Biography
Actor Earle Hodgins has been characterized by more than one western-film historian as a grizzled, bucolic
Bob Hope type. Usually cast as snake-oil salesmen, Hodgins would brighten up his "B"-western scenes with a snappy stream of patter, leavened by magnificently unfunny wisecracks ("This remedy will give ya a complexion like a peach, fuzz 'n' all..."). When the low-budget western market died in the 1950s, Hodgins continued unabated on such TV series as
The Roy Rogers Show and
Annie Oakley. He also made appearances in such "A" films as
East of Eden (55), typically cast as carnival hucksters and rural sharpsters. In 1961, Earle Hodgins was cast in the recurring role of wizened handyman Lonesome on the TV sitcom Guestward Ho! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide