At the same time, his drug and alcohol use was increasing to the point where he was said to be consuming as much as a gallon of rum a day. Dallas actor Larry Hagman led a double life and kept many secrets long after he was . Could you make time to work around my film schedule and do the book? As far as I could discover, that was a great deal of fiction based on a fragment of fact. [27] In 1999, he starred in The Prophet's Game (a dark thriller), directed by David Worth and also starring Stephanie Zimbalist, Robert Yocum, Sandra Locke, Joe Penny and Tracey Birdsall. Its not that he wouldnt; its that he couldnt sign any book contract. The artist I came to know was a serious careerist calculating his return from illegality and literal madness, tenaciously managing his sobriety. They were denied rooms in motels and proper service in restaurants as a result of their radical looks. Upon wrapping the scene, Mr. Hopper later recalled, Mr. Hathaway told him that his career in Hollywood was finished. [74] According to papers filed in his divorce court case, Hopper was terminally ill and was unable to undergo chemotherapy to treat his prostate cancer.[75][76]. The same year, he starred as Deacon, the one-eyed nemesis of Kevin Costner in Waterworld. He became a Hollywood sensation for "Easy Rider," the 1969 film he directed and co-wrote in which he played a dissolute, counter cultural biker. The film was a hit at Cannes, netted a best-screenplay Oscar nomination for Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern, and has since been listed on the American Film Institute's ranking of the top 100 American films. Dennis died of prostate cancer on May 29, 2010, less than two weeks after his 74th birthday. Legal Statement. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, He was 74. Shunned by the Hollywood studios, he found work in European films that were rarely seen in the United States. On the set of "True Grit," Hopper so angered John Wayne that the star reportedly chased Hopper with a loaded gun. For his last performance, he was the voice of Tony, the alpha-male of the Eastern wolf pack inside the 2010 3D computer animated film Alpha and Omega. The film caught on despite tension between Hopper and Fonda and between Hopper and the original choice for Nicholson's part, Rip Torn, who quit after a bitter argument with the director. ", Hopper made it to the top of the box office in the 1994 hit "Speed," in which he played the maniacal plotter of a freeway disaster. When it was released, "The Last Movie" was such a crashing failure that it made Hopper unwanted in Hollywood for a decade. In the storyline, the Kid gave Cheyenne Bodie no choice but to kill him in a gunfight. Thanks so much, man., Thus began a tortured, 10-year relationship. Sex is something that has to be in the book, he insisted. [61], On March 23, 2010, he filed papers in court alleging Duffy had absconded with US$1.5million of his art, refused his requests to return it, and then had "left town". Before Easy Rider, Hopper had starred in a biker movie called The Glory Stompers, Fonda did the Corman movie The Wild Angels, and Nicholson acted in Hells Angels on Wheels. The establishment gave official blessing in 1998 when "Easy Rider" was included in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. Described as a pothead, womanizer, and drunk, the late actor Larry Hagman lived life like an eternal party. Dennis Hopper's Death - Cause and Date Born (Birthday) May 17, 1936 Death Date May 29, 2010 Age of Death 74 years Cause of Death Prostate Cancer Profession Movie Actor The movie actor Dennis Hopper died at the age of 74. Dennis Hopper, left, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider, Columbia Pictures/TRIO, via Associated Press. Share your favorite Hopper moments in the comments section, and scroll down for video highlights from his career. Dennis Hopper, whose portrayals of drug-addled, often deranged misfits in the landmark films Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now and Blue Velvet drew on his early out-of-control experiences as part of a new generation of Hollywood rebel, died Saturday at his home in Venice, Calif. Pushed into acting by his mother, Hopper began in summer stock and on the New York stage. [16] In 1961, Hopper played his first lead role in Night Tide, an atmospheric supernatural thriller involving a mermaid in an amusement park. With Hopper hailed as a brilliant filmmaker, Universal Pictures lavished $850,000 on his next project, "The Last Movie.". Hopper's lawyer argued in the divorce case that his estranged wife's presence was hampering his fight with cancer, but the judge allowed her to continue living in the family's Venice compound with their 6-year-old daughter, Galen. Hopper was also "notorious for his troubled relationships with women", including Michelle Phillips, who divorced him after eight days of marriage. It won the prestigious CIDALC Award at that year's Venice Film Festival, but Universal Studios leaders expected a blockbuster like Easy Rider, and did not like the film or give it an enthusiastic release, while American film audiences found it confounding as convoluted as an abstract painting. Actor, Motion Picture Director. Kan., and raised on a nearby farm, Dennis Lee Hopper moved with . All was forgiven, at least for a moment, when he collaborated with another struggling actor, Peter Fonda, on a script about two pot-smoking, drug-dealing hippies on a motorcycle trip through the Southwest and South to take in the New Orleans Mardi Gras. [34] One of the first art works Hopper owned was an early print of Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans bought for US$75. My mother had an incredible body. During his childhood in the 1940s, the military notified the Hoppers that Dennis father had been killed in the Pacific; after V-J Day, his father returned from the dead the death notice had been a cover as he served as a spy. ", Guitarist Slash tweeted, "You take the great ones for granted until they're gone. He appeared as an arrogant young gunfighter, the Utah Kid, in the 1956 episode "Quicksand" of the first hour-long western television series Cheyenne, starring Clint Walker. [48], In the late 1980s, Hopper purchased a trio of nearly identical two-story, loft-style condominiums at 330 Indiana Avenue in Venice Beach, California one made of concrete, one of plywood, and one of green roofing shingles built by Frank Gehry and two artist friends of Hopper's, Chuck Arnoldi and Laddie John Dill, in 1981. Given nearly $1 million by Universal for a follow-up project, he retreated with a cadre of hippies to Peru to shoot The Last Movie, a hallucinogenic film about the making of a movie. [73], By March 2010, Hopper reportedly weighed only 100 pounds (45kg) and was unable to carry on long conversations. His eye for modern art was uncanny, resulting in a multimillion-dollar collection. They had a daughter, Marin, before Hopper's drug-induced violence led to divorce after eight years. Hes smart about these things. When I pressed, he explained: Theres a chance, if I play things right, Ill finally direct a studio picture. Hopper also began a prolific and acclaimed photography career in the 1960s. Hopper plays an aging hippie prankster in the 1990 comedy Flashback, fleeing in a Furthur-like old bus to the tune of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild". She also filed complaints about him keeping marijuana joints throughout his compound, ready to provide quick relief from pain, and loaded guns in strategic locations, ready to provide quick resolutions. Find out the cause of death and more exciting information regarding the death of this famous movie actor. "All those years of being an actor and a director and not being able to get a job -- two weeks is too long to not know what my next job will be.". In March 2010, it was announced that Hopper was on the "short list" for Jeffrey Deitch's inaugural show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA). Born on May 17, 1936, in Dodge City, Kan., and raised on a nearby farm, Dennis Lee Hopper moved with his family to San Diego in the late 1940s. The money theyre offering me is unbelievable, he said about another biography offer. He returned to directing, with "Colors," "The Hot Spot" and "Chasers. "Much of Hollywood," wrote critic-historian David Thomson, "found Hopper a pain in the neck.". 36 on the AFI's list of top 50 movie villains. Though Hopper gave critically acclaimed performances in Coppola's Rumble Fish (1983) and Sam Peckinpah's The Osterman Weekend (1983), it was not until he portrayed the gas-huffing, obscenity-screaming villain Frank Booth in David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) that his career truly revived. . He was 74. Hopper's first wife was Brooke Hayward, the daughter of actress Margaret Sullavan and agent Leland Hayward, and author of the best-selling memoir "Haywire." Hopper was drugged-out off camera, too, and his rambling chatter was worked into the final cut. The establishment gave official blessing in 1998 when "Easy Rider" was included in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. He was involved in L.A.'s Ferus and Virginia Dwan galleries in the 1960s, and he was a longtime friend and supporter to New York dealer Tony Shafrazi. ", "Work is fun to me," he told a reporter in 1991. Hopper's manager announced in October 2009 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. May 17, 1936 Died May 29, 2010 (74) Add to list Nominated for 2 Oscars 23 wins & 17 nominations total Photos 424 Known for Easy Rider 7.3 Billy 1969 Blue Velvet 7.7 Frank Booth 1986 Speed 7.3 Howard Payne 1994 Waterworld 6.3 Deacon 1995 Credits Edit He continued, Everyone here today that Ive invited and obviously some that I havent invited have enriched my life tremendously., https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/movies/30hopper.html. After staging a "suicide attempt" (really more of a daredevil act) in a coffin using 17 sticks of dynamite during an "art happening" at the Rice University Media Center (filmed by professor and documentary filmmaker Brian Huberman),[24] and later disappearing into the Mexican desert during a particularly extravagant bender, Hopper entered a drug rehabilitation program in 1983. Actor known for his dramatic performances in films such as Easy Rider, Blue Velvet, and Speed. "Sean Penn", interview with Julian Schnabel and Dennis Hopper, Krull, Craig. Hopper's acting career has spanned almost six decades. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! More details soon. From that point on, Hopper maintained a frantic work pace, appearing in many forgettable movies and a few memorable ones, including 1993's "True Romance," where he played a well-meaning ex-cop trying to protect his son from a gangster played by Christopher Walken. Dennis Hopper reached the respectable age of 74 years. Dennis Lee Hopper was born in 1936, in Dodge City, Kan., and spent much of his youth on the nearby farm of his grandparents. The cancer spread to his bones and he died on May 29, 2010. Hopper and his fourth wife, dancer Katherine LaNasa, had a son, Henry, before divorcing. During his lifetime, Hopper's own work as well as his collection was shown in monographic and group exhibitions around the world including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; MAK Vienna: Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art, Vienna; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Cinmathque Franaise, Paris, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne. [13] It was there that he developed an interest in acting, studying at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, and the Actors Studio in New York City (he studied with Lee Strasberg for five years). Hopper had 3 daughters and a son. Hopper died Saturday at his home in the Los Angeles beach community of Venice, surrounded by family and friends, family friend Alex Hitz said. The success of "Easy Rider," and the spectacular failure of his next film, "The Last Movie," fit the pattern for the talented but sometimes uncontrollable actor-director, who also had parts in such favorites as "Apocalypse Now" and "Hoosiers." When he finally completed filming, he retired to his home in Taos, N.M., to piece together the film, a process that took almost a year, in part because he was using psychedelic drugs for editing inspiration. Hopper also tried his hand at a number of artistic pursuits including photography, sculpting and painting. Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Actor Dennis Hopper died at his home in Venice, California, Saturday morning, his wife said. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. But I prefer to ignore the gossip blog rumors of mental incapacity that leaked out from Hoppers Venice compound during his long good night. [67], On September 28, 2009, Hopper, then 73, was reportedly taken by ambulance to an unidentified Manhattan hospital wearing an oxygen mask and "with numerous tubes visible". Biography - A Short Wiki. It was my mind.. He starred as King Koopa in Super Mario Bros., a 1993 critical and commercial failure loosely based on the video game of the same name. He subsequently appeared in over 140 episodes of television shows such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Petticoat Junction, The Twilight Zone, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, The Defenders, The Investigators, The Legend of Jesse James, Entourage, The Big Valley, The Time Tunnel, and Combat!. Dennis Hopper, the maverick director and costar of the landmark 1969 counterculture film classic "Easy Rider" whose drug- and alcohol-fueled reputation as a Hollywood bad boy preceded his. The report,. On viewing the first release print, fresh from the lab, in his screening room at Universal, MCA founder Jules C. Stein rose from his chair and said, "I just don't understand this younger generation." The film Alpha and Omega, which was among his last film roles, was dedicated to him, as was the 2011 film Restless, which starred his son Henry Hopper. [38] He became a prolific photographer, and noted writer Terry Southern profiled Hopper in Better Homes and Gardens as an up-and-coming photographer "to watch" in the mid-1960s. His body was buried at the Jesus Nazareno Cemetery in Ranchos de Taos. But alcohol and drugs continued to interfere with his work. [50], According to Rolling Stone magazine, Hopper was "one of Hollywood's most notorious drug addicts" for 20 years. [72] Surrounded by family, fans, and friendsincluding Jack Nicholson, Viggo Mortensen, David Lynch, and Michael Madsenhe attended its addition to the sidewalk six days later. Years later, Hopper told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that hed fired Torn from Easy Rider after the actor pulled a knife. ", "So long Dennis," tweeted actress Virginia Madsen, who starred in "The Hot Spot." He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared alongside James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Giant (1956). In 1957 Hopper played thief Abe Larson in another Cheyenne episode titled "The Iron Trail." He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in Giant (1956). On the set of "True Grit," Hopper so angered John Wayne that the star reportedly chased Hopper with a loaded gun. With Francis Ford Coppola's blockbuster Apocalypse Now (1979), Hopper returned to prominence as a hyper-manic Vietnam-era photojournalist. Hopper and his wife were involved in a highly public and bitter divorce fight in the last months of his life. After moving to San Diego with his family, he played Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theater. During a promotional tour last fall for that series, he fell ill; shortly thereafter, he began a new round of treatments for prostate cancer, which he said had been first diagnosed a decade ago. The idea was to break through inhibitions in order to become a better artist.. In both of the films with Wayne, Hopper's character is killed in the presence of Wayne's character, to whom he utters his dying words. On March 26, surrounded by friends like Mr. Nicholson and David Lynch, the director of Blue Velvet, Mr. Hopper received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It won a top prize at the 1971 Venice Film Festival, but it failed with critics and at the box office. Hopper claimed that Torn pulled a knife on him during pre-production of the film Easy Rider. Murdoch has survived scandal after scandal. Hopper added that Kristofferson had written some songs for his Peruvian-shot movie "The Last Movie", in which Kristofferson appeared in his debut role with Julie Adams. His credits include no fewer than six films released in 2008 and at least 25 over the past 10 years. When he finally completed filming, he retired to his home in Taos, N.M., to piece together the film, a process that took almost a year, in part because he was using psychedelic drugs for editing inspiration. His politics, like much of his life, were unpredictable. He was 74. Hopper then appealed but the judge again ruled in Torn's favor and Hopper was required to pay another US$475,000 in punitive damages. is dennis hopper related to william hopper is dennis hopper related to william hopper (No Ratings Yet) . [32] He portrayed villain Victor Drazen in the first season of the popular action drama 24. Hopper was drugged-out off camera, too, and his rambling chatter was worked into the final cut. A judge ruled in Torn's favor and Hopper was ordered to pay US$475,000 in damages. His politics, like much of his life, were unpredictable. If a persons manner of dying is a distillation of his life, then Hoppers death seemed a revisit of the same stories about a man once called the patron saint of the deranged. Never an easy rider. UPDATE: Here's the Associated Press obituary. "U taught me so much.". He was a prolific photographer, painter, and sculptor. With Hopper hailed as a brilliant filmmaker, Universal Pictures lavished $850,000 on his next project, "The Last Movie.". It went on to gross $40 million worldwide, a substantial sum for its time. He saw his first movie at 5 and became enthralled. In the 2000s, he was featured in the television series "Crash" and such films as "Elegy" and "Hell Ride. He also played the part of record producer Ben Cendars in the Starz television series Crash, which lasted two seasons (26 episodes). Actor known for his dramatic performances in films such as Easy Rider, Blue Velvet, and Speed. While funeral arrangements have not been decided, Hopper's wish was to be buried in Taos, New Mexico, his wife said. "A cinematic Ali v. He also built an extensive collection of works by artists he knew, including Warhol, Ed Ruscha and Julian Schnabel. His fourth directorial outing came about through Colors (1988), followed by an Emmy-nominated lead performance in Paris Trout (1991). The old rebel contributed money to the Republican Party in recent years, but also voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008. Legal Statement. I wonder if Hopper saw his exit as a last movie? In later years he picked up some income by becoming a pitchman for Ameriprise Financial, aiming ads at baby boomers looking ahead to retirement. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Market data provided by Factset. "All those years of being an actor and a director and not being able to get a job - two weeks is too long to not know what my next job will be.". Mr. Hopper had several artistic pursuits beyond film. "A lot of it was about politically what was going on in the country.". He made his first television appearance in 1955, and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). More details soon. or redistributed. Dennis watched us watching him. Hopper died Saturday at his home in the Los Angeles beach community of Venice, surrounded by family and friends, family friend Alex Hitz said. Stepping in for an overwhelmed director, Hopper won praise in 1980 for his directing and acting in Out of the Blue. Looking frail, he began his brief acceptance speech by sardonically thanking the paparazzi for supposedly distracting him and causing him to lose his balance and fall the day before. [63] On May 12, 2010, a hearing was held before Judge Amy Pellman in downtown Los Angeles Superior Court. Mr. Hopper edited the film while living at Los Gallos, a 22-room adobe house in Taos, N.M., that he rechristened the Mud Palace and envisioned as a counterculture Hollywood. I pried at its edge with my keys until the trap cracked loose. It allows hot air to circulate. The lint trap wouldnt budge. Produced for the Starz cable channel, the show had Mr. Hopper portraying a music producer unhinged by years of drug use. [40] German film director Wim Wenders said of Hopper that if hed only been a photographer, hed be one of the great photographers of the twentieth century.[39] In The New Yorker, Hopper, as photographer, was described as "a compelling, important, and weirdly omnipresent chronicler of his times. Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper has died after a long bout with prostate cancer, according to reports. ", "Work is fun to me," he told a reporter in 1991. ", Its success prompted studio heads to schedule a new kind of movie: low cost, with inventive photography and themes about a young, restive baby boom generation. Hopper's first wife was Brooke Hayward, the daughter of actress Margaret Sullavan and agent Leland Hayward, and author of the best-selling memoir "Haywire." "A lot of it was about politically what was going on in the country.". After moving to San Diego with his family, he played Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theater. Easy Rider introduced much of its audience, if not Mr. Hopper, to cocaine, and the films success accelerated a period of intense drug and alcohol use that Mr. Hopper later said nearly killed him and turned him into a professional pariah. Hopper struck up a friendship with actor Vincent Price, whose passion for art influenced Hopper's interest in art. The moving image collection of Dennis Hopper is held at the Academy Film Archive. Scouted by the studios, Hopper was under contract to Columbia until he insulted the boss, Harry Cohn. [54], According to Newsmeat, Hopper donated US$2,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2004 and an equal amount in 2005. The story has several versions; the most common is that his refusal to play a scene in the manner that the director requested resulted in Mr. Hoppers stubbornly performing more than 80 takes before he finally followed orders. As I described interviewing an eccentric Taos Square hotel owner, Hoppers face changed complexion, acquired a ghastly hue. [64] The hearing also dealt with who would be the beneficiary on Hopper's life insurance policy, which listed his wife as a beneficiary. It was difficult to recognize the manic performer Id admired in Francis Ford Coppolas Apocalypse Now and Wim Wenders The American Friend. That outrageous hipster of Easy Rider? For years he lived in Los Angeles' bohemian beach community of Venice, in a house designed by acclaimed architect Frank Gehry. The print sold at Christie's, New York, for US$302,500 in January 2011. But the private Dennis I spent a decade alongside, working on his biography, had a different persona. The cause was complications from metastasized prostate cancer, according to a statement issued by Alex Hitz, a family friend. Hopper repeatedly mentioned a knife fight with Rip Torn on the Easy Rider location, but that never happened either. Seemed like a potential story for my then-employer, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner daily newspaper. Hopper sadly passed away in 2010, aged 74. The film caught on despite tension between Hopper and Fonda and between Hopper and the original choice for Nicholson's part, Rip Torn, who quit after a bitter argument with the director. In 2008, Hopper starred in An American Carol. Hopper stated that because he was the son-in-law of actress Margaret Sullavan, a friend of John Wayne, Wayne hired Hopper for a role in The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), also directed by Hathaway, which enabled Hopper to restart his film career. On reading the script Hopper said to Lynch: "You have to let me play Frank Booth. Hopper was married to Victoria Duffy from 1998 until they divorced in 2010, months before his death. Following the critical and commercial failure of his second film as director, The Last Movie (1971), he worked on various independent and foreign projects in which he was frequently typecast as mentally disturbed outsiders in such films as Mad Dog Morgan (1976) and The American Friend (1977) until he found new fame for his role as an American photojournalist in Apocalypse Now (1979). Well, the D.A. When he was 13, Hopper and his family moved to San Diego, where his mother worked as a lifeguard instructor and his father was a post office manager, having previously served in the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, in World War II in the China Burma India Theater. Illness and death Or afraid of facts Id dug up? Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. He saw his first movie at 5 and became enthralled. Actor Dennis Hopper was just 74 when he died of prostate cancer 10 years ago, but his film career, which began in Rebel Without A Cause with James Dean, has endured for over 60 years. Dennis Hopper Death Certificate 6/7/2010 7:43 PM PT TMZ has just obtained Dennis Hopper 's death certificate . [18] The production was plagued by creative differences and personal acrimony between Fonda and Hopper, the dissolution of Hopper's marriage to Brooke Hayward, his unwillingness to leave the editor's desk and his accelerating abuse of drugs and alcohol.