American actor, author, and producer Blaise Hancock was born in Arlington, Texas. His mother, Beverly (Clerc), was a housewife and volunteer originally from New Orleans. His father, Jack (Admiral Dewey Jr) Hancock, was a Virginia-born real estate investor and owner of Hancock Air Conditioning. He is of French, English, German, and Italian descent. Blaise is the youngest of eight boys from three marriages and lost his mother when he was only five years old. His father immediately remarried. This created a turbulent upbringing, as his wife fought with mental illness. When Blaise was 14 his father had a heart attack and died in Blaise's arms. He and his brother Blair were shuffled around between family and eventually were taken in by his older brother who lived in New York City.Blaise studied acting in high school and college. Blaise was an entrepreneur for many years, starting and running an early version of TaskRabbit, a publishing and media business called Burnin' Media, and a market research firm called Fat Dog Group. Blaise was also a real estate investor, and completed many renovation projects.In 1996, Blaise became domestic partners with Pete (Brevard) Hudson. Pete was a professional wrestler and aspiring actor. Through him, Blaise took up acting as occasional background actor and roles in industrial shorts while also running his business.Blaise is the author of several books: 'Dating After 30 It Doesn't Have to Suck' 'Matchmaking, From Fun to Profit' 'Breaking Into High Society, The American Snob Handbook'Blaise wrote, produced, and starred in a TV show for cable access in New York called 'Urban Adventures' where he explored various outdoor activities available in the New York area.In 2007, the renovation project home where Blaise was living was consumed by fire. Blaise was out-of-town and not injured. Local and state authorities, as well as private fire investigators had all determined that the fire was electrical.The insurance carrier tried to force Blaise to settle for a low payout. When he declined the offer, they took him to court. Two years later, Blaise won an award and the carrier appealed. They lost a second time, but Blaise was mysteriously indicted by federal authorities for an alleged arson scheme. Blaise was coerced by a court appointed attorney to plea. The attorney claimed his appraiser had submitted a false lease for a rental house during repairs. The appraiser was never charged, but Blaise was sentenced to nearly nine years in prison. He served almost six while on appeal. The Texas state court had cleared him of any wrongdoing.While incarcerated, Blaise completed two college degrees. After prison, Blaise returned to acting, taking classes and auditioning for various projects. Blaise appeared in 2018 in an episode of Billions. Show less «