John Hodiak

John Hodiak (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film.

Early life

Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Hodiak grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan.Template:Citation needed

Career

Radio

When Hodiak first tried out for a radio acting job, he was turned down because of his accent. He became a caddie at a Detroit golf course, then worked at a Chevrolet automobile factory – and practised his diction. When he conquered the diction hurdle, he became a radio actor and moved to Chicago. There Hodiak created the role of the comic strip character Li'l Abner on radio.<ref name="Maltin p. 401">Maltin 1994, p. 491.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hodiak also had the role of McCullough in the radio soap opera Girl Alone.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hollywood

Hodiak was cast in a few small parts at MGM, including A Stranger in Town (1943), I Dood It (1943) and Maisie Goes to Reno (1944).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Stardom

File:Lifeboat (1944) 1.jpg

L-R: Walter Slezak, John Hodiak, Tallulah Bankhead, Henry Hull, William Bendix, Heather Angel, Mary Anderson, Canada Lee, and Hume Cronyn in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944)

Hodiak then caught the eye of director Alfred Hitchcock, and on loan to 20th Century Fox, he was featured in Lifeboat (1944) opposite Tallulah Bankhead.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

MGM cast him in the third lead in Song of Russia (1944), supporting Robert Taylor and Susan Peters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was Ann Sothern's love interest in Maisie Goes to Reno (1944) and had a role in Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

20th Century Fox borrowed Hodiak again to play the title role in Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944), with Anne Baxter, whom he married in real life.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fox kept him on to play Maj. Joppolo in A Bell for Adano (1945) with Gene Tierney.<ref name="Maltin p. 401" />

At MGM, Hodiak had a role as Judy Garland's love interest in The Harvey Girls (1946).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Fox gave him a starring role in Somewhere in the Night (1946), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hodiak acted with Lucille Ball in MGM's Two Smart People (1946), which lost money,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as did the film noir The Arnelo Affair (1947).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Supporting actor

Hodiak went to Paramount for Desert Fury (1947), playing the lead with Lizabeth Scott and Burt Lancaster. He starred in Love from a Stranger (1947) for Eagle Lion, then supported Lana Turner and Clark Gable in Homecoming (1948). He supported Gable again in Command Decision (1948). The two Gable films were hits but Hodiak was voted "box office poison" by exhibitors at the end of 1948.<ref>"Mary Armitage's Film Close-ups." Sunday Mail (Adelaide) Sunday Magazine Supplement, January 29, 1949, p. 3. Retrieved: May 18, 2013.</ref>

Hodiak was down the cast list for The Bribe (1949). He was second billed in MGM's war film Battleground (1949), a huge success. Also popular was Malaya (1949) where Hodiak supported James Stewart and Spencer Tracy.

Hodiak was a love rival for Robert Taylor in Ambush (1950), a popular Western. MGM gave him another lead role, co-starring with Hedy Lamarr in A Lady Without Passport (1950), but it lost money. He was third billed in The Miniver Story (1950), the flop sequel to Mrs. Miniver, and fourth lead in Night into Morning (1951), an unsuccessful drama.

Hodiak supported Spencer Tracy in The People Against O'Hara (1951) and Clark Gable in Across the Wide Missouri (1952). He was second billed to Walter Pidgeon in The Sellout (1953).

Broadway and B movies

In 1952, Hodiak went to New York City and made his Broadway debut in The Chase by Horton Foote and directed by José Ferrer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The play was a failure, but its star received positive notices.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Hodiak went to Allied Artists to star in the movie Battle Zone (1952).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He starred in two Westerns, Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953) and Conquest of Cochise (1953), and then the war movies Mission Over Korea (1953) and Dragonfly Squadron (1954).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He originated the role of Lieutenant Maryk in Paul Gregory's production of the play The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (1954–1955) by Herman Wouk adapted from his novel The Caine Mutiny.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The play, starring Henry Fonda and Lloyd Nolan, ran for two years, and Hodiak's portrayal brought him acclaim.

When the show closed after its U.S. tour, Hodiak began work on Trial (1955) at MGM, billed fourth as the prosecuting attorney.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When it wrapped, he played Major Ward Thomas in On the Threshold of Space (1956) at 20th Century Fox.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Hodiak and actress Anne Baxter (whom he met while they were starring in Sunday Dinner for a Soldier) married on July 7, 1946, and divorced on January 27, 1953. They had one daughter, Katrina Hodiak, who became an actress.<ref name="Maltin p. 401" />

Death

Hodiak had a fatal heart attack at his parents' home in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was acting in On the Threshold of Space; it was decided that his performance was sufficient to release the movie.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He is interred in Block 303, Crypt D-1 of the main mausoleum at Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles. He left an estate of $25,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Legacy

Hodiak has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6101 Hollywood Boulevard, for his work in radio.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Director	Notes
1943	A Stranger in Town	Hart Ridges	John E. Burch (assistant)
	I Dood It	Roy Hartwood	Vincente Minnelli
	Swing Shift Maisie	Clerk	Norman Z. McLeod	uncredited
1944	Lifeboat	John Kovac	Alfred Hitchcock
	Song of Russia	Boris Bulganov	László Benedek (uncredited)
	Maisie Goes to Reno	Philip Francis "Flip" Hennahan	Harry Beaumont
	Marriage Is a Private Affair	Lieutenant Tom Cochrane West	Robert Z. Leonard
	Sunday Dinner for a Soldier	Sgt. Eric Moore	Lloyd Bacon
1945	A Bell for Adano	Maj. Victor P. Joppola	Henry King
1946	The Harvey Girls	Ned Trent	Robert Alton
	Somewhere in the Night	George W. Taylor	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
	Two Smart People	Ace Connors	Jules Dassin
1947	The Arnelo Affair	Tony Arnelo	Arch Oboler
	Desert Fury	Eddie Bendix	Lewis Allen
	Love from a Stranger	Manuel Cortez	Richard Whorf
1948	Homecoming	Dr. Robert Sunday	Mervyn LeRoy
	Command Decision	Col. Edward Rayton "Ted" Martin	Sam Wood
1949	The Bribe	Tugwell 'Tug' Hintten	Robert Z. Leonard
	Battleground	Pvt. Donald Jarvess	William A. Wellman
	Malaya	Kellar	Richard Thorpe
1950	Ambush	Capt. Ben Lorrison	Sam Wood
	A Lady Without Passport	Pete Karczag	Joseph H. Lewis
	The Miniver Story	Spike Romway	H.C. Potter
1951	Night into Morning	Tom Lawry	Fletcher Markle
	The People Against O'Hara	Louis Barra	John Sturges
	Across the Wide Missouri	Brecan	William A. Wellman
1952	The Sellout	Chick Johnson	Gerald Mayer
	Battle Zone	Danny	Lesley Selander
1953	Ambush at Tomahawk Gap	McCord	Fred F. Sears
	Mission Over Korea	Capt. George Slocum	Fred F. Sears
	Conquest of Cochise	Cochise	William Castle
1954	Dragonfly Squadron	Maj. Matthew Brady	Lesley Selander
1955	Trial	Dist. Atty. John J. Armstrong	Mark Robson
1956	On the Threshold of Space	Maj. Ward Thomas	Robert D. Webb

Radio appearances

A few of Hodiak's many radio appearances:

Year	Program	Episode/source
1948	Hallmark Playhouse	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1952	Suspense	"The Big Heist"<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
1953	Suspense	"Gold of the Adomar"<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
1953	Suspense	"The Mountain"<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>

References

Bibliography

• Maltin, Leonard. "John Hodiak". Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia. New York: Dutton, 1994. Template:ISBN.
• Tucker, David C. John Hodiak: The Life and Career on Film, Stage and Radio. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2024. Template:ISBN.

External links

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