Dennis Hopper 1936-2010

Iconic actor Dennis Hopper, one of Hollywood’s most famous rebels, passed away Saturday in his home (Venice, CA) due to complications from prostate cancer. Hopper was 74.

Born in 1936 in Dodge City, Kansas, Hopper was raised by his grandparents, being told that is father was killed in a munitions accident. He later learned that his father was an intelligence agent in China. Even so, his grandparent introduced him to movies.

Hopper started his lengthy Hollywood career in 1955 on the big screen as “Goon” in “Rebel Without a Cause” opposite his friend James Dean. He later gained notoriety as a directer/co-writer and bike riding badass “Billy” in the 1969 cult classic “Easy Rider”, alongside Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda. Hopper received an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. His next Oscar nomination came from his role as a high school basketball coach with an alcohol problem in the 1986 film “Hoosiers”.

As with most of Hollywood, Hopper was well known for his off-screen battles with drugs and alcohol, but later made his comeback in (my personal favorite) the 1986 film “Blue Velvet” as “Frank Booth”. I still love his line “Heineken? Fuck that shit! Pabst Blue Ribbon!

Hopper received his Star on the Hollywood walk of fame in March of this year 2010. He will be missed by the Hollywood community, family, and fans…