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The star of classic films like Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now and Blue Velvet, he was one of the greatest stars of his generation. Now Dennis Hopper, Hollywood's most famous bad boy, has passed away.
Early on in his career, Hopper made a big impression on audiences with his work in Rebel Without A Cause, in which he starred alongside James Dean, whom he would later refer to as the finest actor he ever worked with. It was a film that came to seem cursed as one of its stars after another met an early death. Hopper was the survivor, and he kept right on rebelling, developing an edgy persona that always brought something extra to the work in which he appeared. Memorable roles in Cool Hand Luke, True Grit and Easy Rider were followed by a catastrophic spiral into drink and drug addiction when he split from his first wife, actress Brooke Hayward, but he fought his way back, wowing the critics with Rumble Fish. As Blue Velvet's Frank Booth he gave cinema one of its most terrifying villains, and younger readers may remember him fondly as the unhinged villain of Speed.
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Also a keen artist, the star made a big impression with his painting and sculpture work, but it was in photography that his talent really shone. An exhibition of his work is scheduled to take place later this year at the Los Angeles Museum Of Contemporary Art.
Hopper revealed last October that he was suffering from prostate cancer. He died of complications associated with the treatment of the disease at his home in Venice, California. He is survived by his three daughters and one son.
"I want to cheat death a little and contribute something to the next generation," said Hopper of his acting career. It's hard to imagine his remarkable work ever being forgotten.
