Dennis Hopper of 'Easy Rider' Fame Dead at 74
Dennis Hopper, whose unmistakable presence graced the silver screen for five decades in classics like 'Easy Rider' and 'Apocalypse Now,' died on Saturday after a grueling battle with prostate cancer, a friend of the actor told Reuters. The actor was surrounded by family and friends when he died at his home in Venice, California shortly after 8 AM, according to the friend, Alex Hitz. Hopper was 74.
The actor spent most of 2010 embroiled in a divorce from his fifth wife of 14 years, Victoria Duffy-Hopper. A family friend told
The Huffington Post in January that Hopper was "delirious and having difficulty speaking." It was more recently reported that Hopper weighed just barely 100 pounds and was too frail to attend chemotherapy treatments or divorce proceedings.
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A True Hollywood Rebel
From 'Rebel Without a Cause' to 'Easy Rider' to 'Blue Velvet,' Dennis Hopper was a true Hollywood original and counterculture visionary. Remember the icon and his never-boring personal life and acting career. Click Thru the Gallery >>
Columbia Tristar / Getty Images
Columbia Tristar / Getty Images
A True Hollywood Rebel
Hopper's work became the stuff of subversive legend -- his role as King Koopa in a 'Super Mario Bros.' feature film that would become the video game movie to skewer all future video game movies; his monologue about Sicilians in 'True Romance'; his wild drug addict in 'Blue Velvet.'
Hopper's role in the hallmark counterculture film 'Easy Rider' sees the movie constantly attached to his name. A Cigar Aficionado magazine profile of Hopper in 2001 called the film "the Peace and Love Generation's version of Homer's 'The Odyssey.'" Hopper co-wrote the film, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay in the 1970 Academy Awards. 'Easy Rider' claimed the Best First Work award at Cannes the year before.
"We didn't really think of ourselves as counterculture. We thought we
were culture, and they were just on another track," Hopper
said in 2008, his voice as instantly recognizable as Christopher Walken or 'Easy Rider' co-star Jack Nicholson.
Watch classic clips from 'Easy Rider' and 'True Romance':
The Academy nominated Hopper for a Best Supporting Actor role in 1987 for 'Hoosiers'.
Hopper became ill in September, 2009, but continued to work on his cable series, 'Crash,' and other endeavors.
A frail and bandaged Hopper finally received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 26. "Everything I learned in life I learned from you," he
said at the ceremony, referring to Hollywood. "This means so much to me. Thank you very much everyone, and Hollywood."
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Dennis Hopper Snapshots
Dennis Hopper and his old friend Jack Nicholson share a laugh at the unveiling of Hopper's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March. More memories of the acting icon >>
AFP/Getty Images
AFP FILES
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
Candles rest on the star of actor Dennis Hopper following news of his death, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on May 29, 2010. Hopper, a counterculture icon who worked with Hollywood legends including James Dean and Marlon Brando, died Saturday at age 74, his manager said. The actor, who shot to fame following his screen debut in the 1955 classic "Rebel Without a Cause" and later spent years mired in alcohol- and drug-abuse, had been suffering from terminal prostate cancer and died at his home in California. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
People take photographs of the star of actor Dennis Hopper where a wreath was placed following news of his death, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on May 29, 2010. Hopper, a counterculture icon who worked with Hollywood legends including James Dean and Marlon Brando, died Saturday at age 74, his manager said. The actor, who shot to fame following his screen debut in the 1955 classic "Rebel Without a Cause" and later spent years mired in alcohol- and drug-abuse, had been suffering from terminal prostate cancer and died at his home in California. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
People gather around the star of actor Dennis Hopper where a wreath was placed following news of his death, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on May 29, 2010. Hopper, a counterculture icon who worked with Hollywood legends including James Dean and Marlon Brando, died Saturday at age 74, his manager said. The actor, who shot to fame following his screen debut in the 1955 classic "Rebel Without a Cause" and later spent years mired in alcohol- and drug-abuse, had been suffering from terminal prostate cancer and died at his home in California. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
A wreath is placed on the star of actor Dennis Hopper on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on May 29, 2010. Hopper, a counterculture icon who worked with Hollywood legends including James Dean and Marlon Brando, died Saturday at age 74, his manager said. The actor, who shot to fame following his screen debut in the 1955 classic "Rebel Without a Cause" and later spent years mired in alcohol- and drug-abuse, had been suffering from terminal prostate cancer and died at his home in California. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
(FILES) US actor Dennis Hopper (R), with actor Jack Nicholson, attends the ceremony where Hopper was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood on March 26, 2010. Hopper, known for directing and starring in the 1969 cult classic �Easy Rider,� died on May 29, 2010 at his home in Venice, California, from complications of prostate cancer, according to US media reports, quoting a family friend. He was 74. AFP PHOTO/GABRIEL BOUYS/FILES (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
FILE - In a Oct. 1971 file photo, director-actor Dennis Hopper poses in Hollywood, Ca. Hopper, the Hollywood actor-director whose memorable career included the 1969 smash "Easy Rider," died Saturday, May 29, 2010 at his Venice, Calif. home. He was 74. (AP Photo, File)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
FILE - In a Monday, Oct. 13, 2008 file photo, American actor and director Dennis Hopper looks on during press conference at the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris. Hopper, the Hollywood actor-director whose memorable career included the 1969 smash "Easy Rider," died Saturday, May 29, 2010 at his Venice, Calif. home. He was 74. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
FILE - In this May 19, 2982 file photo, actor Dennis Hopper is shown in Dallas, Texas. Hopper, the Hollywood actor-director whose memorable career included the 1969 smash "Easy Rider," died Saturday, May 29, 2010 at his Venice, Calif. home. He was 74. (AP Photo/Ron Heflin, File)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
FILE - In this May 24, 2008 file photo, actor Dennis Hopper attends a press conference of the film "The Palermo Shooting" during the 61st International film festival in Cannes, southern France. Dennis Hopper, the high-flying Hollywood actor-director whose memorable career included the 1969 smash "Easy Rider," died Saturday, May 29, 2010 at his Venice, Calif. home, surrounded by family and friends. He was 74. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
FILE - In a Oct. 1971 file photo, director-actor Dennis Hopper poses in Hollywood, Ca. Hopper, the Hollywood actor-director whose memorable career included the 1969 smash "Easy Rider," died Saturday, May 29, 2010 at his Venice, Calif. home. He was 74. (AP Photo, File)
Dennis Hopper Snapshots
Many of Hopper's Hollywood friends were in attendance, including Jack Nicholson, director David Lynch and singer Johnny Mathis. Hopper received the 2,403rd star along Hollywood Boulevard at a midday celebration in front of the landmark Egyptian Theatre.
Hopper's career was nothing if not prolific -- he worked on dozens of films and was an avid participant in documentaries.
Hopper led a free-spirited life, never a stranger to conflict or substances. "I should have been dead ten times over," he told an interview a decade ago. I've thought about that a lot. I believe in miracles. It's an absolute miracle that I'm still around."
"With all the drugs, psychedelics and narcotics I did, I was [really] an alcoholic. Honestly, I only used to do cocaine so I could sober up and drink more. My last five years of drinking was a nightmare. I was drinking a half-gallon of rum with a fifth of rum on the side, in case I ran out, 28 beers a day, and three grams of cocaine just to keep me moving around. And I thought I was doing fine because I wasn't crawling around drunk on the floor."
He quit drinking in the 1980s with the help of a detox clinic, but he continued to use cocaine, and at one time needed to be committed to the psychiatric ward of a Los Angeles hospital. Upon his release, Hopper joined Alcoholics Anonymous and quit drugs altogether.
His sobriety paid off, and his next role was in 'Hoosiers,' which snagged him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
Hopper was an outspoken Republican for most of his life, but surprisingly he said he was praying for Barack Obama's election in 2008.
Dennis Lee Hopper was born in 1936, in Dodge City, Kansas. His family moved to San Diego and he began acting on stage. Soon he was signed to Warner Bros., where he appeared 'Rebel' and 'Giant' while still in his teens.
As unpredictable as his career and political views were, Hopper's love life was even more hard to define.
His first wife was Brooke Hayward. They had a daughter, Marin, before Hopper's drug-induced violence led to divorce after eight years. Then, he married Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, but they split up eight days after exchanging vows. A marriage to actress Daria Halprin produced a daughter, Ruthana, and his nuptials to dancer Katherine LaNasa gave him a son, Henry.
He married his fifth wife, Victoria Duffy, who was 32 years his junior, in 1996, and they had a daughter, Galen Grier.
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An unforgettable actor, True Romance scene was the best AD_LIBBED he's ever done, ditto in Apocolypse too..Very sad when the real actors leave this earth..I'm positive he'll be raising hell in the afterlife..RIP
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Condolences to a fellow Kansan!
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We truly, most definitely lost a legend today. One of the best actors Hollywood has ever seen.
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Every actor/actress has their own acting trademark and I enjoyed Dennis' wild antics. Gonna miss him. RIP, Dennis!
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Rip Easy Rider! Wow so many greats leave us with the spirit and life they gave us to enjoy their talent.
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when you gotta go ,you gotta go ! rest in peace!
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A truly talented actor. RIP Denis and Im sure karma will take care of your ex-wife.
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I'm gonna watch Speed and Waterworld tonight in tribute. We will miss you Dennis.
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Hey Lon,
Go listen to Pat Boone and Lawrence Welk and watch Leave it to Beaver, and piss off.
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RIP Dennis.
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God bless Dennis Hopper and my prayers are with his family today.
He was such wonderful actor and I always loved the fact he would take on just about any role, he was not afraid to look silly if playing a kook of some sort. He has always been someone I have enjoyed watching, what a lose for all of us, most of all his family.
God Bless You Dennis!!!
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Even though the jew pri_ks in Hollywood did their best to screw you Dennis, you blazed quite a path, more so than those pukes!
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I'm so very sorry.
To hear about Dennis.
I loved all of his shows.
Dennis will be sadly missed by all of his Fans.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Dennis's Family and Friends as well.
Rest in Peace Dennis and feel no more pain.
And go where all Angels go.
Your # 1 Fan Tia Morris.
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Just like my dad...cancer riddled his body. He was frail and couldn't speak. Peace to Mr. Hopper's family and may Mr. Hopper finally be at peace.
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We have lost a legacy............
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R.I.P. DENNIS
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HAPPY CRUISIN COOL DADDY. THANKS FOR THE MANY MEMORIES.
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Ok wicked stepmommy, squirt those crocodile tears..
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great actor that i did not follow much but r.i.p. gary!
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Born to be wild. Godspeed Mr Hopper
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