1. Samuel "Eddie" Hodges was born on March 5,1947 and is an American former child actor and recording artist.
20 Facts About Eddie Hodges
1. 2.
Eddie Hodges's 1961 cover of the Isley Brothers' single "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door" reached number 1 in Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and Australia, and rose to number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
3.
When Hodges became an adult, he made the decision to leave show business.
4.
Eddie Hodges was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States, and traveled to New York City with his family in 1952.
5.
At the age of ten, Eddie Hodges made his professional acting debut on stage in Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, in which he originated the character of Winthrop Paroo, and introduced the song "Gary, Indiana", with Robert Preston and Pert Kelton.
6.
However, when Sinatra recorded the song for Capitol Records, Eddie Hodges was not invited to participate because his own record label, Decca, would not grant him permission to record with Capitol.
7.
Eddie Hodges acted in eight feature films and made numerous TV guest appearances.
8.
Eddie Hodges is probably best remembered for playing the title role in Michael Curtiz's 1960 film The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
9.
Eddie Hodges appeared in the 1962 film Advise and Consent in a minor role as well as the Disney films Summer Magic and The Happiest Millionaire.
10.
On October 4,1957, the day the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite, Eddie Hodges made a memorable appearance on the game show Name That Tune.
11.
Eddie Hodges partnered with Major John Glenn, the future astronaut and US senator, in an event later dramatized in the 1983 motion picture The Right Stuff.
12.
In 1963, Eddie Hodges played a supporting role as Billy Jones opposite fellow child actor Kevin Corcoran in Johnny Shiloh, which originally aired as two episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.
13.
In 1961, at age 14, Eddie Hodges recorded his biggest hit for Cadence Records, "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door".
14.
Eddie Hodges scored a minor hit with " Made to Love", a song written by Phil Everly and originally recorded by the Everly Brothers.
15.
Eddie Hodges subsequently recorded for several other record labels, issuing a total of 15 singles as a performer between 1958 and 1967.
16.
Eddie Hodges collaborated with Tandyn Almer as both co-writer and co-producer on a single that failed to chart.
17.
Eddie Hodges was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s but remained in the US in a non-combat assignment.
18.
Eddie Hodges became a mental health counselor and eventually retired from practice after a long career in the field.
19.
Eddie Hodges is divorced and the father of two grown children and grandfather of six.
20.
Eddie Hodges occasionally gets in touch with his old show business friends and still writes songs, although he is no longer able to play guitar due to spinal nerve injuries.