Dan Blocker was born in Del Kalb, Texas. At the age of 12
years old (above) he was at the Texas Military Institute in
San Antonio and was already over 6 feet tall and 200 .lbs.
In 1940, Dan enrolled in Hardin-Simmons University and
Sul Ross State University where he earned a degree in
speech and drama.
Blocker was a high-school English and drama teacher in
Sonora, Texas, from 1953 to 1954, a sixth-grade teacher
and coach at Eddy Elementary School in Carlsbad, New
Mexico, and then a teacher in California. Blocker and his
wife Dolphia, moved to Los Angeles where he secured
some acting roles.
Blocker (center) playing football at Sul
Ross University in 1946.
Blocker was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War
where he served as an infantry sergeant from December 1951
to August 1952. He received a Purple Heart, for wounds in
combat, and several service medals.
In 1957, Blocker appeared in a Three Stooges short, Outer
Space Jitters, playing the Goon, billed as "Don Blocker". He
made two appearances on Gunsmoke (CBS) as a blacksmith.
Blocker’s big break also came in 1959, when he was cast as
"Hoss" Cartwright on the NBC television series Bonanza and
played the role in 415 episodes until his death in 1972.
Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972)
