Bobby Dan Davis Blocker (December 10, 1928 – May 13, 1972) was an American television actor and Korean War veteran, who played Hoss Cartwright in the long-running NBC Western television series Bonanza. Biography Early life Blocker was born in De Kalb, Texas, United States, the son of Ora "Shack" Blocker and Mary Arizona Blocker, née Davis. As a boy, he attended Texas Military Institute. In 1940, he enrolled in Hardin-Simmons University and Sul Ross State University and earned a degree in speech and drama. In 1946, he played football at Southern Baptist-affiliated Hardin–Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. In 1947, he transferred to Sul Ross State Teacher's College in Alpine, Texas, where he was a star football player, and graduated in 1950. After two years of military service, he earned a master's degree in the dramatic arts. He worked as a rodeo performer and a bouncer in a bar while a student. He is remembered from his school days for his height of and weight of , and for being good-natured despite his intimidating size. 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. U.S. Army Blocker was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He had basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and served as an infantry sergeant in F Company, 2nd Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division in Korea, from December 1951 to August 1952. He received a Purple Heart for wounds in combat. In addition to the Purple Heart, Blocker received the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with two bronze campaign stars, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, United Nations Service Medal, Korean War Service Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge. Acting career 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 as the blacksmith: on August 25, 1956, in "Alarm at Pleasant Valley" and on October 18, 1958, in "Thoroughbreds". He also appeared in 1957 as Will in the episode, "A Time to Die" of the ABC/Warner Bros. Western series, Colt .45. In 1957, Blocker was cast in episodes of David Dortort's NBC series The Restless