Eddie Hodges

Eddie Hodges, born Samuel Eddie Hodges on March 5, 1947, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is an American former child actor and recording artist whose career spanned stage, film, television, and popular music. His family relocated to New York City in 1952, setting the stage for a multifaceted career in entertainment that began before he reached his teens.

Hodges made his professional stage debut at age ten in the original 1957 Broadway production of Meredith Willson's The Music Man, originating the role of Winthrop Paroo alongside Robert Preston and Pert Kelton. In that production he introduced the song "Gary, Indiana" and performed "The Wells Fargo Wagon" as a featured soloist on the cast recording. His Broadway activity continued through 1960, with additional credits including Critic's Choice. His performance during this period earned him a Theatre World Award in 1958. The original cast album of The Music Man, on which Hodges was credited as lead singer on "Gary, Indiana," won a Grammy Award in 1959 — the first year the Grammys were presented — making Hodges Mississippi's first Grammy Award winner at age twelve.

On October 4, 1957, the same day the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite, Hodges appeared on the television game show Name That Tune, where he was paired with Major John Glenn, the future astronaut and U.S. senator. That appearance was later dramatized in the 1983 film The Right Stuff, with child actor Erik Bergmann portraying Hodges. On August 2, 1959, Hodges served as the celebrity mystery guest on the television panel show What's My Line? He went on to make guest appearances on numerous television programs, including The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Family Affair, and Cimarron Strip. In 1963 he played Billy Jones opposite Kevin Corcoran in Johnny Shiloh, which aired originally as two episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

Hodges made his film debut in the 1959 production A Hole in the Head, appearing alongside Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson. He and Sinatra performed the Oscar-winning song "High Hopes" in the film, though when Sinatra recorded the song for Capitol Records, Hodges was barred from participating because his own label, Decca, would not authorize a recording with Capitol. He is perhaps most widely recognized for his title role in director Michael Curtiz's 1960 film The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His film work also included a minor role in the 1962 political drama Advise and Consent and appearances in the Disney features Summer Magic (1963) and The Happiest Millionaire (1967), bringing his total feature film credits to eight.

Hodges issued his first single in 1958, a duet with Julia Meade titled "What Would It Be Like in Heaven?" In 1961, at age fourteen, he recorded "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door" for Cadence Records, a cover of the Isley Brothers' single that reached number one in Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Australia, and climbed to number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. He also charted with "(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love," a song written by Phil Everly and originally recorded by the Everly Brothers. Between 1958 and 1967, Hodges released a total of fifteen singles across several record labels. Before departing Hollywood, he worked as a union musician, record producer, songwriter, and music publisher, and co-wrote and co-produced a single with Tandyn Almer that did not chart.

Hodges was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, serving in a non-combat assignment within the United States. After his discharge he returned to Hollywood but grew disillusioned with the entertainment industry and chose to leave show business. He returned to Mississippi and enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling. He subsequently worked as a mental health counselor until his retirement. Hodges converted to Catholicism in 1998. He survived Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, going nineteen days without water, electricity, or telephone and internet service before local utilities were restored. He is divorced, the father of two adult children, and the grandfather of six. Though spinal nerve injuries have prevented him from playing guitar, he has continued to write songs in his later years.