Hodgins is best remembered for his many roles as a fast-talking con man, medicine-show pitchman or carnival barker who would interrupt his rapid-fire spiel to shoo kids away from his stage ("get away, son, ya bother me").
In addition to his character roles in films, he lent his voice--uncredited--to several Porky Pig cartoons in the 1930s, including Porky's Garden (1937) and Get Rich Quick Porky (1937) in huckster roles similar to much of his on-camera work, and in The Village Smithy (1936) as the narrator.