John Hodiak

John Hodiak (/ˈhoʊ.diː.æk/ HOH-dee-ak; 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Hodiak also had the role of McCullough in the radio soap opera Girl Alone.

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).

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.

MGM 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 had a role in Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944).

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. Fox kept him on to play Maj. Joppolo in A Bell for Adano (1945) with Gene Tierney.