R.I.P. – Legendary Actor Dennis Hopper Dies at age 74
May 29th, 2010 Filed under: R.I.P. by admin
(Source – CBC.ca)
Actor Dennis Hopper, the Hollywood elder statesman who appeared in such classic movies as Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now, has died.
A Reuters report says the 74-year-old performer died Saturday at his home in Venice, Calif. He had been suffering from prostate cancer. Actor Dennis Hopper, honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was also a major collector of art.
Hopper appeared extremely frail and bone-thin in recent months.
The celebrated actor, Oscar-nominated filmmaker and noted visual artist rose to fame in mid-century Hollywood as a co-star and friend to rebel icon James Dean.
For decades Hopper’s career was erratic due to his unpredictable and defiant behaviour, struggles with substance abuse and reputation as a hellion. However, he eventually settled down and earned a raft of kudos for both his film work as well as for his photos, paintings and sculptures.
His prolific movie credits ranged from early successes such as Rebel Without a Cause and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral to the 1960s classics Cool Hand Luke and Easy Rider (which Hopper starred in, directed and won wide acclaim for co-writing), to later hits like Apocalypse Now, Rumble Fish, Blue Velvet and Hoosiers.
Hopper was born May 17, 1936 in Dodge City, Kan. After the Second World War his family moved to Kansas City, Mo., where he took art classes at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Hopper made his on-screen debut portraying an epileptic in an episode of the Richard Boone television series Medic. That same year, he was cast in the 1955 movie Rebel Without a Cause. Its star, James Dean, would become one of his closest friends and the two were reunited on set in the movie Giant.
After Dean’s shocking death in a car accident in September 1955, many noted that Hopper began taking on his friend’s defiant attitude, even refusing direction while at work as an actor.
On the set of From Hell to Texas, Hopper famously began improvising scenes, causing as many as 80 takes and making enemies with the crew. After that incident and the erratic behaviour that followed it, he was largely blacklisted from prominent Hollywood projects and relegated to B-movies.
During this period, he took roles in a raft of television shows, including The Twilight Zone and Bonanza. Gradually, he worked his way back into Hollywood’s good graces, including nabbing roles in two John Wayne movies, The Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit.
Hopper’s major comeback was 1969′s Easy Rider, which also featured Jack Nicholson, Terry Southern and Peter Fonda.
The story of two motorcyclists in search of freedom as they ramble through the southern U.S., the movie was released at the peak of the hippie movement. Capturing the zeitgeist of the time and resonating both with audiences and critics, it landed Hopper a host of honours, including best first film at the Cannes Film Festival and an original screenplay Oscar nomination (which he shared with Fonda and Southern).
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