Dan Blocker (1928-1972) was an actor from O’Donnell, Texas.
Born in DeKalb, Texas, Blocker weighed fourteen pounds as a newborn, making him the largest baby ever born in Bowie County. The Blocker family moved to O’Donnell in 1934, opening a grocery store after their farm couldn’t survive the Great Depression. After finishing high school at the Texas Military Institute in San Antonio, Blocker attended Hardin-Simmons University in 1946 and played tackle on the university football team before transferring to Sul Ross University in Alpine, Texas. After participating in the school theater production, Blocker switched his major from physical education to speech and drama, and would go on to receive a masters in dramatic arts. In the late 1950s, he worked on several TV shows including Gunsmoke, Colt 45, and Wagon Train, before he landed his iconic role of Hoss Cartwright on NBC Network’s Bonanza. Blocker was constantly silently helping others, serving as honorary chairman of the Texas Cancer Crusade, and anonymously founding the Los Angeles Guyot Foundation Home for Girls.
Dan Blocker was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in 1997.
