Dennis Hopper dead @ 74. Ride easy, Billy.....>>>>>

[Johnny SixPack]

(CNN) -- Dennis Hopper, the one-time Hollywood enfant terrible who portrayed such indelible characters as "Easy Rider's" biker Billy, "Blue Velvet's" huffing villain Frank Booth and "Hoosiers' " forlorn Shooter Flatch, died of prostate cancer Saturday morning at his home in Venice, California, his wife said. He was 74.

There was Dennis Hopper before "Easy Rider," generally known as a clean-cut, if rebellious, character actor who had built a career of supporting roles in Westerns, youth-oriented films and TV shows.

There was Dennis Hopper after "Easy Rider," for years one of Hollywood's wild men, an actor with a penchant for alcohol, drugs and outlandish behavior, and later a go-to performer to play villains and commanding misfits.

And then there was "Easy Rider," the 1969 film that he directed and co-wrote, and in which he played a dissolute, countercultural biker named Billy. Thanks to the film, Hopper helped blaze a trail for the young, aggressive filmmakers who would take Hollywood by storm in the 1970s.

Over almost six decades as a performer and director, his career spanned a range of Hollywood trends: TV's live "Golden Age," films about disillusioned teenagers, a variety of Westerns, anti-establishment dramas, offbeat indie films, action blockbusters and edgy cable series. He often played villains, occasionally lost souls, almost all with a force and empathy.

James Dean, an early friend whom Hopper met when he was 18 and Dean was 24, became a lifelong model, Hopper once said.

Dean was "a guerrilla artist who attacked all restrictions on his sensibility. ... I imitated his style in art and in life. It got me in a lot of trouble," Hopper recalled.

Dennis Lee Hopper was born in Dodge City, Kansas, on May 17, 1936. He grew up in San Diego, California, and established an early reputation for stage work.

Making his way to Hollywood while still in his teens, he quickly earned roles in several films and TV shows, including "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), in which he met Dean. The two also appeared in "Giant" (1956).

more @ link:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/05/29/obit.dennis.hopper1/index.html

They say deaths come in threes, and Gary was #1.

[greenpigs]

My guess would be Larry King

[squeakfinder]

   I was gonna say death comes in three's also. But actually, I think Hopper makes three..    



   For those old enough to remember Art Linkletter .....


           

   

[Todd Wilson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJS8j9YYB9w

[Johnny SixPack]

I was gonna say death comes in three's also. But actually, I think Hopper makes three..    



For those old enough to remember Art Linkletter .....

Good call, man.

Totally forgot about Art.

[mikepmcs]

Crap.   

[jeryst]

Too bad about Hopper.

Man, I thought Art died years ago.

[1969chargerrtse]

" prostate cancer " Yuk.

[TruckDriver]

He was always a bad guy in most movies, but he was really good at it. he was one of my favorite actors. Rest easy Dennis 

[73chgrSE]

Blue Velvet and Paris Trout were a couple of his lesser known but great films. He was great at being the bad guy. RIP DH

[bull]

Bummer. He was a great actor.

[mikesbbody]

R.I.P the funny thing is I just bought the DVD a few days ago (Easy Rider)
I had never actually seen it! great Movie 

[Tilar]

Too bad about Hopper.

Man, I thought Art died years ago.

Same here.

[Johnny SixPack]

Blue Velvet and Paris Trout were a couple of his lesser known but great films. He was great at being the bad guy. RIP DH

I still get chills whenever I see his performance in, "Blue Velvet".

The scene with him hitting off the NO2 tank is nuts.

[squeakfinder]

  I alway's think about the crazy photographer in Apocalypse Now when I see Hopper..




   

[FlatbackFanatic]

RIP, Dennis............

[Brock Samson]

.
I hadn't realized how much he was responsible for EZ Rider,.. I all ways liked the angst he brought to the screen, more like reality then most actors characterizations I felt.

[RD]

RIP for a fellow Kansan. (the only time you will see me do this btw)

[Al]

Farewell to a great actor. For those familiar with Rudyard Kipling's "If", check out the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySRA0cNICuY&feature=related

Al

[ACUDANUT]

WHO ??