Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor and film director. He is known for his roles as mentally disturbed outsiders and rebels. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Hopper studied acting at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and the Actors Studio in New York. Hopper also began a prolific and acclaimed photography career in the 1960s.[1][2]
Dennis Hopper
May 29, 2010 (aged 74)
Jesús Nazareno Cemetery, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, U.S.
- Actor
- film director
- photographer
- painter
1954–2010
4, including Ruthanna
Hopper made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in two of the films that made James Dean famous, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). He then acted in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Hang 'Em High (1968) and True Grit (1969). Hopper made his directorial film debut with Easy Rider (1969), which he and co-star Peter Fonda wrote with Terry Southern. The film earned Hopper a Cannes Film Festival Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
He became frequently typecast as mentally disturbed outsiders in such films as Mad Dog Morgan (1976), The American Friend (1977), Apocalypse Now (1979), Rumble Fish (1983), and Blue Velvet (1986). He received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in Hoosiers (1986). His later film roles included True Romance (1993), Speed (1994), Waterworld (1995) and Elegy (2009). He appeared posthumously in the long-delayed The Other Side of the Wind (2018), which had previously been filmed in the early 1970s.[3][4]
Other directorial credits for Hopper include The Last Movie (1971), Out of the Blue (1980), Colors (1988), and The Hot Spot (1990). He received Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination for his role in Paris Trout (1991). His other television roles include in the HBO film Doublecrossed (1991), 24 (2002), the NBC series E-Ring (2005–2006), and the Starz series Crash (2008–2009).
Early life and education[edit]
Hopper was born on May 17, 1936, in Dodge City, Kansas, to Marjorie Mae (née Davis; July 12, 1917 – January 12, 2007)[5] and Jay Millard Hopper[6] (June 23, 1916 – August 7, 1982). He had Scottish ancestors.[7] Hopper had two younger brothers, Marvin and David.[8]
After World War II, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where the young Hopper attended Saturday art classes at the Kansas City Art Institute. 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.[9][10] Hopper was voted most likely to succeed at Helix High School, where he was active in the drama club, speech and choir.[11] 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 struck up a friendship with actor Vincent Price, whose passion for art influenced Hopper's interest in art. He was especially fond of the plays of William Shakespeare.
Archive[edit]
The moving image collection of Dennis Hopper is held at the Academy Film Archive. The Dennis Hopper Trust Collection represents Hopper's directorial efforts.[81]