Hoss Cartwright

Dan Blocker was 6-foot-4, 320-pounds when chosen to play the gentle middle son Eric, better known as "Hoss". The nickname was used as a nod to the character's ample girth, an endearing term for "big and friendly", used by his Swedish mother (and Uncle Gunnar). In the Bonanza flashback, his mother Inger names him Eric after her father. To satisfy young Adam, Inger and Ben agree to try the nickname Hoss and "see which one sticks." Inger says of "Hoss", "In the mountain country, that is the name for a big, friendly man." According to a biography, the show's crew found Blocker to be the "least actor-ish as well as the most likeable" cast member. According to producer David Dortort: "Over the years he gave me the least amount of trouble."

Subject ID: 50253

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Dan Blocker was 6-foot-4, 320-pounds when chosen to play the gentle middle son Eric, better known as "Hoss". The nickname was used as a nod to the character's ample girth, an endearing term for "big and friendly", used by his Swedish mother (and Uncle Gunnar). In the Bonanza flashback, his mother Inger names him Eric after her father. To satisfy young Adam, Inger and Ben agree to try the nickname Hoss and "see which one sticks." Inger says of "Hoss", "In the mountain country, that is the name for a big, friendly man." According to a biography, the show's crew found Blocker to be the "least actor-ish as well as the most likeable" cast member. According to producer David Dortort: "Over the years he gave me the least amount of trouble."

Subject ID: 50253

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