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Hollywood Legend Dennis Hopper Passed Away
- Thread starter TroyG
- Start date
landtuna said:
Dennis Hopper certainly had his issues, but in Hollywood, it's hardly a small club.
The number of people on film and video sets who are or were royal pains would be astounding if they could be cataloged.
What would be even more surprising to most people is that many royal pain people are not what you would call household names. I know of an actress with a bad cocaine problem who lost out on two potentially star-making roles because of her drug use. Her name doesn't matter because you haven't heard of her to this day.
At least Mr. Hopper found a road that he could straighten himself out on, however late in life that happened. May he Rest In Peace.
Time alone will decide his legend status.
I can't think of Dennis Hopper without recalling an episode of
the Western "Sugarfoot." Sugarfoot (Will Hutchins) was a cowardly
sort of character, and the bad guy (Hopper) had the drop on him.
Trying to get out of the jam, Sugarfoot led Hopper to deliver what
might have been the ultimate commentary on TV Westerns: "Whaddaya
tryin' to do, talk me to death?"
David Brenner had Hopper on his 1986 syndicated talk show "Nightlife"
one night; later, he said he enjoyed talking with Hopper more than with
anyone else who appeared on that show.
Hopper was out of the Marlon Brando school of rebel-actors who did
things their way, whether the studio liked it or not. And I agree with
the rest of you: whatever personal issues he had, he's still a legend--
and maybe a pioneer, like Brando, of a new kind of actor who's not a
slave to the studio system.
the Western "Sugarfoot." Sugarfoot (Will Hutchins) was a cowardly
sort of character, and the bad guy (Hopper) had the drop on him.
Trying to get out of the jam, Sugarfoot led Hopper to deliver what
might have been the ultimate commentary on TV Westerns: "Whaddaya
tryin' to do, talk me to death?"
David Brenner had Hopper on his 1986 syndicated talk show "Nightlife"
one night; later, he said he enjoyed talking with Hopper more than with
anyone else who appeared on that show.
Hopper was out of the Marlon Brando school of rebel-actors who did
things their way, whether the studio liked it or not. And I agree with
the rest of you: whatever personal issues he had, he's still a legend--
and maybe a pioneer, like Brando, of a new kind of actor who's not a
slave to the studio system.
bpatrick said:
The "studio system" (whereby studio's "owned" their actors under contract) died years before Hopper's career began.
If you caught his recent interview on CBS' Sunday Morning he admitted he was a brash young actor when he began and it got him in constant trouble with directors. He finally turned it around after a long and painful apprenticeship which included taking specific acting direction without the opportunity to improvise. Gradually he was accepted and had a second career of sorts.
He was indeed a multi-talented man and had a successful if somewhat uneven career. But measured against the giants of the screen he was no legend.
He was indeed a multi-talented man and had a successful if somewhat uneven career. But measured against the giants of the screen he was no legend.
Maybe so, but I, like probably most posters on this site, were always happy to see him appear on the screen. Like seeing an old friend.
Maybe so, but I, like probably most posters on this site, were always happy to see him appear on the screen. Like seeing an old friend.
A couple of years ago, I saw an early episode of Bonanza will Hopper as guest star. He played a young man who was basically good, but had a self-destructive streak and a problem controlling his anger. As hackneyed and corny as the script was, the role was oddly tailor made for him. It was probably a coincidence. His intensity and talent were evident already.
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