Dinner theater legend Ann Hodges to be celebrated Oct. 18

The public is invited to a Celebration of Life for actress Ann Hodges, known as the “Queen of the Tampa Bay Dinner Theaters,” who died Sept. 1 at 82.

The event is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, where Hodges worked as a yoga instructor.

A former member of the popular June Taylor dancers, the Kentucky-born Hodges performed on The Jackie Gleason Show, Authur Murray Dance Party and The Ed Sullivan Show, and in the TV version of Once Upon A Mattress with Carol Burnett.

She had several roles on Broadway, including that of Belle Watling in an ill-fated Gone With the Wind musical, and a few small movie roles.

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It was after she moved to Florida in the 1970s that Hodges’ career went into overdrive; when dinner theaters began producing large-scale musicals, she was often cast in lead roles. Hodges starred in Hello Dolly, Can-Can, Gypsy, Chicago, Mame and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, among others.

“Ann was a brilliant actress,” said Michael O. Smith, who co-starred with Hodges in a lengthy run of Sugar Babies. “She never disappointed an audience.”

St. Petersburg’s Showboat Dinner Theatre and Country Dinner Playhouse both went out of business in the early 1990s. Gone, too, is Bartke’s Dinner Theatre, a longtime fixture on the Tampa side of Courtney Campbell Causeway.

“It has been a rich life I’ve led,” Hodges told Bay News 9 in a 2018 interview. “I’ve met so many wonderful people, and many wonderful stars I’ve worked with. That energy rubs off and you pick up all that.”