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Dan Blocker was a popular actor best known for his role as Hoss Cartwright on the classic show Bonanza. While it’s common for Hollywood stars to raise their kids in California, Blocker decided to give his children a more international upbringing.

For some time, he rented a house in Switzerland to send his kids to school in the European country.

Dan Blocker as Hoss Cartwright in 'Bonanza'
Dan Blocker as Hoss Cartwright in ‘Bonanza’ | The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images

How many children did Dan Blocker have?

According to LoveOhLust, Blocker married his wife, Dolphia Parker, in 1952. The two of them met as students at Sul Ross State University before Blocker became an actor. They later moved to Los Angeles together when Blocker’s acting career was taking off.

Blocker and his wife welcomed four children during their marriage: twins Debra Lee and Danna Lynn (born 1953), David (born 1955), and Dirk (born 1957). David and Dirk have gone on to work in entertainment like their father.

David is now a producer who once won an Emmy Award. Dirk is an actor who is best known for his role as Detective Michael Hitchcock on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Dan Blocker got a house in Switzerland to support his kids’ education

It has been said that while the U.S. was involved in the Vietnam War, Blocker moved his family to Switzerland because he did not agree with his country’s political position. In an interview with Bobbie Wygant in 1971, he also shared that he got a home in Switzerland to support his kids’ education.

“Well, we leased a house there for two years so the kids could go to school there without having to board,” he said.

“We didn’t want them to. They didn’t want to board and we didn’t want them to. We wanted them to have that experience–that cultural experience. The only way we could do that without sending them over there in a boarding school was to lease a house, which we did.”

In 1999, Dirk told the Las Vegas Sun, “Mom and Dad had decided to expose us to the bigger world.” It’s not clear which school(s) Blocker’s children attended, but Switzerland is known for having several elite schools that are popular among wealthy and influential people around the world.

Dan Blocker died while his children were living in Switzerland

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In 1972, Blocker died from a pulmonary embolism. Before then, he had undergone gallbladder surgery. He was 43 years old. Although Blocker died in Los Angeles, according to the Las Vegas Sun, three of Blocker’s four children were living in Switzerland at the time. Blocker was still acting on Bonanza before his death.

When he died, the show’s writers decided to kill his character instead of finding a replacement actor. This was reportedly the first time a television show dealt with a character’s death on-screen. The cause of Hoss’ death was not mentioned in the original series, but in 1988, it was revealed in Bonanza: The Next Generation that Hoss died while trying to save someone from drowning.

Blocker is buried in a cemetery in his hometown of De Kalb, Texas. He was laid to rest alongside a few family members.

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