Max Hodge, 91; TV Writer
Stephen Bowie
Max Hodge
HODGE , Max
(91), Television Writer created character "Mr. Freeze" for Batman.
The remarkable life of Max E. Hodge, 91, prolific television writer,
faded to black August 17, 2007 at the Motion Picture & Television Fund
in Woodland Hills, CA. Mr. Hodge's life will be celebrated in a
graveside service on Wednesday, August 22 at 10:45 a.m. at the Forest
Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills. In lieu of flowers, the family
requests donations be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund
Foundation, 23388 Mulholland Drive, Woodland Hills, CA 91364 (in
Memory of Max Hodge).
Born in the coal mining town of Matherville, IL, Max grew up in East
Moline, IL, and Pontiac, MI. A versatile and productive writer in
television throughout the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s, Max wrote for
programs such as "Batman", "Chips", "Girl from U.N.C.L.E.", "Marcus
Welby, M.D.", "Ironside", and "Mission Impossible". He may be most
remembered for the creation of the character "Mr. Freeze", played by
Otto Preminger in three "Batman" episodes in 1966. Max's work
reflected the honesty and simplicity of the small town life he
experienced while growing up in the mid-west in the 1920s. Few of his
stories reflected this more than his breakout script for "Dr. Kildare"
in 1965 which was based on the heartbreaking real life story of the
five miscarriages suffered by Max's brother Paul and his wife
Marguerite.
Graduating from the University of Michigan in 1939 where he served as
the editor of the U of M humor magazine "Gargoyle", Max then served
tours in the Pacific as an ensign in the Navy during WWII. In 1948,
Mr. Hodge received his Masters Degree from the Pasadena Playhouse
College of Theatre Arts. Later, he became principle producer and
writer for Oldsmobile's industrial shows during the 1950s and was
proud that these shows gave an early start to future stars such as
Bill Hayes, Bob Fosse, Gwen Verden, Chita Rivera, and Florence
Henderson.
A lifelong bachelor, Max is survived by several nieces and nephews as
well as his close family friends, Danny and Tracy Boldroff and
children.
Brad Ferguson
Stephen Bowie <stephe...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Paid death notice from Sunday's LA Times:
>
> Max Hodge
> HODGE , Max
> (91), Television Writer created character "Mr. Freeze" for Batman.
> Born in the coal mining town of Matherville, IL, Max grew up in East
> Moline, IL, and Pontiac, MI. A versatile and productive writer in
> television throughout the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s, Max wrote for
> programs such as "Batman", "Chips", "Girl from U.N.C.L.E.", "Marcus
> Welby, M.D.", "Ironside", and "Mission Impossible". He may be most
> remembered for the creation of the character "Mr. Freeze", played by
> Otto Preminger in three "Batman" episodes in 1966.
Mr. Freeze was originally named Mr. Zero and first appeared in the
comics in Batman 121 (Sept 1959), more than six years before his first
appearance on the TV show. The creation of the character is credited
to Bob Kane. Mr. Zero was renamed Mr. Freeze for TV (for the better, I
think), and that name was adopted by the comics from then on.
George Sanders was the first actor to play Mr. Freeze. Preminger was
the second, but (according to Adam West's memoir, "Back to the
Batcave") he was terrible to work with. Eli Wallach took the role for
the third and final go. Each actor appeared in two episodes each.
Stephen Bowie
encouraging to see that Variety fact-checks these press releases
rather than, say, simply reprinting the same error about Mr.
Freeze ... three times:
Max Hodge, 91, TV writer
Scribe created character 'Mr. Freeze' for 'Batman'
By VARIETY STAFF
TV writer Max Hodge, who created the character "Mr. Freeze" for the
"Batman" TV series, died Aug. 17 in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 91.
Services will be held Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 10:45 a.m. at the Forest
Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.
He was raised in Illinois and Michigan, graduated from the U. of
Michigan and served in the Navy during WWII.
After the war, he attended the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater
Arts and became a producer and writer for Oldsmobile's industrial
shows during the 1950s, some of which starred Bob Fosse, Gwen Verden,
Chita Rivera, and Florence Henderson.
Hodge wrote for TV programs of 1960s, '70s, and early '80s including
Dr. Kildare," "Batman," "Girl from U.N.C.L.E.," "Wild Wild West,"
"Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Ironside," "Mission Impossible," "The Waltons"
and "Chips."
He may be most remembered for the creation of the character "Mr.
Freeze", played by Otto Preminger in three "Batman" episodes in 1966.
There were no immediate survivors.
Donations may be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund
Foundation, 23388 Mulholland Drive, Woodland Hills, CA 91364.
Jim Beaver
"Stephen Bowie" <stephe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1187702243....@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for that tidbit, Brad. Meanwhile, in the official media, it's
> encouraging to see that Variety fact-checks these press releases
> rather than, say, simply reprinting the same error about Mr.
> Freeze ... three times:
>
It's too thin to skate on, really, but there's a slight justification for
this "created Mr. Freeze" thing: television series writers get a "character
creation" adjustment when a character they introduced IN A SCRIPT goes on to
return in other episodes, meaning they get a little payment whenever someone
else writes an episode using that character. (Doesn't apply to the regular
characters, I don't think.) For example, a writer named John Schulian wrote
an episode of "Reasonable Doubts," the third or fourth episode of that 1990s
series. He wrote a character called Gaddis who was a friend of Mark Harmon's
lead character, Dickey Cobb. From then on, Schulian got a small payment
every time a writer on the show used the Gaddis character (which I played).
Schulian used to tell me how happy he was, from a financial standpoint, that
the character got so much use on the show.
So while it's indisputable that Hodge didn't INVENT the character of Mr.
Freeze, it already being a comic-book character, by being the first to use
the character in an episode of Batman, he "created the character" as far as
Writers Guild character-creation payments are concerned. (It probably
helped that he didn't call the character Mr. Zero. Who knows, it might be
WHY he didn't.)
Like I said, it's thin, but not without some slight substance.
I knew Max Hodge slightly, by the way. I interviewed him several times for
my George Reeves book-in-progress, about Hodge's time at the Pasadena
Community Playhouse and his friendship with Reeves. An amusing experience:
I had found Hodge's name, in the Playhouse files, as the author of a play
that George Reeves was credited as acting in. I called him up, he told me a
lot about Reeves, the Playhouse, and many of the other people there. He was
very helpful. We talked several times. Then, at one point, I called him up
for a bit of clarification about George's appearance in his play. He said,
"But George wasn't in my play." I said, "But I'm looking at the program
right here in my hand. It says 'Farmer (or whatever)......George Reeves."
Hodge thought a moment and said, "Oh, that's not the same George Reeves.
That was just some teenaged kid who was around the Playhouse at the same
time. I'd forgotten about him." So at that moment I realized that the
reason I'd contacted Hodge in the first place was faulty, yet it had paid
off quite well. And that's also how I found out that several of the
Playhouse productions which had puzzled me because the famous George Reeves
seemed to have taken on the tiniest of non-speaking roles did not, in fact,
utilize the famous George Reeves but rather a youngster with the same name.
And who said research wasn't a laugh riot?
Jim Beaver
Garondo Marondo
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> In article <1187573628.088706.299...@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com>,
Garondo Marondo
> "Stephen Bowie" <stephen_bo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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