Biography[]
Al Hodge was born in Ravenna, Ohio in the shadow of heroes, not knowing that he would one day become the most legendary hero in the annals of early television broadcasting. His father walked with heroes, and was a renowned Wild West rider, having been a member of Buffalo Bill's troupe. Al majored in drama at the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio, where he was a track star. He worked in summer stock, touring the country with the Casford Players, and worked on radio stations in New England, UK and Detroit.
At WXYZ in Detroit he was a one-man radio station - writing scripts, announcing, and doing production work. He was the original radio Green Hornet before World War II, and returned to the program after he had served as a lieutenant in the Navy. During the late 1940s he was often heard playing parts on 'Mr. District Attorney', 'Gangbusters', 'Mr. Keene, Tracer of Lost Persons', and almost every soap opera broadcast from New York.
In the 1950s he was popular to TV fans as Captain Video. By the time of his death however, he had become an alcoholic and was living on $63 a week social security checks. He died alone and forgotten.