On a 1963 film lot, Dan Blocker hid Frank Sinatra’s toupee in a fruit basket. Sinatra chased him around, furious and laughing. Come Blow Your Horn was shooting, and the Rat Pack star’s temper was legendary. Blocker, 6'4" and good-natured, disarmed him with humor. They bonded over long takes, endless rehearsals, and the absurdities of movie-making. Sinatra later cast Blocker in Lady in Cement, trusting his rugged presence. Years passed, and Blocker died suddenly at 43 from a pulmonary embolism. S

The Day Dan Blocker Was “Discovered” in a Phone Booth — A Hollywood Story Too Good Not to Be True Before he became Hoss Cartwright—the gentle giant America fell in love with on Bonanza—Dan Blocker was just a Texas schoolteacher driving his family on a summer road trip in a beat-up station wagon. And Hollywood had absolutely no idea what was about to hit it. It was the mid-1950s. Blocker, born and raised in Sonora, Texas, was taking his wife and their kids on vacation—no big plans, no Hollywood d