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

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.