Background
William Hodge was born on November 1, 1874 in Albion, New York, United States. He was the son of Thomas and Mary (Anderson) Hodge.
(Excerpt from The Guest of Honor Warner rested the weight...)
Excerpt from The Guest of Honor Warner rested the weight of 1118 heavy body on his cane a few seconds, then used it to feel his way to a chair and said Good-morn ing, Jack. He removed his black slouch hat, hung it on the handle of his cane, ran his fingers through his snow-white hair and heaved a sigh that almost shook the little room. Mrs. Murray's eyes wandered from his clean shaven face to the black shiny vest that but toned tightly around his fleshy figure, then to the ragged edges of his trousers that hung over a shabby pair of laced shoes and a look of sym pathy came over her face as she looked at the old man run his fingers between his neck and the celluloid collar that was buttoned with a bone button to a figured soft shirt. Where is your father P. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Actor director playwright producer
William Hodge was born on November 1, 1874 in Albion, New York, United States. He was the son of Thomas and Mary (Anderson) Hodge.
Hodge attended the public schools of Albion and Rochester, New York, then ran away from home to become property boy in a theatrical company that was touring the small towns of Pennsylvania.
Hodge toured with various small troupes in the United States and Canada, serving in any capacity, apparently, from bit player to manager. He made his first appearance in New York at the People's Theatre on January 10, 1898, as McFadden in Lincoln J. Carter's melodrama, The Heart of Chicago. The next season he played a fire-eating Brazilian in The Reign of Error, with the Rogers Brothers. In 1900 he was engaged by James A. Herne to play Freeman Whitmarsh in Sag Harbor. It is said that when he asked Herne for advice about the part he was told, "You are perfect. Don't try to be an actor and you'll be one. "
He continued in this play until Herne's death in 1901 and in 1902 played Stephen Tully in Sky Farm. He then produced the first of his own plays, Eighteen Miles from Home, and toured with it, but it was not successful, and he next appeared in the musical comedy, Peggy from Paris. In 1904 he played Mr. Stubbins in Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, and two years later he took the part of Seth Hubbs in Dream City. He first came into his own in 1907 when he played Daniel Voorhees Pike, the Indiana lawyer, in The Man from Home, by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. This delightful comedy gave him a place in the hearts of people all over the country. He continued to play in it until 1913, and all the characters that he so successfully created after that were based upon that part. He had found out that the slow-speaking, good-humored, astute, rustic American type suited him best, and he had also discovered that there would always be good audiences for road companies presenting wholesome plays of American life.
When playwrights could not furnish what he desired he turned again to writing his own plays. Among these were The Road to Happiness, Fixing Sister, A Cure for Curables, The Guest of Honor, and some other, all of which he played almost exclusively for the rest of his career.
His final appearance was as Joe Adams in The Old Rascal. In May 1931 he retired to his home near Greenwich, Connecticut. He left the stage to live the life of a typical American on his farm, enjoying his family and indulging his love for horses and dogs and other animals. He died from pneumonia the following year, at the age of fifty-seven.
(Excerpt from The Guest of Honor Warner rested the weight...)
Hodge was tall, red-haired, and deliberate--a man who never spoke harshly and never moved quickly. He was a familiar type of nineteenth-century American--conservative, provincial, and shrewd, and the people loved him.
On June 13, 1909, Hodge married Helen P. Cogswell, a musical comedy actress. She and their three children, Genevieve, Martha, and William, survived him.