Dan Blocker

The giant who was born weighing thirteen pounds

Dan Blocker came into the world in 1928, setting a physical record in Bowie County, Texas. He was the biggest baby ever recorded in the county's history, and that herculean build defined his career long before he ever thought about cameras. Before stepping onto a set, he served as an infantry sergeant in the Korean War and received a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat in 1951.

His entry into acting was anything but glamorous. Blocker needed money to get by after returning from the front, and his size made him a natural for thug roles or brute-strength extras. But behind that 130-kilo facade was a man with a master's degree in drama who preferred teaching to the Hollywood spotlight.

Eventually, the industry found a role tailor-made for him.

In the late 1950s, he appeared in series such as Cimarron City and Zorro. He worked steadily but mechanically, usually as the tough guy who intimidated the lead, until NBC decided in 1959 to bet on a Western shot entirely in color. That project was called Bonanza, and Blocker became the first actor to be signed to the main cast.

The Steakhouse Business and Color Television

He played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright for thirteen consecutive years. His character was the emotional heart of the series and the bridge between the father's sternness and the brothers' impulsiveness. The show's success was so huge that Blocker used his image to build a commercial empire parallel to television.

In 1963, he founded the restaurant chain Bonanza Steakhouse. He capitalized on the popularity of his character to sell a family dining experience that grew to hundreds of locations across the United States. But the actor never neglected the movies, and in 1968 he shot The Lady in Cement alongside Frank Sinatra, playing a man obsessed with finding a missing woman.

He maintained a military-style work discipline and rarely complained about fourteen-hour days under the California sun.

Blocker was the only cast member who connected with every social class in the audience. Kids saw him as a lovable giant, and adults respected his past as a war veteran. His salary in the show's last seasons was over $15,000 per episode (an astronomical figure for television at the time).

An Operating Room and the Closing of Ponderosa

The show's stability came crashing down in May 1972. Blocker checked into a Los Angeles hospital for a routine gallbladder operation. It seemed like a risk-free procedure, but a postoperative pulmonary embolism claimed his life within hours at the age of 43.

Audiences would not accept a replacement.

Blocker's death dealt a fatal blow to Bonanza. The producers tried to carry on without him, but the chemistry of the cast had evaporated, and ratings plummeted in the months that followed. In 1973, the network canceled the series after realizing the void left by the actor could never be filled with new characters.

Robert Altman had planned for Blocker to star in The Long Goodbye in 1973. After the actor's death, the director had to rewrite part of the script and hand the role of Roger Wade to Sterling Hayden. Production on the film began just four months after the funeral at De Kalb Cemetery.