Some actors become associated with one role that colors their lives forever.... This actor actually had not one... but two... though one definitely exerted more influence than the other.... Not many today are familiar with his name... but this gentleman had a definite impact on Old Time Radio... and later, television... more so than many other of his confreres.... His name was
Al Hodge He was born Albert Hodge (nickname "Abie") in April of 1912 in Ravenna, Ohio, to A. E. and Jessie Hodge who owned a dry-cleaning and tailoring establishment in that city.... It is alleged (but never fully confirmed) that his father was once a well-known Wild West rider with Buffalo Bill's famous troupe.
Hodge graduated from Ravenna High School in 1930... where he ran track... was in the Glee Club... the Junior play... the Debate Club... the News Staff... and the Band.... Then he went on to the University of
Miami in Oxford, Ohio, where he again starred in track, and majored in Drama.... He worked in summer stock... touring the country, mostly New England and the South, with a group of four called The Casford Players.... He then joined Muzak Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio.... When his boss left Muzac to work at a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, Hodge went with him.... His first professional radio work was at radio station WXYZ in Detroit.
At WXYZ he was virtually the whole station.... He was an announcer... wrote scripts... wrote copy... was a Deejay... wrote daily editorials broadcast on the local commentary show... and did some producing along the way.... Hodge was called to fill in for a laryngitis-afflicted sports announcer who was doing the Michigan football games.... Hodge frantically bought every sports magazine he could lay his hands on... read them as quickly as possible to get ideas... and 5 hours later went on the air and did a bang-up job of the game!.... He continued to announce all the Michigan games for a whole year.
The owner of WXYZ, George W. Trendle, was hunting for another radio series to capture the public's ear as did another of his famous efforts... "The Lone Ranger".... Someone suggested Frank L. Packard's 1910 novels about "Jimmy Dale... the Grey Seal"... tales of a rich playboy-by-day... criminal-destroyer-by-night... whose left-behind "signature" was a grey sticker.... From this evolved the brainchild of script writer Fran Striker (creator of "The Lone Ranger") and James Jewell, its director.... "By day Britt Reid was the publisher of The SENTINAL newspaper"... who mysteriously left his job every afternoon and was not seen until the next morning.... When asked where he had been he would mention some frivolous playboy function... when in reality he had been out busting up criminal rackets and their leaders.... For this he would don his special "uniform"... and with his faithful " oriental valet Kato" would go about his work... after which he would send a note to the police telling them where they could find the now-subdued bad guys.... Thus was born "The Green Hornet"... a role for which AL HODGE auditioned... won... and which started him up the ladder of fame.... He used 2 voices for the part... one, his own well-modulated tones, for the publisher, Reid... the other, a bit of a growl... deeper... for the Hornet.... He became nationally known.... The show's theme song... appropriately enough... was Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee".... Hodge played the title role from 1936 to 1943.
Listeners were intrigued with the activities of The Green Hornet... whom the "feds" (not knowing the real truth) regarded as "public enemy #1"... and also with Kato's genius at devising things such as the Hornet's car... the"Black Beauty"... which could out-run anything on the road... and the "gas gun" which could put enemies harmlessly to sleep... temporarily.... The Hornet used both inventions to great advantage.... Another intriguing side to this series was that Britt Reid was tied into "The Lone Ranger" in that he was depicted as the Masked Man's great grand-nephew... through his brother Dan.... There were several actors who played The Green Hornet... but AL HODGE was the first.... What started out as a locally broadcast series went national... and was on the air from 1936 (WXYZ) to 1952 (ABC-Radio).... This was the first of two roles that affected Hodge's life.
As far as his personal life was concerned, Hodge was married 3 times.... His first wife, Elizabeth, and he were married from 1936-46 and had one daughter.... They were divorced.... His second, Doris, he married in 1948... and Hodge adopted her 2 children from a previous marriage... a son and a daughter (pictured here).... His third wife was Virginia Jane Osborne, a nightclub dancer, from whom he was separated... although they are buried next to each other in Valhalla Kensico Cemetery, Westchester County, New York.
Hodge left "The Green Hornet" in 1944 to serve as a Lieutenant J.G. in the United States Navy during World War II... and after separation from the service suffered a bout of pleurisy which kept him bed-ridden for a year... then returned to his acting work.... There was plenty of it.... He was heard on "Gangbusters"... "Mr. Keene, Tracer of Lost Persons"... "Mr. District Attorney"... almost every soap opera going... and many other shows.... Television was coming into its own... and Hodge had many friends in that end of the business.... There were some radio actors who had difficulty with the new medium because they were accustomed to reading scripts... not having to memorize their lines.... Hodge had no such trouble, due to his earlier touring company experience. (On the left with Hodge is Virginia "Ma Perkins" Payne.)
In 1951 the tall (6'2"), muscular, handsome AL HODGE entered into the role that would be both good... and bad... for him the rest of his life.... He replaced Richard Coogan... (who wanted to return to the stage)... and became TV's great hero "Captain Video - Guardian of the Safety of the World"... who with his teenage sidekick "the Ranger" (with Hodge on the right)... and army of Video Rangers act as "peacekeepers of a futuristic society"... the most legendary hero in the annals of early television broadcasting!.... He took his responsibilities to heart... knowing how many watchers (particularly impressionable children) looked up to him as a role model.... Hodge... who was a Sunday School teacher at his Congregational Church in Manhassett, Long Island... as the highly-popular Captain Video... stressed the same values on TV as he did in his Sunday School classes... honesty... integrity... tolerance... morality... courage... character... and the Golden Rule.
Hodge remarked (in 1975)... concerning the cast of "Captain Video"... "Everyone worked with everyone else.... I've never seen such teamwork before or since in this business!".... Captain Video was perfectly suited to AL HODGE... and he to it.... The show was the proverbial "smash"... unbelievably popular among adults almost as much as children.... In the 1950's when Hodge testified before a Congressional hearing on violence in television... (where he told them that his show did not condone violence... their weapons merely temporarily paralyzed... never killed)... even the Congressmen referred to AL HODGE as "Captain"... so well-known and respected was he in his role... and also true testimony to his skill at portraying his character.
"Captain Video" left television when the DuMont Network could no longer afford coaxial cables to reach its affiliates.... And that is when the "bad" started.... Hodge was so identified with the role in which he had been so successful that whenever he would walk into an agent's office he would be greeted with "Hello Video ...What can we do for you?".... His Captain Video character was too powerful to overcome... and overshadowed any other role in which he might have been cast.... He finally appeared... off and on... on "Wonderama"... a children's 6-hour local program at New York's TV station WABD.... He headed up various segments of the show and became popular enough to be given his own daily show "Captain Video and the Cartoon Rangers" in 1956-57.... He then went to New Jersey's WNTA where he hosted the daily "Super Serial Show"... but only for a couple of months in 1959.... His last regular TV show was "AL HODGES Space Explorers"... playing himself for a few months in 1961 on WOR-TV (New York).... He walked out after a disagreement on how much time should be spent on commercials.... It must be said that 4 years after the original "Captain Video" went off the air Hodge appeared in his role at Macy's Department Store in New York.... Macy officials said that he drew the largest crowd in the store's history!
Hodge was relegated to jobs such as menswear salesman... working in real estate... libraries and clerical positions.... No acting jobs available.
AL HODGE died in New York City in December of 1979 of heart failure.... He was by this time an alcoholic... and was living in a cheap hotel on a mere $63.00 a week in Social Security checks.... He died alone.
TRIVIA:
• Hodge was very active in his community.... worked with the Boy Scouts. the North Shore Community Hospital, and his aforementioned church where he was Sunday School Superintendant.
• He did much charitable work... toured the country for Muscular Dystrophy... Kiwanis... orphanages... and religious and patriotic orpanizations.
• One of the few jobs after Video left the air was as a dentist in a toothpaste commercial.
• Comedian Bill Cosby parodied "The Green Hornet" in one of his famous skits... calling himself "The Brown Hornet"... driving a "White Beauty"... with driver "Leroy".
• The "Black Beauty" was a customized Chrysler Imperial on TV.
• Hodge was on the National Board of the American Foundation of Television and Radio Artists(AFTRA) as of 1956.
• AL HODGE was the basis for a character named "Simon Trent" in the "Batman" TV series... a forgotten actor who played a TV character named "The Grey Ghost" who was a childhood hero of "Batman".
• Hodge was an expert chef and a fine photographer.
• He had a cat named "Muffin" and a dog (dachshund) named "Kuchen".
And it seems fitting to end with this quote from an article written by Mel Gilden which appeared in the Los Angeles TIMES in 1979:
"Last month a man died in a cheap hotel in New York, taking part of my childhood with him... His real name was AL HODGE... but I... and millions of others... knew him as "Captain Video".... Even though he saved the universe every week for years... he couldn't save himself."
R.I.P Captain Video.
'Til next time... stay tuned!
©2008 BeeGeeOTR 07/13/08
Let's Reminisce about OTR
We thought it would be interesting.... and fun.... for our readers to share some stories about listening to Old Time Radio.
What is your favorite OTR program.... ?
And why does it have special meaning for you.... ?
To e-mail your story...
...and include your permission for us to print your letter!
Mystery Person Contest....
Either last time's quiz was too easy... or we have many mighty sharp readers!... We believe it's the latter... so... the questions this time are a little bit harder.... Let's see what you can do!.... Be the first to answer all five (or the most) and win a prize OTR CD.... Good luck!
1) Whose sidekick was Jerry Colonna?
2) What OTR comic was known as "Banjo Eyes"?
3) Who headed the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge"?
4) What was the last name of "The Tracer of Lost Persons"?
5) Who started his show with "Good evening anybody!"?
PLEASE NOTE: Our contest winner (when there is one) will be announced every other Monday... along with the new column. The first person to guess correctly will be our winner.... As soon as you are notified that you are the winner, please e-mail us your name.... so we can announce it.... and an address to where your prize may be sent. Contestants and their families are eligible to win only once every 2 months. Thank you!
Previous Mystery Person Contest.... Winner!
Congratulations to our winner Samuel F. Baker of Rome, Georgia! Here are the previous quiz questions... followed by the correct answers:
1) Who said "Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!"?
Jimmy Durante
2) Whose catch line was "Heigh Ho, everybody!"?
Rudy Vallee
3) Who was the host of "You Bet Your Life"?
Groucho Marx
4) Who played "Baby Snooks's Daddy"?
Hanley Stafford
5) Who said "Wanna buy a duck"?
Joe Penner
Old Time Radio is written by Betsy L. Weinberg and designed / maintained by the Monroe Studio. God Bless America
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