Mary Hatcher (June , â€" April , ) was an American coloratura soprano
and actress whose screen career spanned the years from -. During that
time she appeared in eight films, mostly in credited roles and several
times as leading lady.At the time of Mary's birth, her father, William
Frank Hatcher, was employed by the Polk Company, a large citrus
canning firm owned by Ralph Polk Sr. When the company relocated to
Tampa, Florida, the Hatcher family followed. Hatcher grew up in Tampa,
attending Gorrie Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Junior High, where she
often sang at student assemblies, her favorite song being "Alice Blue
Gown".In , at age eight, she began music lessons with Frank Grasso, a
popular Florida bandleader who was also musical director at WFLA radio
in Tampa. Before long, she was singing for local radio broadcasts. Her
first public performance was a singing engagement at a Latin-American
Fiesta in Tampa in .[citation needed] Her father's employer, Ralph
Polk, heard one of her weekly broadcasts that featured operatic and
classical songs, and he provided funds so that she could obtain
professional voice training, including attending the Gardner School
for Girls and the school of Queens Mario of the Metropolitan Opera.
and actress whose screen career spanned the years from -. During that
time she appeared in eight films, mostly in credited roles and several
times as leading lady.At the time of Mary's birth, her father, William
Frank Hatcher, was employed by the Polk Company, a large citrus
canning firm owned by Ralph Polk Sr. When the company relocated to
Tampa, Florida, the Hatcher family followed. Hatcher grew up in Tampa,
attending Gorrie Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Junior High, where she
often sang at student assemblies, her favorite song being "Alice Blue
Gown".In , at age eight, she began music lessons with Frank Grasso, a
popular Florida bandleader who was also musical director at WFLA radio
in Tampa. Before long, she was singing for local radio broadcasts. Her
first public performance was a singing engagement at a Latin-American
Fiesta in Tampa in .[citation needed] Her father's employer, Ralph
Polk, heard one of her weekly broadcasts that featured operatic and
classical songs, and he provided funds so that she could obtain
professional voice training, including attending the Gardner School
for Girls and the school of Queens Mario of the Metropolitan Opera.
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