Dennis Hopper Passed Away

[Victor]

Rest in peace Dennis Hooper!

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.

[Candeeman]

I'm pretty sure his last name was Hopper....

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Candeeman

I'm pretty sure his last name was Hopper....

You are right. My bad. Dennis Hopper. If a Moderator can fix the title, it will be much appreciated.

[guzzi]

i am frank...

[TN TITAN Fan In STL]

he was my 1st round pick in the dead pool this year.RIP

[Keith]

He got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame about 6-8 weeks ago and he looked like a skeleton then.

RIP

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Keith

He got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame about 6-8 weeks ago and he looked like a skeleton then.

RIP

I hear you Keith. Knew it was coming, but just didn`t know when.

[JohnnyMapleLeaf]

Hooper. lol.

[Victor]

Originally Posted by JohnnyMapleLeaf

Hooper. lol.

[Mendoza Line]

First Gary Coleman and now this.

By my calculations, Richard Dreyfuss or Sissy Spacek is next.

[Miky12]

I have full confidence that Dennis Hopper will be the winner. I am a big fan of him.

[iggs111]

Wow. RIP. Come's in 3's so we have one left. Really hope it's not Dr. Leo Marvin

[Mendoza Line]

Originally Posted by iggs111

Wow. RIP. Come's in 3's so we have one left. Really hope it's not Dr. Leo Marvin

I'm really hoping Lindsay Lohan is next, but I will accept Tyra Banks getting hit by a bus.

[Windy City Irish]

abe vigoda next?

[Triballife]

R.I.P


Loved him in Apocalypse Now.