Actor and writer Michael Blodgett died 14 November 2007 of an apparent heart attack. Born 26 September 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was probably best known for his role as Lance Rocke in the 1970 cult film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
His genre appearances include roles in The Velvet Vampire (1971) and television shows such as The Munsters (1966), Night Gallery (1970), two episodes of Isis (1976), and two episodes of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976).
In the 1970s, he moved away from acting toward writing, some of which were later turned into movies. His novels include Captain Blood (1982), Hero and the Terror (1982), and The White Raven (1986). He also went on to write films, including Rent-a-Cop (1987), which starred Burt Reynolds, and Tom Hanks’s comedy Turner & Hooch (1989).
Blodgett earned a degree in political science from what is now Cal State Los Angeles and attended Loyola Law School for a year before being cast for bit parts in movies and television in the early 1960s. He is survived by three daughters, Lauren Hammerlund, Heather Blodgett, and Lucette Blodgett.