John Hodiak: The Life and Career on Film, Stage and Radio

by David C. Tucker

Overview

He became a star overnight as surly, sexy, usually shirtless Kovac in Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944). Handsome and personable, John Hodiak (1914-1955) embraced his heritage as the son of Polish-Ukrainian immigrants, making him a rare Golden Age actor whose true ethnicity (and birth name) were widely known by moviegoers. Starting in radio, Hodiak was brought to Hollywood by MGM, starring in films like A Bell for Adano (1945) and The Harvey Girls (1946). In making Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944), he and co-star Anne Baxter fell in love despite divergent backgrounds and wed after a tumultuous courtship. The 1950s saw the breakdown of his marriage but also new professional opportunities, notably Broadway stardom in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. Tragically, his death at age 41 cut short an impressive career.

This first full-length study of Hodiak's life and work, featuring original interviews with his daughter and others alongside genealogical and archival research, paints a full-bodied portrait of a man who achieved the American dream, only to have it snatched away in the prime of life. The annotated filmography provides synopses, reviews, and critical commentary of his 34 motion pictures, followed by an overview of radio, stage, and television performances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476694733
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	09/23/2024
Pages:	225
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.46(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David C. Tucker is the author of numerous books about classic film and television history. A retired public library administrator, he lives just outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Biography
Filmography
Selected Radio Performances
Television Performances
Broadway Performances
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Tucker once again presents a throughgoing biography of his subject, allowing us to know Hodiak as a man as well as an actor. ... Tucker covers [the] early part of Hodiak’s career, his perspective, his choices, and his approach to his roles, with intelligence and insight. ... There is more info in this book on Hodiak’s career than can be found in any other study. Tucker’s book on John Hodiak’s life and work fills a real need in cinema scholarship. It is another fine work by one of our best film historians and authors.”—James L. Neibaur

From the Publisher