Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Blodgett attended the University of Minnesota before moving to Los Angeles to act. Once in Los Angeles, he earned a degree in political science from Cal State Los Angeles and attended Loyola Law School for one year before turning his attention to acting. In the summer of 1967, Blodgett served as emcee of "The Groovy Show", a beach-party dance show for teens on Los Angeles's KHJ-TV. In 1968, Blodgett moved to KTTV, where he hosted a 90-minute Saturday night talk show, "The Michael Blodgett Show".