Dan Blocker's SHOCKING Diet Before He Died At 43 Years Old

Bonanza the Beloved Western show had a tragic downfall in what turned out to be its last season who knew that the death of a single character would leave the entire fan base to turn away from their favorite show you see when people have something to lose they're not quite so rapidly get themselves involved in what might be a holocaust that would destroy them when they have nothing to lose they're want to act without any regard for other people or themselves well that's exactly the power that Dan Blocker had over an array of generations the untimely death of blocker was a turmoil of bad habits that he couldn't leave join us as we explore Dan blocker's shocking Diet before he died at 43 years old early life the story of Bobby Dan Davis blocker is as amazing as it is tragic there's no doubt that the actors passing at the young age of 43 left the world of Glitz and glamour in immense shock however at the same time the actor left a glistening Legacy of making it big that will forever Inspire millions of Hearts rising from an ordinary family living in Texas Dan Blocker was never supposed to make it big he was as ordinary as it gets but of course fate or rather desperation had some other plans who knew that the man who would audition for small roles to make 's meet would end up becoming a star precisely this is why Dan's role as hos would be inspirational for young actors trying to get their big break while people deemed Little Joe as the star of the show due to his charm humor and good looks it was hos the big man with a big heart that Swept Away the audiences the very beloved cartright brother was the embodiment of innocence and puppy dog sincerity almost as if Dan Blocker was putting himself right in front of the camera those who knew him in real life would testify to that too after all from his birth to the odd jobs he had to do Dan Blocker was an exemplary humble man born on December 10th 1928 in the town of deal Dan's life begins with an odd stardom of his own right you see when Dan was born he waited 14 lb which was an extraordinary feat for the Texan family very quickly the word of his unusual size had reached the ears of local tabloids and curious people in the town so of course Dan had become a spectacle of some sort believe it or not according to many sources Dan still holds the record as the largest baby born in Bowie County Texas it's unclear if the record has been broken or not but there was a time when Dan's life was surrounded by an aura of Fame because of his physical attributes and size the the fame was shortlived though when Dan was young his parents Ora Shack blocker and Mary Arizona blocker had to make a tough decision to move their home to odonnell Texas Dan's father Aura was a farmer at the Apex of his career but the Great Depression financially ruined the family whatever Aura had was lost to destitution and feeding the family at the end of the economic crisis he only had little money left determined to do right by his family he wanted to open a grocery store with his leftover savings for Dan Blocker it was the beginning of the hardships that he would face as a young man while Aura had enough money to start a small store he didn't have enough funds to keep a roof over his family's heads so for years to come the blocker family had to live in a small space at the back of their store making Ora's small business venture a familial Affair not to mention the senior blocker didn't make enough to hire employees of his own so it would be Dan who would help out with small tasks like shelving products carrying bags to the customers cars and mopping the floors on all accounts Dan was a sensitive kid who knew that he had to be a helping hand for his father and his family but of course that doesn't mean he lived an easy life Dan's biggest contention was his size and body weight which often resulted in mean jokes and pointy comments according to One Source his dad would openly joke about Dan's big size with his friends citing that one day his son would wreck the store by simply walking into it and if anyone wanted to hire his son for a job he would gladly pay them to do so what Aura didn't know was that it would be Dan's size that would earn him a Golden Boot quite literally the future actor was only 13 years old when he enrolled in the Texas Military Institute finally feeling a sense of belonging Dan was chosen as a linebacker on their football team opening him up to a very bright future his skills on the grid iron were extraordinary so it was only fair for him to earn a scholarship to Su Ross State University where he was to to play football and study English at age 18 Dan Blocker stood 6'3 and weighed nearly 300 lb and nope that was barely the end of his physical prowess Dan would grow another inch and gain a good deal more weight as he transitioned to adulthood despite making multiple strides on the field Dan's size was often reduced as his only personality trait in his adulthood a lot of people would speculate about his health and future prospects in the World of Sports and the professional world once again fate had some other plan that would become an arsenal of Fortune for the budding actor there's no doubt that his size and athletic prowess have gotten him a unique chance at an education but now it was determined to change his life in a fascinating turn trust us when we say that Dan's School acting debut is a story of its own what happened was that the school's drama was staging arsonic and Old Lace and they urgently required a stage hand strong enough to move the heavy dummies used for dead bodies in the production of the show The there was a famous person who met the job description and it was none other than their football hero Dan Blocker when Dan walked into the theater area everyone around him knew that he was a perfect fit just not solely as a stage hand he fitt it so well in fact that the production team convinced him to play the small role of Teddy Brewster the delusional nephew of the murderous spinster ants the protagonists in the play while the role was small and wasn't the star of the show in any meaningful sense it meant a lot for Dan Blocker who throughout his life was reduced to certain roles and career paths due to his big size Dan's first taste of being in the spotlight and the way he was received by the audience changed him forever transitioning from a football field to a theater was hard however once he got the feel of the stage Dan was hooked then he did the unexpected he changed his major from English to theater and that was just the beginning of his story after graduation Dan's mailbox was brimming with offers to play pro football and other scholarship opportunities but Dan's heart was set he knew he would head to the east to pursue his acting career on stage and that's exactly what he did he began to perform in Summer Stock and Repertory Theater shows eventually he landed a small role in the Broadway production of King Lear which started his acting career officially but soon enough there were complications that fate rendered Dan's path cruy military service throughout his school life Dan Blocker did odd jobs to make ends meet for example his big size meant he could work as a bouncer while such jobs had little monetary value working part-time allowed him to focus on his one true love acting alas all good times must come to an end in the year 1950 Dan had graduated from his college but his country had fallen into the darkness of War this time in Korea when Uncle Sam called Dan Blocker had to answer blocker's Duty was particularly important too he was a combat infantry sergeant and was assigned to company F second Battalion 179th Infantry Regiment 45 Infantry Division once again Dan's heavy size and Tall height came in handy for the American forces at the same time there were troubles too according to the American Military sources it took the Army a month to get him boots in his size 14 A2 in particular blocker trained to fight on the front lines he landed at inin a Hotpot of the Korean War by Christmas day in 1951 he was at the front lines for his sacred country and he spent a year fighting in the direct line of fire the military records show that Dan and his contingent took positions in choran which is currently located in North Korea there blocker had to man the Jamestown line according to sources by the time blocker took a position at the line the war had settled into a virtual stalemate of taking and retaking Hills static fortifications and trenches along the line for the next 200 9 days blocker's contingent had to do the heavy lifting the 179th Infantry Regiment had to put their lives in danger to do the heavy fighting in the process one day due to the heavy firing of their enemies Dan's fellow soldiers got severely injured in a classic hos cartright style he ran to save his fellows and unfortunately got wounded in the process between 1951 and 1952 Dan despite his injury was involved in heavy fighting over pork chop Hill a critical defining territory for the Korean war after a summer of heat and fire Dan's regimen was taken off in July 1952 and the war hero was finally allowed to go home and tend to his will his unit then went into reserves and by August Dan was home adorned with a purple heart other than that adornment blocker also received the National Defense service medal the Korean service medal with two bronze campaign Stars the Republic of Korea presidential unit the United Nations service medal the Korean War service medal and the combat infantryman badge the military experience had changed blocker Forever After witnessing the horrors of the war with his eyes the actor was one of the biggest war adversaries on television in his time throughout his very short-lived life he would criticize his country for participating in several Wars and sending young men to fight in foreign lands famously he once decried American taxpayer money being used to drop Napal on people in southeast Asia not to mention after spending more than 2 years in Korea Dan knew exactly what he wanted to do in his life and his choice would shock you segue into acting back in America Dan had a transformative change in life he fell in love and once again he found himself at the crossroads of being responsible and trying to make it big in the risky world of acting so what do you think the budding actor chose shockingly Dan decided to play it safe after tying the knot with his wife dolphin Parker whom he had met in college as a student blocker decided that he wanted to start a family with doia and that meant getting a stable job he went back to college to pursue a master's degree in dramatic arts eventually his family size would increase too doia and Dan went on to have four children twin daughters Deborah Lee and Dana Lynn and two boys David and Dirk fate wasn't resting in this turn of events though you see it's true that Dan wasn't about to enter the world of acting however he did take a job teaching English and drama in a high school in Sonora Texas later he moved on to teach sixth graders in a school in New Mexico with every move in his career the soon Tobe actor was going to the West in proximity to his acting career profile even then Dan was happy to be a married family oriented one according to the man himself he loved teaching and being around children was one of the biggest joys of his life as a teacher Dan was busy teaching his students the ultimate art of acting a job he took pride in throughout his teaching career he shared his passion for acting with his students turning his classrooms into a welcoming stage where everyone was free to share their linguistic Musical and acting talents anyone who knew him as a teacher said that Dan had a heart of gold despite knowing a lot he was still eager to learn this is why he decided to move his family to California was Dan finally moving towards his Destiny of sheer stardom well no not really if anything he didn't expect anything from California other than a doctor of Philosophy degree and a stable life for his wife and four kids Dan enrolled himself at the University of California Los Angeles to earn a doctorate in dramatic arts as he continued with education he didn't stop teaching and shaping young minds the move wasn't easy for the blocker family the California life was already pretty hefty and Dan's part-time student status meant he couldn't do multiple jobs to keep the house running so in the mid-50s Dan Blocker turned to an old friend who was once his Refuge acting to help make ends meet blocker turned to television rather than theater he began auditioning for television roles and was cast in bit Parts in westerns a popular genre at the time reading the script and appearing in front of the camera rekindled Dan's First Love acting as per his admission he loved transforming into different characters trying roles that he never thought to try and of course his favorite thing was to bring joy into people's lives it's true that Dan was desperate to make some extra cash on the side but once he began to act there was no stopping him while the plan was to take small roles and continue teaching fate intervened once again and this time for good Dan begins acting the year 1957 was a defining moment for Dan Blocker he appeared in a three stooges short outer space Jitters playing the role of the Goon in the official credits he was builded as Don blocker eventually he got better roles in series like Gunsmoke which was centered around an American settlement in the 1870s Dan made two appearances in the show as a Cavalry Lieutenant later he also appeared in shows like Colt 45 the Restless gun Sheriff of cooches Cheyenne and in the film gunsight Ridge next year he would keep Landing small and sporadic roles in the western genre television shows in 1958 he appeared in a small role in The Rifleman had a recurring role as Tiny Budinger in the National Broadcasting Company Western series simmeron City and found his way into shows like the seniorita makes a choice underground Ambush Wagon Train and Jefferson drum at this point in his career Dan mainly resorted to recurring characters and effort that would go on until 1959 of course blocker was perhaps not looking to make big strides in the television industry for him the acting Arrangement was a bit of a temporary gimmick to make sure that his family had a roof over their heads and could afford three meals a day needless to say his television try out had its fair share of failures too most of the time Dan didn't get a call back his height and size meant that he was fit for certain roles only then in 1958 he suffered a career blow when simmeron city was cancelled by the National Broadcasting Company blocker had a recurring role on the show so he knew that playing tiny Budinger meant that the television Circle would attach a fixed identity to him such gigs were useful in leveraging other roles too disappointed Dan started to addition for other long-term roles when an opportunity presented itself believe it or not the cancellation of simmeron city was a blessing in disguise as the actor was destined for even bigger things and by bigger things we mean his Landmark role in Bonanza by 1959 Dan was still pursuing his Doctorate thinking that his ultimate end goal would be to take a high-profile teaching job then a phone call from David dortort changed his life dortort had nabbed Dan Blocker for the role of hos cartright on Bonanza a show centered around the wealthy cartright family from Nevada in the 1860s since Dan had assumed an important character in the western genre show it meant that his shooting schedule was rigorous and tough going back and forth from working to studying was very physically and mentally challenging for him since the actor barely had any time to study he had to drop out of college to pursue acting full-time and oh boy what a joy it was it's true that it was Little Joe who was the heartthrob of the show and diverted the female fandom of the cart family yet it was hos who gave life to the show The Middle son of wealthy Nevada widower and Rancher Ben cartright hos was a mix and match of Dan Blocker while the actor was the embodiment of intellect and wit in real life his beloved character was not known for his intelligence hos was awkward and shy around women his gullibility led him to get pranked multiple times on the show most of the time such characters are instrumentalized for jokes and Cutthroat humorous cuts for the audience to Joy in many ways characters like hos are meant to be the laughing stock but of course blocker forged his own destiny here too he was able to give life to a character filled with love and compassion and hos was a favorite of viewers especially the younger audience who could relate to his love for children that particular characteristic was perhaps a double-edged sword for audiences it was easy to see that hos is also childlike in many ways and that aspect seemed to overshadow the gravity of the middle child of the show not everything is black and white though what was really remarkable was that Dan Blocker was able to bring his spirit for social justice to his beloved character too hos might be a child at heart but he believed in doing right by the weak and vulnerable of society a trait that even the most mature people in our world remarkably Miss perhaps this is why hos was such a likable character he was housing the true essence of his portrayer Dan who had found a very kind inspiration for the Beloved cartright Dan played the Beloved character of hos motivated by this quote by the 18th century french-born American Quaker missionary Steven gett 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 what a remarkable approach for a mere character that didn't exist even then Dan believed in telling a story that would leave Millions inspired to believe in good and that's exactly what he did with a feel-good character like hos cartrite not to mention even outside the television set for Bonanza Dan was a cast favorite during his years as hos he forged a remarkable camaraderie with Lauren Green and Michael Landon after all Dan would see them more than his family on several occasions he had talked about how his television family was as important to him as his real family so it wasn't shocking that blocker was the best man at Michael Landon's wedding to Lin no other than transformative friendships Dan's family life had changed for the better too he had brought his children and wife to California in the hopes of giving them a stable and comfortable life and that's exactly what he did after years of living in a congested house the family moved into an 8-bedroom Mansion for a simple and hardworking Texan man it was nothing short of a dream come true Dan had also brought his parents to California to give them a safe and comfortable retirement life even after becoming a television Superstar Dan didn't forget his roots he often referred to odonnell as his adopted Hometown and of course for the small town he was nothing short of a hero the locals remembered a big studious guy who would moop the floors of his family's grocery store and in the next moment he was appearing in the most anticipated Sunday night show that wasn't the only successful Benchmark for the actor though it is almost surprising how he took time out of his busy Bonanza schedule to make a name for himself in the movie industry too his television partner in crime was none other than the musical Superstar Frank Sinatra who to this date doesn't need any introduction most notably the duo worked on movies like Come Blow Your Horn and Lady cement Dan's movie career was a work in progress but of course a lot of his Ambitions were cut short due to his untimely death just at the age of 43 shocked and Confused his fans wondered about the health complications that led to his tragic demise while there wasn't much to go around there was one lifestyle habit that had plagued Dan Blocker from the very start watch as we reveal what was the undesirable habit that had cut the actor's budding career very short that too very abruptly Dan blocker's diet indeed hos cartright was Dan blocker's life and soul it might sound weird and out of place for us to reveal this but the actor wasn't always over the moon about his commercial and critical success he had never expected to make it big on television and well Bonanza was one of the biggest hits of its time on several occasions Dan had revealed that he had difficulty divorcing himself from the character he played on telion every Sunday till his dying breath that was a slippery slope for the actor who had to do a lot to become hos cartright for his beloved audience playing that character had its own merits and demerits in particular the actor had to be in shape all the time to pass the physical attributes of his character that sort of transition proved to be very challenging for the actor who wasn't exactly used to a very demanding lifestyle talking about his size he once said being big has its advantages especially when you're doing the rounds of the agents offices they don't forget you in a hurry but it has its disadvantages too you've got to have a bed specially made mine is 7 ft long you've got to be careful when you sit down I used to wreck a couple of chairs a week in the studio so it was clear that Dan had to be in check for his weight which would typically shoot up to 300 lb when that happened it wasn't possible for him to appear as hos the only solution to the problem was to go on a diet a lifestyle choice that Dan hated in an interview he once admitted that the prospect of dieting had almost made him quit acting and just resort to a less demanding job like teaching yep he was willing to trade his groundbreaking role to have his big breakfast that included a dozen eggs two loaves of bread and two quarts of milk you heard that right Dan loved big breakfasts and dinners that were loaded with calories and grease so it is not shocking that he ran into multiple health issues that he didn't care about much Dan had talked about how eating like a regular person had been pretty difficult for him as he missed hearty steak dinners and eating bread for breakfast it's also true that the actor's cheat days would continue for weeks when he wasn't filming he would resort to a diet of his choice and when it was time to go back he would go on a strict diet in hopes of losing weight what happened next was rather surprising but not entirely shocking in the tragedy of Dan's young untimely death food played a huge role and well the actor had never imagined that a routine surgery would take his life death of Dan Blocker lasting 14 Seasons Bonanza Remains the longest running Western drama on National Broadcasting Company and the second longest running western series in the United States of America the show wasn't supposed to end as it did after its 14th season but the death of the Beloved actor who played hos changed everything for the show in 1972 the show was all set to Kickstart its shooting when Dan Blocker had to go through a routine gallbladder surgery the filming was to begin in 2 weeks but the actor was confident that he would be able to join his peers in a timely manner the surgery itself was fine until Dan got sick right after it had turned out that blocker had developed a blood clot in his lungs causing him to die of pulmonary embolism no one saw it coming even the doctors at Daniel Freeman Hospital weren't anticipating a tragic end for the actor who was only 43 years old at that time Bonanza went on for another season but of course they had to acknowledge that hos was dead for the first time ever in television history a show had acknowledged one of its main characters passing the show never told us how exactly hos died but its 2011 sequel revealed that hos died a heroic death while trying to save a drowning woman since the last season of the show received poor ratings it had to be tanked Dan's co-stars also revealed that they had lost interest in Bonanza after losing their friend however thanks to the show's sequel we know that hos died a noble death just like its embodiment the ever humble Dan Blocker thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one

Channel: Uncovered Files

Views: 190,369

Keywords: discovery, unexplained, mysterious, top 10, top 15, space, universe, science, techology, mystery, facts, interesting, discovery channel, discovery plus, scientists discovery, aliens, ufo, terrifying discoveries, top, they discovered, invention, future, galaxy, james webb, elon musk, business, entertainment, Uncovered Files, betelgeuse, space news, Segway into Acting, Dan Begins Acting, Dan Blocker’s Diet, Death of Dan Blocker, Dan Blocker SHOCKING Diet Before He Died at 43 Years Old

Id: J4xOj6tNlGw

Length: 24min 0sec (1440 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 17 2024