Biography Of Dennis Hopper
Any Hollywood movie buff will know the name of Dennis Hopper. This wonderful actor made his acting debut with another great Hollywood star, James Dean. He acted with Dean in Rebel Without A Cause in the year 1955 and Giant, which was released in 1956. However, there is more Dennis Hopper than this, a man with many facets in his personality. |
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He was born to Marjorie Mae and Jay Millard Hopper on 17 May 1936 at Kansas City in Missouri. He has two more siblings, Marvin and David. It was in Kansas City that Dennis got interested in art and as a result he went for classes on Saturdays to the Kansas City Art Institute. However, by the time Hopper was around 13 years old, the family decided to relocate to San Diego. Here, Marjorie worked as lifeguard instructor, while Jay worked as post office manager. However, in reality, Hopper's father was actually working for Office of Strategic Services from which the CIA evolved. It was while Hopper was studying in high school that he got interested in acting and decided to study acting at the Old Globe Theatre located in San Diego and then went on to study acting in New York City at the Actors' Studio.
After the demise of James Dean in 1955, Dennis was regularly seen on television in guest roles. By the time the 1960s arrived, he had managed to break through into Hollywood as a supporting actor. His first role as a lead actor was in the movie entitled Night Tide, which was supernatural thriller.
However, Dennis Hopper had a major attitude problem, which can be attributed to his drug and alcohol problem. So, he found it difficult to find work in Hollywood. However, when he introduced to John Wayne, who found that he was the son-in-law of his friend, Margaret Sullivan, Wayne hired him to essay a role in The Sons of Katie Elder. His acting was highly appreciated in the movie and also helped to get roles once more.
In 1969, Hopper movie, Easy Rider with Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson and Terry Southern, was released along with True Grit. Both the movies were box office successes and Hopper won a lot of critical acclaim for his directorial style in Easy Luke. However, by then Hopper was spiraling into alcohol and drug abuse incessantly. By the time 1970 came, Dennis was getting married to Michelle Phillips, his second wife. Also, the 1970s saw Dennis acting in many low budget films and also European films, such as Mad Dog Morgan, Tracks and The American Friends. Then he got a break with Francis Ford Coppola and acted in the hit Apocalypse Now.
By the time 1980s came, it was clear that Hopper was suffering from a serious drug and alcohol problem. His cocaine consumption had increased to three grams. Finally after getting into a coffin and using seventeen dynamite sticks at the Rice University Media Center, Dennis entered a drug rehabilitation program in 1983. But it took Blue Velvet by David Lynch in the year 1986 to revive Hopper's flagging acting career. Thereafter, Hopper acted and directed many movies, and also was nominated for Emmy Award for films such as Paris Trout and Doublecrossed.
His last performance in Hollywood was the voice for an alpha male wolf in an animated 3D movie entitled Alpha and Omega. However, Hopper died due to prostate cancer before the movie was released. He died on 29 May 2010 in Los Angeles and was interred in the Jesus Nazareno Cemetery in New Mexico on 3 June 2010. Hopper was 74 years old when he died and was in the process of divorcing his fifth wife, Victoria Duffy.
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Wikipedia: Dennis Hopper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Hopper
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