Vintage BEEFCAKE 1945 JOHN HODIAK Double-Weight 8x10 CANDID Dell Photo STAMPED

Description

John Hodiak
a
vintage
photograph
for
Modern Screen Magazine
(Dell Publishing, New York), 1945
double-weight matte-finish paper
publisher's stamp
(reverse)
8x10 inches
Very Good
John Hodiak
(April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film.
Hodiak was born in
Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent.
Hodiak grew up in
Hamtramck, Michigan
.
Hodiak had his first theatrical experience at age 11, acting in Ukrainian and Russian plays at the
Ukrainian Catholic Church
. From the moment he first appeared on the stage, he resolved to become an actor. Hodiak was not even swayed when as a third baseman on his local high school baseball team, he was offered a contract with a St. Louis Cardinals
farm club
. He turned the offer down.
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 practiced 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.
Hodiak also had the role of McCullough in the radio soap opera
Girl Alone
.
Hodiak arrived in Hollywood in 1942 and signed a motion picture contract with
MGM
. He refused to change his name, saying, "I like my name. It sounds like I look."
Hodiak was cast in a few small parts at MGM, including
A Stranger in Town
(1943),
I Dood It
(1943) and
Swing Shift Maisie
(1943).
MGM was impressed and cast him in the third lead in
Song of Russia
(1944) supporting Robert Taylor and
Susan Peters
. He was
Ann Sothern
's love interest in
Maisie Goes to Reno
(1944) and competed with
James Craig
for
Lana Turner
in
Marriage Is a Private Affair
(1944).Hodiak then caught the eye of
director
Alfred Hitchcock
and, on loan to
20th Century Fox
, was featured in
Lifeboat
(
1944
) opposite
Tallulah Bankhead
.
20th Century Fox borrowed Hodiak again to play the title role in
Sunday Dinner for a Soldier
(1944), opposite
Anne Baxter
whom he married in real life. Fox kept him on to play Maj. Joppolo in
A Bell for Adano
(
1945
) opposite
Gene Tierney
.
Back at MGM, Hodiak was in
The Harvey Girls
(1946), second billed as
Judy Garland
's love interest.
Fox gave him his first proper star part in
Somewhere in the Night
(1946), directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
. Hodiak played opposite
Lucille Ball
in MGM's
Two Smart People
(1946), which lost money. So too did the thriller
The Arnelo Affair
(1947).
Hodiak went to Paramount for
Desert Fury
(1947), playing third lead to
Burt Lancaster
and
Lizabeth Scott
. 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.
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 comedy.
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).
In 1952, Hodiak went to New York City and made his Broadway debut in The Chase by
Horton Foote
and directed by
José Ferrer
. The play was a failure, but its star received positive notices.
Hodiak went over to Allied Artists to star in the movie
Battle Zone
(1952). 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).
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
. 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. When it wrapped, he played Major Ward Thomas in
On the Threshold of Space
(1956) at 20th Century Fox.
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.
Hodiak was a frequent visitor to the
King Ranch
in
Kingsville, Texas
. He and others were guests of
Zachary Scott
, whose sister had married into the ranch owner's family.
At age 41, Hodiak suffered a fatal
heart attack
at his parents' home in
Tarzana, California
. He was acting in On the Threshold of Space; it was decided that his performance was sufficient to release the movie.
~ Wikipedia