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ETA WILLIAM STILES worked with Charlie for a time at Memories Theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Here he remembers the lessons he learned from his friend, Charlie Hodge.

I started working with Charlie at Memories Theatre in 2003. I only got to spend a short time performing with him on stage but in that time he gave me volumes of memories that shall stay with me forever.

My first meeting with him at the Theatre wasn't through normal cordial introductions but by a wise crack and that special laugh that only Charlie had. I was told in the beginning that Charlie could be hard on a person at times but I knew, coming from a household of musicians, that if they weren't hard it was because they just didn't care. I was grounded by Charlie many times and I enjoyed every second of it. He once told me that he was an entertainer from the womb and I have to believe that because he proved it time and time again.

I respected and loved Charlie not only for his knowledge of the entertainment industry but also for the simple acts of kindness and the huge heart he shared with all of us at Memories Theatre. In learning about Elvis it was understood why he loved Charlie so much because Charlie knew what it was to be a loyal and genuine friend to the very end.

He was a great comedian, a great story teller, and an awesome entertainer. I will miss hearing about all his great times with the many celebrities he'd worked with or befriended, the sharp wittedness and humor that left us all in stitches. I can't thank him enough for his help and his time.

In the end one of the most valuable lessons I learned from him wasn't while working with him but watching him work. In dealing with his many ailments he never let them cross the threshold of the stage. He gave the audience their money's worth and then some each night no matter what. He was determined to do it right or not at all. He told me this many times but it never really sank in till he became a living example of what he was always preaching to me. He was the teacher any guy in my position would only dream about and for that I feel very grateful as well as blessed to have known him. It was a great compliment to learn from his wife and a close friend of the family that he thought of me as the best ETA he'd ever worked with or saw perform. That wouldn't have been possible without his most informative instruction.

I told him once that when he made it to Heaven to save me a front row seat for the show. I told him I figured he'd be back with Elvis and he jokingly said, " No son, I'm going to work for Red Foley. " Well Charlie when it's my time I'll just listen for that unmistakable laugh and those old jubilee spirituals being sung around the old upright. When advertising your video and book you always joked with the crowd that you were saving the money to buy a house. You don't need that now because the Lord has built you a mansion.

In response to a note you wrote me on a picture of us working together I promise you that we will do it again. You were a natural born world shaker but most of all my friend. God Bless you, Charlie.  

Photos of Charlie and William Stiles at Memories Theatre, Pigeon Forge. All photos courtesy of William Stiles.