Famed actor and director Dennis Hopper died at his Los Angeles home today of prostate cancer at the age of 74. Hopper had been ill with the disease since last September.
In a wildly varied career spanning more than 50 years, Hopper appeared alongside his mentor James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant" in the 1950s and played maniacs in such films as "Apocalypse Now," "Blue Velvet" and "Speed." He received two Oscar nominations -- for writing "Easy Rider" (with co-star Peter Fonda and Terry Southern), and for a rare heartwarming turn as an alcoholic high-school basketball coach in the 1986 drama "Hoosiers." "Easy Rider," regarded is one of the greatest films of American cinema, helped usher in a new era in which the old Hollywood guard was forced to cede power to young filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.
Famed actor and director Dennis Hopper died at his Los Angeles home today of prostate cancer at the age of 74. Hopper had been ill with the disease since last September.
