Dennis Hopper dead at 74

Actor had praised Hollywood as his 'home and my schooling'

msnbc.com news services
updated 5/29/2010 10:22:00 AM


LOS ANGELES — Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper, best known for directing and starring in the 1969 cult classic "Easy Rider," died on Saturday at his home in Venice, California, from complications of prostate cancer, a friend told Reuters. Hopper was 74.

The hard-living screen icon died at 8:15 a.m. PT, surrounded by family and friends, said the friend, Alex Hitz.

The two-time Oscar nominee, who appeared in more than 100 films, last March got a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, saying he came to Hollywood from his native Kansas at 18, "so that was my college."

"Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from Hollywood," he said. "This has been my home and my schooling."

In a wildly varied career spanning more than 50 years, Hopper appeared alongside his mentor James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant" in the 1950s and played maniacs in such films as "Apocalypse Now," "Blue Velvet" and "Speed."

He received two Oscar nominations — for writing "EasyRider" (with co-star Peter Fonda and Terry Southern), and for a rare heartwarming turn as an alcoholic high-school basketball coach in the 1986 drama "Hoosiers."

"Easy Rider," regarded is one of the greatest films of American cinema, helped usher in a new era in which the old Hollywood guard was forced to cede power to young filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

The low-budget blockbuster, originally conceived by Fonda, introduced mainstream moviegoers to pot-smoking, cocaine-dealing, long-haired bikers.

"We'd gone through the whole '60s and nobody had made a film about anybody smoking grass without going out and killing a bunch of nurses," Hopper told Entertainment Weekly in 2005. "I wanted 'Easy Rider' to be a time capsule for people about that period."

Hopper and Fonda were joined on screen by a then-unknown Jack Nicholson as an alcoholic lawyer, but it was not a harmonious set. Hopper clashed violently with everyone and Fonda later described him as a "little fascist freak." Their friendship was destroyed.

Hopper fell ill last September. He continued working almost to the very end, both on his cable TV series "Crash" and on a book showcasing his photography. But his final months were also consumed by a bitter divorce battle with his fifth wife, Victoria Duffy.

Indeed, his private life was never dull. His marriages included an eight-day union in 1970 with Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and Papas, who later told Vanity Fair that she was subjected to "excruciating" treatment.

Hopper is survived by four children.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37414779/ns/today-entertainment/



Dan

I guess this means no sequel to Easy Rider or Hoosiers...  :-\\

I guess this means no sequel to Easy Rider or Hoosiers...  :-\\

This just spotlights the overwhelming need for more research for cancer cures, AGAIN. I didn't see Hopper in much, but what I did see I enjoyed, and I'll miss him. I almost wish he could've gone out like he did at the end of Speed, he wouldn't have suffered as much. I can't believe I'm writing two of these posts in two days! >:(
Fare the well, Dennis. You won't be forgotten.

Your Pal,
Doc
:\'(

Another celeb death!  :\'( First, Gary Coleman, now Dennis Hopper. I applaud Hopper's performance in Speed, Blue Velvet, Super Mario Bros. and The Keeper.

Very sad news!  :\'(  :\'(  :\'(

R.I.P. Dennis Hopper

Another great one taken from us. :( R.I.P Dennis :\'(

Giant I will always remember him in Giant   He was an actor, director, and writer.  He was Hollywood

RIP Dennnis

Another great one taken from us. :( R.I.P Dennis :\'(

Yup, well put.
Sad news again.

http://www.pophistorydig.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/2006-07-dennis-hopper-w-bike85.jpg

And he fought the good fight for months,RIP Dennis Hopper.  :(

http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dennis-hopper-rushed-to-hospital-219x300.jpg

This is very sad news, indeed. Rest in peace, Dennis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK7dDAm3NAk

I knew Hopper was very sick with prostate cancer, but it's still a shock to lose such an icon.  Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, and -- especially -- Blue Velvet stand out as his iconic movies for me. 

I had the wholesome "The Best Years of Our Lives" lined up for tonight, but since I heard of Hopper's death,l I'll have to switch to Blue Velvet.

Dennis even made a cameo in a documentary about my favorite composer, John Cage, called "Revenge of the Dead Indians."

When a dozen actors turned down the role of Frank Booth (Blue Velvet), Dennis said, "I've got to play Frank because I am Frank!"  So, Dennis, I pay my respects to you in a way I know you would appreciate: "Don't you f**kin' look at me!"

R.I.P. Dennis Hopper.  You are irreplaceable.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/15/tearyeyed.gif

I knew he'd been ill as of late, only a matter of time before he checked out. RIP Dennis, you'll be greatly missed.

Was it Easy Rider where he said that quote "We're Burning Daylight"?  ???

I knew he'd been ill as of late, only a matter of time before he checked out. RIP Dennis, you'll be greatly missed.


yes,for a few months.

So sad to hear of another icon's passing... :(

So sad to hear of another icon's passing... :(


and they always go in 3,That's what it seems like. :(

and they always go in 3,That's what it seems like. :(


Yep.  Gary Coleman, Art Linkletter and now Dennis Hopper.  Looks like this cycle is done.

I wonder if Dennis will be buried near Hedda Hopper? ???

Yep.   Gary Coleman, Art Linkletter and now Dennis Hopper.  Looks like this cycle is done.

I wonder if Dennis will be buried near Hedda Hopper? ???


or with his famous Easy Rider gear? ???

Can't say that I am surprised, but it was still sad. 

Rest in peace, Mr. Hopper.

He was born to be wild...and he lived and died to be wild!

I just saw the news on IMDB and I was shocked and saddened to hear it, especially if he had the same birthday as me.

RIP Dennis :'-(

My sister said Hopper's death reminds her how all the icons of the hippie generation are passing on at a faster pace.  Like the Beats in the '90s, they're starting to die of natural causes instead of drug overdoses and motorcycle crashes.
:o

Don't forget Hopper as the hip science teacher in "My Science Project" back in 1985. 

My sister said Hopper's death reminds her how all the icons of the hippie generation are passing on at a faster pace.  Like the Beats in the '90s, they're starting to die of natural causes instead of drug overdoses and motorcycle crashes.
:o

Don't forget Hopper as the hip science teacher in "My Science Project" back in 1985. 



I think it's the younger generation.