was not interested in casting a light-complexed African American in these new roles. Unlike Frank Silvera, and Noble Johnson before him, Hatton was not given the opportunity to play other ethnic roles either. Besides a small role in the ironically titled, "I Passed for White" (1960) and a prominent, but uncredited role in the fact-based dramatic short, "An Epistle from the Koreans," Hatton couldn't secure acting gigs in Hollywood. Hatton quit acting in the mid-1960s and found work behind the scenes. From 1968 to 1986, he worked as censor for NBC.