Who played hoss in bonanza

• Bonanza was a famous western series
• Dan Blocker had a starring role on the show
• Learn more about the actor's life and career

We all know and loved him on Bonanza as "Eric 'Hoss' Cartwright", the iconic Dan Blocker! We take a look back at his life and his acting career that, unfortunately, ended way too soon in 1972 when he passed away at the age of just 43.

Bonanza: "Hoss" was the role of Dan Blocker's career

But before he started acting and appeared in Bonanza as "Hoss", Bobby Dan Davis Blocker grew up in West Texas and attended the Texas Military Institute in San Antonio as a boy. He moved on to study and play football at Hardin-Simmons University as well as Sul Ross State Teacher's College in Alpine, Texas. 

Before he could graduate with a Master's in dramatic arts though, Blocker was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the Korean War from December 1951 until August 1952. He was wounded in combat and received a Purple Heart as well as the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean Service Medal with two bronze campaign stars.

'Bonanza' stars Dan Blocker, Lorne Greene and Michael Landon.

Dan Blocker: Veteran, teacher and actor

Blocker returned and in 1953 started working as a high school English and Drama teacher in Texas and New Mexico until he eventually ended up teaching in California. In 1957, he was cast as "The Goon" in the short film Outer Space Jitters, marking his first credited acting role, and he then got a recurring role in the NBC Western series The Restless Gun.

After some more guest spots on iconic shows like The Rifleman (with Johnny Crawford) and Have Gun - Will Travel, Blocker eventually got his big break and the role of his life when he cast as "Eric Cartwright" on NBC's Bonanza in 1959. He played the role until his eventual death and starred as "Hoss" in 415(!) episodes alongside Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts and Michael Landon.

IMDb describes his character as "the heart and soul of Bonanza", and he truly made himself immortal with his role in one of the most popular TV series of all time. During the 13-year-run of Bonanza, "Hoss" also starred in a couple of features like the 1968 comedy Come Blow Your Horn with Frank Sinatra.

Bonanza's "Hoss" died in 1972

Dan Blocker had to have gall bladder surgery in 1972 and died from a pulmonary embolism afterward - he was only 43 years old. He was survived by his wife Dolphia Parker, whom had married in 1952, and his four children. Dan Blocker's son Dirk Blocker is actually also an actor and stars on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The late Dan Blocker will always be remembered as "Hoss" on Bonanza!

Lasting 14 seasons, Bonanza aired on NBC from 1959 to 1973. The classic television show was known to be ahead of its time and had the spunk to explore social issues like racism and feminism in an era that wanted nothing to do with it. The show still managed to receive high ratings and successfully set a bar for other sitcom shows. Its popularity most definitely rooted in the brilliant actors that were on board. Michael Landon, Parnell Roberts, Lorne Greene and Dan Blocker. But one unfortunate incident involving Dan Blocker rewrote the fate of the series. Here's what happened to Hoss on Bonanza.

Also Read - Criminal Series: All You Need To Know About Netflix's New Anthology Series

Also Read - 'Bonanza' Christmas Episodes That Viewers Can Watch During The Holiday Season

Dan Blocker was certainly the most beloved actor on the show. His character Hoss reflected his real-life personality that was nothing but warm-hearted and gentle as opposed to his bigger built on the outside. He created history by being one of those rare heavy-weight actors who managed to get on top. Unfortunately, the actor died at the age of 43. This happened just a month after the season 13 finale aired in 1972. Apparently, the sudden death was not that sudden after all as he had already shown signs of illness before. He ultimately passed away after a postoperative pulmonary embolism.

Subsequently, the writers also had to make the tough decision to write him off the show as they didn't wish to recast his character with anybody else. The show decided to give Hoss a heroic death with him drowning in an attempt to save a woman. His death didn't sit well with the mourning fans as the show suffered from low viewership ratings thereafter. This nudged the writers to put an end to the iconic show with season 14 being its last. The show's lineup had seen many changes over the years, for instance, with Pernell Roberts leaving the show, but nothing impacted the show as much as Dan Blocker's departure. His character's death also marked the first time in television history where a show dealt with an on-screen death.

Also Read - 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Fans Demand Bruce Willis Cameo "for Jake Peralta" In Final Season

Also Read - The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis Cast: List Of Actors & Their Characters In This 1959 Sitcom

Published: March 04, 2021 11:37 IST

Weighing 14 pounds at birth, on December 10, 1928 in the town of DeKalb, Bobby Dan Davis Blocker still holds the record as the largest baby born in Bowie County, Texas. So, in a way, the beloved actor we know as Dan Blocker started life surrounded by an aura of fame.

When Dan was young, his parents, Ora “Shack” Blocker and Mary Arizona Blocker moved to O’Donnell, Texas, about 40 miles south of Lubbock, where former farmer, Shack, as he was called, managed to scrounge together enough money to open a grocery store, after losing everything after the Great Depression. In the early years, the family lived in quarters at the back of the store and young Dan helped out, carrying groceries to customers’ cars, among other tasks. According to one source, his father used to kid around with friends, saying he would pay them to hire Dan, that because of the boy’s size, he was wrecking the store! But his size would soon prove to be an advantage.

At age 13, Dan enrolled in the Texas Military Institute where he was a linebacker on their football team. His skills on the gridiron earned him a scholarship to Sul Ross State University where he was to play football and study English. At age 18, he stood 6’3” and weighed nearly 300 pounds. He would grow another inch and gain a good deal more weight as he matured to adulthood.

His size and athletic prowess may have gotten him a chance at an education, but now it was going to change the course of his life in a way he’d never imagined. At one point, the drama club was staging Arsenic and Old Lace, and they needed a stage hand strong enough to move the heavy dummies used for “dead bodies” in the production, and Dan fit the bill. He fit it so well, in fact, they convinced him to play the small role of Teddy Brewster, the delusional nephew of the murderous, spinster aunts—the protagonists in the play. Once he got a taste of being in the spotlight, the audience response, the feel of the stage, Dan was hooked. He changed his major from English to Theater. After graduation, he reportedly turned down offers to play pro football, and instead, headed east to pursue his acting career on stage, performing in summer stock, repertory theater shows, and eventually landing a small role in a Broadway production of King Lear.  

Duty Calls

Then Uncle Sam came calling, and Dan went off to fight in the Korean War, where he served with distinction, earning a Purple Heart, among several other medals, citations and awards. In 1952, the same year he was discharged from the U.S. Army, having attained the rank of Sergeant, he married Dolphia Parker, whom he’d met as a student at college. Now, married, he chose a “responsible” path in life. Dan returned to college and received a Master’s Degree in Dramatic Arts. After graduation, with a young family to provide for (Dan and Dolphia would eventually have four children: twin daughters, Debra Lee and Danna Lynn; and two boys, David and Dirk), Dan took a job as a high school English and Drama teacher in Sonora, Texas and later taught sixth grade in New Mexico. It seemed as if each move, as a teacher, was taking Dan west, closer to his destiny.

California Bound

Dan settled into married life. He loved teaching and enjoyed being around children. He shared his passion for acting and language, perhaps touching the lives of the kids he taught in ways he might never know. By all accounts, he had a heart of gold. Though occasionally quick-tempered, he was also quick to apologize, and admit when he was wrong. When he moved his family to California, it wasn’t because he sought stardom and the adoration of millions of fans. He went to study for his PhD in Dramatic Arts at UCLA, while he continued to teach.

To help make ends meet, in the mid-50s, Dan began auditioning for television roles, and was cast in bit parts in Westerns, which were popular, at the time. This rekindled his love of acting, transforming into different characters. He appeared in several hit series, among them: Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Have Gun Will Travel, and Maverick, in which he was given the chance to display his gift for comedy. He had a recurring role in the short-lived series, Cimarron City in 1958. The cancellation of that show might have seemed like a blow, at the time, but soon he would realize, it was a gift. Because then he was available to take the role of a lifetime.

Bonanza!

Any actor trying to break into Hollywood would have given anything to be in Dan’s boots, but it wasn’t until David Dortort nabbed him for the role of Hoss Cartwright on Bonanza, did Dan finally set aside his doctoral studies to become a full-time actor—and mainly because the role was time consuming and demanding, and there was little time for study.

If Little Joe was the heartthrob of Bonanza, Hoss was the heartbeat…and the very soul of the series. The middle son of wealthy Nevada widower and rancher, Ben Cartwright, Hoss was not known for his intelligence, unlike the actor who portrayed him. He was awkward and shy around women. He was easy to fall for a prank. But Dan brought to life a character filled with love and compassion, and Hoss was a favorite of viewers, especially the younger audience who could relate to his love for children. Indeed, Hoss was somewhat childlike himself. One trait Dan and Hoss had in common was a strong desire to fight for social justice.

Dan played the beloved character of Hoss motivated by this quote by the 18th century, French-born, American Quaker missionary, Stephen Grellet: “We shall pass this way on Earth but once, if there is any kindness we can show, or good act we can do, let us do it now, for we will never pass this way again.”

During his years on the set, Dan became good friends with Lorne Greene and Michael Landon. His TV family was just like real family. They were together from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., five days a week during the season, and often socialized off the set. Dan was best man at Michael Landon’s wedding to Lynn Noe.

Though the shooting schedule of Bonanza took up most of his time, Dan did manage to appear in several movies, most notably, Come Blow Your Horn and Lady in Cement both with Frank Sinatra.

Dan had long moved his parents to California to be closer to him, but the little town of O’Donnell didn’t forget their adopted son. His stardom on Bonanza made him the darling of his friends and neighbors back in O’Donnell, Texas. They had a good laugh remembering the studious young boy, whose nose was usually in a book, now on the back of a horse, galloping into their living rooms every Sunday night.

A Routine Operation

On May 13, 1972, Dan entered a Los Angeles hospital for simple gall bladder surgery. Nobody could have anticipated anything but a successful recovery and a return to another successful season of Bonanza, but a blood clot in his lung changed everything. Dan Blocker died, leaving behind a grieving wife and four children, a devastated cast, especially best friends Michael Landon and Lorne Greene, and a stunned nation. Dan Blocker was just 43, and at the peak of his career.

His Memory Lives On

Today, the grocery store where Dan swept floors, stocked shelves and carried bags out for customers is boarded up, but the name “Blocker” still exists in bold letters, and a large yellow silhouette of a ten-gallon cowboy hat is painted where the entrance would be. A room in the O’Donnell Heritage Museum is dedicated to Hoss memorabilia, and nearby, a small lot in Courtyard Square has been converted to a memorial garden featuring a monument dedicated to the memory of Dan in the form of a life-size bust, created by sculptor, Glenna Goodacre. The commissioned portrait was installed in 1973.

In life, Dan was an ordinary guy, a family man who doted on his children, loved his wife, and was loyal to his friends. He worked hard, and stood up for his beliefs. He was dedicated to the craft of acting, but, a realist, he also knew he needed to provide for Dolphia and their children.

He was a star living in Hollywood, but he didn’t live an ostentatious life—not even in death. He’s buried in an unassuming grave, in a plain family plot in Woodmen Cemetery in DeKalb, Texas. The family marker reads simply: Blocker. His in-ground stone is relatively small and could easily be missed in the surrounding patches of grass and dried earth.

It reads:

Nothing more.

“Being big has its advantages, especially when you’re doing the rounds of the agents’ offices. They don’t forget you in a hurry…. If I had been a little guy I’d probably still be teaching school in Carlsbad, New Mexico.” “Fame frightens me; it truly does, perhaps because I wasn’t expecting it. I feel like I have a tiger by the tail. I’m in this business for the money. I need money, like anyone else, because I want to give to my wife and kids a good home and a good life. It’s what any man wants to do for his family. …I’m just an ordinary guy.”