Mike Hodge

Mike Hodge (February 24, 1947 – September 9, 2017) was an American actor and labor union executive born in McComas, West Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia University, where he also minored in theater, before beginning his professional career at The Washington Post and continuing his theatrical training at the DC Black Repertory Theater. While working in Washington, D.C., he secured memberships in the Actors' Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, after which he relocated to New York City.

Hodge's Broadway career spanned from 1987 to 1992 and encompassed four productions, among them Fences, A Few Good Men, and Search and Destroy. On television, he became a recognizable presence on the New York-based drama Law & Order, where he held a recurring role as Judge Delano Burns throughout the 1990s and 2000s. His television work also included appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ed, and Fringe. His film credits included Striking Distance (1993) and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), and shortly before his death he completed filming on Humor Me, directed by Sam Hoffman. Beyond acting, Hodge narrated audiobooks by authors including Mitch Albom and Steve Harvey, as well as the documentary Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War (2006).

Hodge became active in actors' labor organizing following the joint SAG and AFTRA commercial strike in 2000. In 2001, he was elected to SAG's national board of directors, beginning a tenure in union leadership that would span more than sixteen years. He was first elected president of SAG's New York City chapter in 2010 and subsequently served on SAG's G1 committee, the body responsible for drafting the merger agreement that created SAG-AFTRA in 2012. He also served as a member of the New York State AFL-CIO Executive Council, the City Labor Council, and as a trustee of the Industry Advancement Cooperative Fund. In August 2017, just one month before his death, Hodge was re-elected as president of the SAG-AFTRA New York local.

Hodge died unexpectedly on September 9, 2017, at the age of 70. He was survived by his mother, Roberta Hodge Johnson, and three siblings: Joseph Hodge, Karen Hodge Thomas, and Vicki Hodge Lynch. Following his death, SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris recognized his nearly sixteen years of service to the union and its membership.