Michael Blodgett was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

, novelist, and screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

. Of his many film and television appearances he is best known for his performance as gigolo

Gigolo

Gigolo may refer to:* A male prostitute, escort, or dancer, who offers services to women* Gigolo , a 2006 single by Helena Paparizou* Gigolo , a 2003 single by Nick Cannon...

 Lance Rocke in Russ Meyer

Russ Meyer

Russell Albion "Russ" Meyer was a U.S. motion picture director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, actor and photographer....

's 1970 cult classic

Cult film

A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...

 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 American schlock melodrama film starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett and David Gurian...

. He retired from acting in the late 1970s and began a writing career.

Early life and career

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, Blodgett attended the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 before moving to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to act. Once in Los Angeles, he earned a degree in political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 from Cal State Los Angeles

California State University, Los Angeles

California State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...

 and attended Loyola Law School

Loyola Law School

Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions, in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Like Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law , it...

 for one year before turning his attention to acting. In the summer of 1967, Blodgett served as emcee of Groovy

Groovy Show

The Groovy Show is a half-hour live dance program aired on weekday afternoons on KHJ-TV Channel 9, in the Los Angeles, California market from 1967 to 1970.-Overview:...

, a beach-party dance show for teens on Los Angeles' KHJ-TV

KCAL-TV

KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...

. In 1968, Blodgett moved to KTTV

KTTV

KTTV, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Los Angeles, California. Serving the vast Los Angeles metropolitan area, KTTV is a sister station to KCOP , Los Angeles' MyNetworkTV station...

, where he hosted a 90-minute Saturday night talk show, The Michael Blodgett Show.

After his role in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in 1970, Blodgett appeared in the Western

Western (genre)

The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

 There Was a Crooked Man...

There Was a Crooked Man...

There Was a Crooked Man... is a 1970 western comedy starring Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The film follows Paris Pitman , a charismatic criminal who ends up in jail, and his attempts to escape the prison of warden Lopeman...

, opposite Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...

 and Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...

, and then The Velvet Vampire (1971). Throughout the 1970s, Blodgett appeared in films and guest starring roles in television series including Barnaby Jones

Barnaby Jones

Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...

and The Secrets of Isis. Having become dissatisfied with the type of roles he was being offered, Blodgett made his last film appearance in 1978's Disco Fever and then shifted his focus to writing novels and screenplays. He would make a cameo appearance in the 1988 adaptation of his novel Hero and the Terror, and he also contributed to interview segments in the documentary Above, Beneath and Beyond the Valley, which was featured on the 2006 DVD release of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

In 1982, Blodgett released his first novel, Captain Blood, followed by his second novel Hero and the Terror, that same year. His third novel, The White Raven, was released in 1986 and was later adapted into a 1998 film

The White Raven

The White Raven is a 1998 action crime thriller starring Ron Silver, Joanna Pacuła and Roy Scheider. Directed by Jakub Z. Rucinski and Andrew Stevens, the film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Blodgett....

 starring Ron Silver

Ron Silver

Ronald Arthur "Ron" Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.-Early life:...

. With his writing partner Dennis Shryack, Blodgett penned the screenplays for Rent-A-Cop

Rent-A-Cop

Rent-a-Cop is a 1987 action / comedy / crime film starring Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli. Reynolds plays a disgraced police officer, now working as a security guard, who falls in love with Minnelli, who plays a prostitute....

(1987) starring Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds

Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...

, Turner & Hooch

Turner & Hooch

Turner & Hooch is a 1989 comedy film starring Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson, and Reginald VelJohnson. It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode; the film was originally slated to be directed by Henry Winkler, but he was terminated due to "creative differences"...

(1989) starring Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...

, and Run

Run (1991 film)

Run is a 1991 film, directed by Geoff Burrowes. The movie stars Patrick Dempsey and Kelly Preston.-Synopsis:Boston law student and part-time mechanic Charlie Farrow is asked by his boss to deliver a new Porsche from Boston to Atlantic City for a client...

(1991) starring Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...

.

Personal life and death

Blodgett was married four times and had three daughters. He died at his home in Los Angeles of an apparent heart attack.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1965	A Swingin' Summer	Beach bum	Credited as Mike Blodgett
1967	40 Guns to Apache Pass 40 Guns to Apache Pass 40 Guns to Apache Pass is a 1967 Western film directed by William Witney and starring Audie Murphy. It was Murphy's last starring film and the final film of Robert E. Kent Productions.-Plot:...	Mike Malone
	The Trip The Trip (1967 film) The Trip is a cult film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, and shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California in 1966...	Lover
	Catalina Caper Catalina Caper Catalina Caper is a 1967 comedy musical mystery film starring Tommy Kirk. It is one of the last in the beach party film genre. This entry blends the beach format with a standard crime-caper comedy...	Bob Draper	Credited as Mike Blodgett
1970	Beyond the Valley of the Dolls	Lance Rocke
	There Was a Crooked Man...	Coy Cavendish
1971	The Velvet Vampire	Lee Ritter
1972	The Carey Treatment The Carey Treatment The Carey Treatment is a 1972 film by Blake Edwards based on the novel A Case of Need credited to Jeffery Hudson, a pseudonym for Michael Crichton.-Plot:...	Roger Hudson
1974	The Ultimate Thrill The Ultimate Thrill The Ultimate Thrill is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Robert Butler and starring Barry Brown, Britt Ekland and Eric Braeden. It was also released under the title Ultimate Chase.-Cast:* Barry Brown - Joe* Britt Ekland - Michele...	Tom	Alternative title: The Ultimate Chase
1978	Disco Fever	Tommy Aspen
1987	Rent-A-Cop Rent-A-Cop Rent-a-Cop is a 1987 action / comedy / crime film starring Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli. Reynolds plays a disgraced police officer, now working as a security guard, who falls in love with Minnelli, who plays a prostitute....	-	Co-screenwriter
1988	Hero and the Terror Hero and the Terror Hero and the Terror was a 1988 action film starring martial arts star Chuck Norris, directed by William Tannen. Produced by Menahem Golan, written by Michael Blodgett, and was distributed by Cannon Films. The film stars Norris as Danny O'Brien as a cop trying to stop a serial killer, Simon Moon...	-	Co-screenwriter
1989	Turner & Hooch Turner & Hooch Turner & Hooch is a 1989 comedy film starring Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson, and Reginald VelJohnson. It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode; the film was originally slated to be directed by Henry Winkler, but he was terminated due to "creative differences"...	-	Co-screenwriter
1991	Run Run (1991 film) Run is a 1991 film, directed by Geoff Burrowes. The movie stars Patrick Dempsey and Kelly Preston.-Synopsis:Boston law student and part-time mechanic Charlie Farrow is asked by his boss to deliver a new Porsche from Boston to Atlantic City for a client...	-	Co-screenwriter
1998	The White Raven The White Raven The White Raven is a 1998 action crime thriller starring Ron Silver, Joanna Pacuła and Roy Scheider. Directed by Jakub Z. Rucinski and Andrew Stevens, the film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Blodgett....	-	Screenwriter
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Macbeth	Malcolm	Television movie Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
1964	McHale's Navy McHale's Navy McHale's Navy is an American television sitcom series which ran for 138 half-hour episodes from October 11,1962, to August 31, 1966, on the ABC network. The series was filmed in black and white and originated in a one-hour drama called Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962...	Boy on the park bench	1 episode
	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...	Dancer - Apollo	1 episode
1965	Never Too Young Never Too Young Never Too Young is an American teen soap opera that aired on ABC from September 27, 1965 to June 24, 1966 and was the first soap opera geared towards a teen audience.-Synopsis:...	Tad	Unknown episodes
1966	The Munsters The Munsters The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...	Jim	1 episode
	Man in the Square Suit	Gary Young	Television movie
	Meet Me in St. Louis	John Truitt	Television movie
1967	Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (TV series) Daniel Boone is an American action/adventure television series starring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Native American friend, for the...	Sam Linn	2 episodes
	Bonanza Bonanza Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...	Billy Slater	1 episode
1970	Family Affair Family Affair Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...	Mike West	2 episodes
	To Rome With Love To Rome With Love To Rome With Love is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 1969 to September 1971.-Synopsis:To Rome With Love is the story of a widowed college professor, Michael Endicott, who decided to leave his native Iowa following the death of his wife and accept a new position as an instructor...	Hank Martin	1 episode
	Night Gallery Night Gallery Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...	John Michael Fearing	1 episode
1971	Ironside Ironside (TV series) Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...	Matthew Roberts	1 episode
	Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...	Vince Kolski	1 episode
1973	Barnaby Jones	Kirk	1 episode
1975	Barbary Coast	Whiting	1 episode
1976	Electra Woman and Dyna Girl Electra Woman and Dyna Girl Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is a Sid and Marty Krofft live action children's television series from 1976. The series lasted 16 weeks as part of the umbrella series The Krofft Supershow. During the second season, it was dropped along with Dr. Shrinker...	King Alex X of Tourembourg	2 episodes
	The Secret of Isis	Rick Mason's Double	2 episodes
1992	Revenge on the Highway	-	Television movie Writer, co-producer

Novels

• Captain Blood (1982)
• Hero and the Terror (1982)
• The White Raven
  The White Raven (novel)
  The White Raven is the third novel of the four-part Oathsworn series by Scottish writer of historical fiction, Robert Low, released on 6th August 2009 through Harper. The novel was well received.-Plot:...
  
  (1986)

External links