Dennis Hopper

Linda and I lived in Taos in the late 1960s and were there when Easy Rider was filmed. We have fond memories of those times, but also remember well when Dennis moved to Taos after the movie and bought Mabel Dodge Luhan's house. Dennis, we can still see you roaring around the hills and valleys of Taos in your old Blue Bronco, wildly waving your arms as you entertained your visitors. Do you still have your Aussie hat? May God Bless and Keep You Always, and May You Stay Forever Young!

I had the pleasure, and honor of collaborating with Dennis back in 1998 in a modern "take" on Easy Rider. He was incredible to work with, a great performer, director, poet and photographer.
The concept was based around his 1998 "self" meeting his iconic 1968 bike riding movie character on screen.
Needless to say, the result and filmaking experience was fantastic and memorable. Thank's again Dennis! You're an inspiration.

Teen Rebel in the 50's Biker Icon in the 60's, all out Rebel Icon.
How about Billy Clanton in the movie Gunfight at the OK Corral?
Talk about a career!
Dennis we love ya, you are the cool one!
James Dean had nothin on you.
John

I was hired for the best job in life when the interviewer asked me about Easy Rider and the character that Dennis played. My response was that Dennis represented freedom of thought and progression. I was hired and gave the best performance of my career while influencing youth to be the best and give their best. This was in 1970. Thanks Mr. Hopper.

A great actor photographer artist art collector. Never afraid to go to the edge, he will be irreplaceable. They don't make actors like his kind anymore. From a studio system to an "Uneasy Rider" he rode the rough rodeo of Hollywood and came back again and again with great performances. His easy transition from deep drama to cool, to psychotic he is a pleasure to watch a real shape shifter. I will miss the fact that Dennis won't be out there anymore. But what he leaves behind, his work, will always be there. Via Con Dios Hombre

Let's not forget about his role as "Jordy" in the 1954 movie classic "Giant." With such heavy hitters as Elizabeth Tayor, Rock Hudson and James Dean, Dennis's star power was beginning to show itself. Congradulations on having Your Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!!! Why can't "they" make movies like that anymore!!

Dennis hopper, was always a favorite of mine, have been friends with Michael J. pollard for 40 years and feel he has been overlooked for all of his work. His work on Bonnie and Clyde, had moved me into film props since Easy Rider, Godfather, etc. He is a brilliant person well educated,kind to his family, and its time he got recognition as Dennis has.Do we finally recogonize our greats after they have fallen ill? Lets get with it, and give Michael J. Pollard, a just deserved star, Thank You, Arthur J. Tedeschi, Jr...

Dennis Hopper represents a Cross-Section of Los Angeles Art & Culture for the last 50 years. An Amazing Multi-Faceted career recognized and lionized by other creative contemporaries like Coppola & Tarantino, not to mention being the subject of Warhol's first 'portrait'.

I have never met Mr.Hopper but as a 4th generation Angeleno, Graphic Designer and Artist, I've always appreciated his eye. I did attend a photography exhibit of his at the L.A. Louver Gallery in Venice some years ago...he has shaped my view and take on Cool for 40-plus years. Loved the "Hot Spot", man.

'Echele Hombre y Siempre ~ FH

http://federicodecalifornia.wordpress.com/

What a great Actor/Director.
A true American Icon of film/Television.
I've always admired his work and wish that i could have meet the man.

I lived in Venice Beach in the mid-80's and saw Dennis one day. My friend told me that he had a cool place and had been there for some party. Even seeing him briefly in person - He felt like a Brother, my Brother.

Did anyone ever see his performance in a Twilight Zone episode where Dennis played an American Nazi. He was a handsome young man.

For whatever reason, unlike many others, when Dennis appeared in a film, you remembered him.

While everyone is swooning over method actors like Hopper, let's not forget that method acting is a kind of self-indulgence. When I was at a workshop, the Melrose, a fine actor/teacher Paul Mantee said that the trick of acting was finding the character in your own experience while not sliding into "psychodrama". Producers and directors are driven crazy and movies over-budget, while a Brando, Hoffman, Hopper or Dunaway take forever to "get into" their character. Contrast this with the much-maligned "technical actors," most famously Brits like Olivier, Richardson, etc. When you do the hard work of mastering the lines and the stage business, you become the character automatically. After all, this is why you were cast! An interviewer once asked Olivier how he could work two plays at once, doing a part in a matinée, then changing to a completely different part in the evening. He replied disdainfully: "Why not? It's what a professional actor does." Too often, improvisation means that you're too lazy to learn the lines. If a great talent like Hopper had been more of a professional and less "authentic," then maybe his life would have been less dissolute and his career more rewarding.

We are Venice Beach who now live in Costa Rica and like everyone else in Venice Beach, Dennis Hopper was one of us. A sad day, very sad even if we all saw it coming.

Go with God, Dennis and we know you will get there.

Magaly and John

I came to appreciate Dennis for all his talent. Rest in peace.

Dennis Hopper could scare the hell outta me.

Just like Jack Palance in Shane!

Give me a 'good' baddie: any day of the week.

Dennis: You were the bestest of the baddies!

Dan

Dennis Hopper was just fabulous in the epic film, "Giant". It is one of my favorite movies and Hopper, who portrays the son Leslie Benedict (played by Elizabeth Taylor), did a phenomenal job in his role of a rancher's son that wanted to go on to medical school, instead of staying on at his father's cattle ranch in Texas.

I had the pleasure of being Dennis Hopper's Makeup Artist on a series only just a few short years ago called E-Ring with Benjamin Bratt. He was a delight and loved to tell stories. I will always remember his wonderful laughter and wit. He was full of smiles and on set, he was a complete charm. We had a great time filming with him. Most of all I will remember his amazing Art and his Cigars, how he loved them. Rest In Peace Dennis, you have left a memorable mark in Hollywood and my heart.

Dennis Hopper came along at a very unique time in Hollywood. There seemed to be many liked minded people actaully "in charge" within his circle therefore allowing for some couragous films. Hopper was one of the fearless and was always relivent and never had to struggle for recognition amongst actors. There are a few others, Harry Dean Stanton, Jack Nicholson-just to name two.

Back in the sixties Dennis and I were among a very small group of people who appreciated and purchased the new art being produced in Los Angeles by artists such as Robert Irwin, Billy Al Bengston, Ed Rusche, Ken Price, Ed Kienholz and others. Buying their art helped them to survive. Dennis photographed much of that world and later began producing his own art. So I remember him, not as just an actor or director but as a true patron of the arts and a friend. Although we lost touch with one another for many years we met up again at a gallery opening in Palm Springs a couple of years ago. So it is very sad to me that I didn't follow up and get together with him once again.

About a decade ago I was with my son at a playpark on the beach in Santa Monica/ Venice, and he came over and asked if he could borrow my son's push-pull 4-wheel toddler bike for his son, I said sure. Didn't recognize him until he was giving it back - it was fun seeing him as "just a dad."

Thanks for all the Memories, RIP.
Yes, Dennis, deserves a Star. He was
a Great Actor.

Dennis Hopper? He was a Damn good actor.

I'm a fan of a band called Mr. Bungle, and a fan of Dennis Hopper. In a song called "Squeeze Me Macaroni", there was a sound clip that said "Where's the ******* beer, man?!". When I finally saw David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" and heard that line, I instantly started cracking up. I had no idea it was a sound bite from a Dennis Hopper movie. A classic actor....and I believe he deserves to be on the Walk of Fame. Everyone knows who he is.

I loved Dennis at the sadistic Frank Booth! Hi neighbor.

Had an funny exchange with Dennis one afternoon outside of Hinnanos in Venice and shared a walk down Speedway towards the pier. Very bright guy!!!!

Non Sequitar Time

I LOVE my signed Easy Rider album. It’s one of my prized possessions. Listening to it right now. Damn good tunes. Acid trippin’ in that New Orleans’ cemetery freaked my teenage mind. That movie introduced me to the idea of experimental film and the open road. America!

On a random note...
I went to the Ecstasy exhibit downtown at the MOCA a few years ago. Grilling hard on some medicinal cookies, my friends and I saw Mr. Hopper walking solo around the museum with a cain. He looked so fragile. His youthful look gone. I was stalking him in an alter state and feeling a bit guilty. But then we followed him into the mushROOM. It was a dream come true.

Thanks for the movie memories & artistic inspiration. You'll be missed.

R.I.P.

Dennis as well as others were a part of the National Forensic League at Grossmont Union High (before it was divided into two Districts). Dennis contribution was in dramatic declaration and most of us considered that he had imitated the style of James Dean as an angry young man. I'm proud that he signed my copy of the yearbook with a proclamation "to a great speaker" Dennis Hopper. We were pictured sitting on the lawn outside the Principal's Office.

Like most young people we all had dreams of greatness, (but most didn't think of Dennis as being one who would become the dark symbol of our dreams) he did not take part in any of the school's plays, but we knew that the Old Globe Theater in Balboa Park, under the direction of Craig Noel, attracted his interest in performing Shakespeare.

Some talked of his performance in the film Giant featuring Elizabeth Taylor.Born May 17, 1936 in Dodge City, Kansas, Hopper began acting during his teen years, and made his professional debut on the TV series Medic. In 1955 he made a legendary collaboration with the director Nicholas Ray in the classic Rebel Without a Cause, appearing as a young tough opposite James Dean. Hopper and Dean became close friends during filming, and also worked together on 1956's Giant. After Dean's tragic death, it was often remarked that Hopper attempted to fill his friend's shoes by borrowing much of his persona, absorbing the late icon's famously defiant attitude and becoming so temperamental that his once-bright career quickly began to wane.

In the end he became famous. Good for him, and for many of us who knew him.

Once while shooting photos of his then girlfriend he asked me to follow him down Malibu Colony Beach to see Nick Ray, Nick had the same problem that caught up with Dennis, I shot some photos of Dennis , Nick Ray and John Houseman while they smoke a few and just just looked into each other's eyes for a long while. Later when I gave Dennis the film he cried in thanks.

I remember meeting Dennis Hopper in Hawaii during the making of "Waterworld". He came almost daily into my business during that span of time. Not recognizing him until much later, we enjoyed those visits because he could just be "himself", without being a "known" celebrity. His demeanor was kind and he seemed an unpretentious, very gentle soul. I believe that I had the pleasure to have experienced a bit of the "real' Dennis Hopper.

We will miss you Frankie the Fly.

Everyone always overlooks his performance in Wim Wenders' superb German film, "The American Friend" (an adaptation of the Highsmith novel, "Ripley's Game"). He basically plays himself, as a drugged-up sudden companion to a confused German guy (Bruno Ganz). Compelling stuff.

I don't know why the obituaries on Dennis Hopper overlook or make only passing reference to the fine 1988 film he directed, Colors. Its exploration of the tensions that existed in Daryl Gates-era Los Angeles was rather illuminating given that it was released three years before the Rodney King beating.

i had the honor and privilege of meeting and photographing dennis in 1987 in his home and adjoining junked car lot, in venice, california. he sat in a dented blue porsche convertible with his leathers and shades, and was one of my most memorable subjects. dennis had stopped smoking his cigars by that point, but took the gift of cubans to share with his friends.
he was the essence of cool.
thank you, dennis. you will long be remembered.

(In reference to the earlier comment about Dennis Hopper in the Twilight Zone episode playing a member of an imaginary American Nazi party) It was called "He's alive". I've seen it several times and enjoyed his performance so much at the time that I memorized some of his lines just to entertain myself and others with.

Really fine actor, R.I.P.

Dear friend, dear teacher, great inspiration, always kind and sensitive.
Dennis, me, Alfonso and Fernando formed the "Cuernava gang" when Dennis was living in Mexico in 1980. Great memories and the time we spent together was life changing for us.

You will always be remembered.

Miss U bro.But I know UR In the wind

My old friend:)
You came
You saw
You conquered
You will not be forgotten

From Long ago and far away:) JJ

I "knew" Dennis Hopper through a very unbiased source: his mom, Marjorie. I worked on the same newspaper where Marge was a proofreader and TV listing ompiler. I first knew her as Marge who had a son who was an actor. When I discovered her last name, I was able to adjust to the information that her son was the famous graduate of my high school--Helix in La Mesa, a suburb of San Diego.

Marge was very proud of both of her sons. Shortly after Dennis made San Diego appearances when "Easy Rider" opened, Marge called me with a demanding question, "Pam, what's a hippie?" At the laundromat, a neighbor (probably based on Dennis's long hair), had sniped, "How does it feel to be a mother of a hippie?" My reply to Marge's question was along the lines of hippies being free-living people without much visible sign of support. Her reply was that Dennis was clearly no hippie--he had left home as a teenager and had supported himself on his own in a cut-throat business.

Marge Hopper was a devoted geneologist. Dennis was a descendant of Daniel Boone through his mom. Through his dad, Jay, he shared a common ancestor with Harry Truman; the woman had been scalped by tribal peoples when young and wore a lace cap rest of her life to cover her bare head.

I had the singular experience of seeing "Easy Rider" in a reviewers' showing with Marge Hopper. She clued me in that her husband, Jay, had high praise for the actor portraying the alcoholic lawyer (Jack Nicholson). I have no doubt she was very happy that the final edit had gotten an R and not an X rating.

Yet again God has come down and taken another great actor from us. We are blessed to have alot of movies he has made in his career. HERE TO YOU DENNIS HOPPER A TRUE ICON

A Legend in his own Lifetime.
I had the priviledge of meeting him once. He shook my hand,looked deep into my eyes and said it was a pleasure to meet me. made me feel terrific,whether it was true or not, he had an amazing persona.

I met Dennis several times as a museum curator and we always talked of our regard for our mutual friend actor Vincent Price who was so instrumental in encouraging Dennis as an artist and collector when he first came to Hollywood and later did the same for me ......unlike his often violent film roles , in person , Dennis was a kind and respectful man , always artistically curious......his energy and spirit will be missed ......Robert Flynn Johnson

Dennis Hopper was the very embodiment of the tumultuous Baby Boom generation---defiant and full of excess, intent on reinventing the wheel of convention.

He was, for a time anyway, the crazed, hyper-babbling character he created in 'Apocalypse Now'---the very essence of madness and non-conformity.

But then he was also the rehabilitated man with a dream in 'Hoosiers'. Or the responsible director with a noble social conscience who gave the world 'Colors'.

If it is true that the path of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, then Dennis Hopper truly lived the full arc of indulgence. He proved that you could walk into the jungle of excess, and emerge on the other side a survivor.

I had the privilege of making Dennis Hopper’s acquaintance in 2009 when he was planning his exhibition, "Hopper at the Harwood," as well as curating "Artist Reunion: Larry Bell, Ron Cooper, Ronald Davis, Ken Price, Robert Dean Stockwell" at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico, where I am an employee. Because he was filming "Crash" in Albuquerque from January to October 2009 he was able to spend time in Taos and was a regular visitor at the museum where his signature laugh could be heard echoing through the galleries.

I once printed out a script from "Crash" for him, emailed to me from the production company when their fax machine failed. It was well over 50 pages and I asked him if he had any special technique for memorizing so much dialog. He said, "No, I just go home and work like hell."

I found him to be down to earth, gracious, and interested in people. He signed my copy of the exhibition catalog "Love, Dennis, Taos 2009." He had one of the sweetest smiles I've ever seen.

Dennis Hopper is now embedded in the unique and fascinating history of Taos, New Mexico, whether some of the denizens of this community are happy about it or not, and to whom I would say, "It's been 40 years--get over it!"

He loved this beautiful, amazing, and intense little town as much as I do and I'm so glad our paths crossed, however briefly. I am very saddened by his passing.

He moved through the casino like a god...
slowly, purposefully, with the focus of a hawk.
It was 1998, and we were shooting Top Of The World.
Mr. Hopper played Vegas boss, Charles Atlas,
and I was cast as a bad guy attempting to rob his casino.
His crystal-blue eyes could freeze you in your tracks
or embrace your soul with a simple glance. He was amazing!
Watching and working with Dennis Hopper was an absolute privilege
and I cherish the memory of my days on set with this wonderful actor.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000454/

Rest In Peace.
Dennis Hopper
1936 - 2010

Thank You, Dennis… For Your Artistic Vision and Generosity of Spirit.

Your vision and commitment to the process made “Hopper at the Harwood” a huge success. From your collaboration with curator, Jina Brenneman, to the photo shoots, fundraising dinners, panel discussions and media interviews (and there were dozens!) you were a joy to work with and just so completely open and totally giving to the Harwood and your Taos community. We can only hope your creative spirit will forever inspire us... and all who visit Taos. The Harwood Staff

Not a day goes by that I don't think about him. They'll never be another one like him.

Rest in Peace, Brother

Steve Belgard
Denver, CO