Personal Life
Blocker was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Korean War as a first sergeant. He married Dolphia Parker, whom he had met while a student at Sul Ross State. All of their four children's names begin with a 'D': actor Dirk Blocker, producer David Blocker and twin daughters Debra Lee (artist) and Danna Lynn.
A Free Methodist (Gus Finley, Austin American, May 20, 1972), Blocker was among Hollywood celebrities who supported Pat Brown's re-election in 1966 as governor of California against Ronald W. Reagan. In 1968, Blocker backed then U.S. Senator Eugene J. McCarthy of Minnesota for the Democratic presidential nomination. Blocker later supported the eventual Democratic Party nominee, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, also of Minnesota, for the presidency against the Republican Richard M. Nixon. Blocker so opposed the Vietnam War that it helped influence him to uproot his family in 1971 and move them to Lugano, Switzerland. ("Bonanza", Bear Family Records liner notes; "Bonanza: Scenery of the Ponderosa: Episode Guide- Season 14"). He kept a house in Inglewood, California and commuted to NBC. His 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) Tudor style mansion in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles is currently owned by Rob Zombie.
On the 2010 PBS special, "Pioneers of Television: Westerns", actor Mitch Vogel who played the young brother Jamie Cartwright on Bonanza, said that Blocker "was so easy to get to know - the kind of guy you could go and have a beer with."
Blocker, a performance automobile fan, once owned a 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 "Z-16" (RPO Z16 option) as Chevrolet was the commercial sponsor of the show. He also owned a 1965 Huffaker Genie MK10 race car, nicknamed the "Vinegaroon." The car was run by Nickey Chevrolet in the 1965 and 1966 US Road Racing Championship series as well as the 1966 Can-Am championship.
Read more about this topic: Dan Blocker
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