Dennis Hopper Passes Away At Age 74

05/29/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Iconic film actor Denis Hopper passed away today. He was 74. Many people expected this to happen. He has had prostate cancer and been terminally ill for several months now.

Best known for his roles in Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now and Blue Velvet, Hopper has had a turbulent career and personal life. He was nearly completely black listed in Hollywood for his horrendous treatment of others, and his abuse of alcohol and drugs. He is reported to have so angered True Grit star John Wayne that Wayne chased after Hopper with a loaded weapon. His abuse of alcohol and cocaine continued well into the 1980’s. After he was committed to an LA psych ward for severe hallucinations, he joined Alcoholics Anonymous and quit drugs as well as alcohol.

He wrote, directed, and starred in Easy Rider, one of eight movies he would direct and four he would write.

Hopper worked on several movies in his early years, and was contracted to both Columbia and Warner Brothers. He made Rebel Without A Cause which starred James Dean. He had a bit role in that. His first role was for television in 1954.

Hopper’s final films- The Last Film Festival and Alpha and Omega- have yet to be released. He was born 17 May 1936 in Dodge City, Kansas. He was married five times. His marriage to Victoria Duffy does not appear to have been dissolved before his death today.