Why Hank Gutstop didn't work until near the end of the series (Jimbo and Keith Heltsley)

There are currently 610 episodes of Vic and Sade where we are sure of the show's plot. Hank Gutstop, a friend and fellow lodge brother to Vic, is mentioned once in about every 13 episodes, on average. But it wasn't until Valentine's Day of 1944 (or thereabouts) that Hank ever had a real job. There's no indication that Hank was lazy, as he is seemingly active - even if it only be him hanging around the pool hall or going to lodge meetings. 

There is the blight on him that he might sleep on the platform of the interurban station or perhaps the courthouse lawn, but might that only be because he had no other place to go?  If he were truly a bum wouldn't he be sleeping at a lodge brother's house or hotel room?
Every indication exists to show Hank was innovative, enthusiastic, well-liked (by the men on the show, anyway) and a very talented singer. He could make men cry with his voice. But some kind of wall obviously existed between Hank and women. I think he probably liked them but they didn't reciprocate. Sade especially didn't like him and neither did her friends, all who talked about him behind his back. 

Certainly, part of the reason for Sade's ire was the fact that the man was constantly borrowing small sums of money from Vic. Though he paid Vic back at times (at least small sums) and tried to work for the Gooks to erase a larger part of his debt, Sade still harbored ill feelings for him. As a matter of fact, there were only two known men she really disliked on the show and he was one of them.

So what exactly was it that made it impossible for Hank Gutstop to hold a job until the middle of February, 1944? And how is it that the job that he finally gets is such a prestigious one with seemingly good pay?

The answer to this is simple in that Hank was nothing more than a prop by writer Paul Rhymer. You might say that Hank was actually little more than a MacGuffin, a trick that Rhymer used often in his radio plays.. - By Jimbo Mason

 --------

Comedy works best when situations are realistic, but just wacky enough to do that thing you really wanted to but before modesty and restraint kept you from doing it. It can also be from a tragic event or character who takes the abuse as the butt of a joke so no real harm befalls the main character. Hank is like that. He’s a caricature. He is someone designed to always be on Sade’s bad side, and just plain creeps her out. He has his hooks in her because nearly everybody else loves the guy. Vic is his friend and lodge brother. Hank hangs out in the same circles as Uncle Fletcher, and is admired by Rush.

Hank is everything Sade hates. He’s always jobless, or at least under-employed. He offers no financial security, he’s always in debt to Vic, and thus irresponsible. I think he secretly has a crush on Sade that keeps him lurking nearby, but if so it never is revealed by Paul Rhymer.

Hank is the punchline of a running gag, and because of that his character isn’t really developed further than being two dimensional. There isn’t much else I can say about him than that. - by Keith Heltsley (Retro Radio Podcast)