Michael Blodgett's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Electra Woman and Dyna Girl King Alex X… Never Too Young Tad

Main Movie Roles 1988 - Hero and the Terror 1971 - The Velvet Vampire 1970 - Beyond the Valley of the Dolls 1970 - There Was a Crooked Man... 1967 - Catalina Caper 1965 - A Swingin' Summer

BIOGRAPHY:

The handsome and engaging Michael Blodgett was born on January 1, 1940 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Blodgett attended the University of Minnesota and began his acting career in his hometown of Minneapolis. Michael earned a law degree in political science from Cal State Los Angeles and attended Loyola Law School for a year. In the summer of 1967 Blodgett was the emcee on "Groovy," a weekly TV program of beach party music that was broadcast on Los Angeles' Channel 9. In 1968 Michael subsequently switched to Channel 11 and went on to serve as the host for "The Michael Blodgett Show," a 90 minute talk show in which he interviewed such guests as Connie Stevens, Agnes Moorehead, Pat Paulsen, and Henry Mancini. He made his film debut as a beach bum in "A Swingin' Summer." Blodgett achieved his greatest enduring cult popularity with his excellent portrayal of blithely decadent and hedonistic playboy Lance Rocke in Russ Meyer's outrageously campy treat "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." Other memorable movie roles include brash young prisoner Coy Cavendish in "There Was a Crooked Man," free-spirited hippie Lee Ritter in the offbeat fright feature "The Velvet Vampire," and abusive masseur Roger Hudson in "The Carey Treatment." Blodgett had a recurring role on the short-lived TV series "Never Too Young." Among the TV shows Michael did guest spots on are "McHale's Navy," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Munsters," "Daniel Boone," "Night Gallery," "Ironside," "Barnaby Jones," and "Barbary Coast." Blodgett quit acting in the late 70s and became a successful novelist and screenwriter. He penned the novels "Captain Blood," "Hero and the Terror," and "The White Raven." In addition, he either wrote or co-wrote the scripts for the Chuck Norris action vehicle "Hero and the Terror" (Michael also makes an uncredited cameo appearance in this particular picture), the hit comedy "Turner and Hooch," "Rent-A-Cop," "Run," the made-for-TV thriller "Revenge on the Highway," and "The White Raven." Michael Blodgett died at age 67 from a heart attack on November 14, 2007.


TRIVIA:

• His jail-yard flogging in _There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)_ (qv) ranks 67th on a list published in the book: "Lash! The Hundred Great Scenes of Men Being Whipped in the Movies."