Righteous Brother Hatfield dies

Deepa Bharath

Bobby Hatfield was every inch a local boy.

He and partner Bill Medley made their debut as the Righteous

Brothers in 1962 at the Rendezvous Ballroom on the Balboa Peninsula.

There was no looking back. The dynamic duo -- who split only

briefly since then -- stuck together like glue and gained world fame

with their brand of soulful music and big-time hits such as “You’ve

Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “Unchained Melody.”

Today, the band is without one “brother.”

Hatfield was found dead Wednesday in his hotel room at Kalamazoo,

Mich., half an hour before he and Medley were to perform at Miller

Auditorium on the Western Michigan University campus. He was 63. The

cause of his death has not yet been determined.

Hatfield and Medley were an integral part of Newport Beach, said

Anthony Pesci, owner of Anthony’s Riverboat restaurant in the Newport

Harbor Nautical Museum.

“You see them around all the time,” he said. “And they’re both

real friendly.”

Medley and Hatfield came together first as part of a five-member

band called the Paramours, for which they sang duets. But they split

from the quintet and became the Righteous Brothers in 1962. Both were

involved with the local community. They packed the Balboa Pavilion in

1998 to raise money for the Balboa Theater renovation project.

Hatfield organized several charity golf tournaments.

Pesci said he met Hatfield through Medley, whose daughter McKenna

used to sing at the Riverboat Thursday nights. They had their picture

taken at the restaurant when they were inducted into the Rock ‘N’

Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, he said.

Pesci said Hatfield was full of life.

“He was always upbeat and happy,” he said.

Hatfield was also “hysterically funny,” said his daughter-in-law,

Kristen Hatfield, who lives in Newport Beach with her husband, Bobby

Jr., and son.

“He was one of those people who was born funny,” she said. “He

didn’t have to try.”

The family is in shock, she said.

“It’s over, and we didn’t even get to say good-bye,” Kristen

Hatfield said.

Her father-in-law was close to his family despite his constant

traveling, she said.

“He sang at our wedding,” she said. “And he was there when our son

was born.”

At least twice a month he wrote them letters, Kristen Hatfield

said.

“He used to cut out articles and send them with his letters,” she

said. “That was so sweet. Who writes letters anymore?”

Bill Medley’s wife, Paula, said Hatfield’s death is a big loss to

her family.

“We all love him dearly and will miss him,” she said, declining to

comment further.

Costa Mesa resident Joan Perry said she had known Hatfield when he

was a teenager. Hatfield and Medley, she said, came to her modeling

agency to get photographs taken.

“He was a gorgeous teenager,” she said.

Hatfield’s death is a tragic event, Perry said.

“He’s still so young,” she said. “It’s like the end of an era.”