Galen grier hopper movie#

The film caught on despite tension between Hopper and Fonda and between Hopper and the original choice for Nicholson’s part, Rip Torn, who quit after a bitter argument with the director. It went on to gross $40 million worldwide, a substantial sum for its time. “A lot of it was about politically what was going on in the country.” Fonda produced “Easy Rider” and Hopper directed it for a meager $380,000.

Galen grier hopper movie#

“‘Easy Rider’ was never a motorcycle movie to me,” Hopper said in 2009. On the way, Hopper and Fonda befriend a drunken young lawyer (Jack Nicholson, whom Hopper had resisted casting, in a breakout role), but arouse the enmity of Southern rednecks and are murdered before they can return home. “Much of Hollywood,” wrote critic-historian David Thomson, “found Hopper a pain in the neck.” All was forgiven, at least for a moment, when he collaborated with another struggling actor, Peter Fonda, on a script about two pot-smoking, drug-dealing hippies on a motorcycle trip through the Southwest and South to take in the New Orleans Mardi Gras. In January 2010, Hopper filed to end his 14-year marriage to Victoria Hopper, who stated in court filings that the actor was seeking to cut her out of her inheritance, a claim Hopper denied. RIP Dennis Hopper.” He married five times and led a dramatic life right to the end. You always got something unexpected from him.” Guitarist Slash tweeted, “You take the great ones for granted until they’re gone. Actress Marlee Matlin called Hopper a “maverick, a wonderful actor. Tributes were posted Saturday on celebrities’ websites and Twitter feeds. On the set of “True Grit,” Hopper so angered John Wayne that the star reportedly chased Hopper with a loaded gun. After a promising start that included roles in two James Dean films, Hopper’s acting career had languished as he developed a reputation for throwing tantrums and abusing alcohol and drugs. The success of “Easy Rider,” and the spectacular failure of his next film, “The Last Movie,” fit the pattern for the talented but sometimes uncontrollable actor-director, who also had parts in such favorites as “Apocalypse Now” and “Hoosiers.” He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, and in March 2010, was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Hopper’s manager announced in October 2009 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Hopper died Saturday at his home in the Los Angeles beach community of Venice, surrounded by family and friends, family friend Alex Hitz said. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dennis Hopper, the high-flying Hollywood wild man whose memorable and erratic career included an early turn in “Rebel Without a Cause,” an improbable smash with “Easy Rider” and a classic character role in “Blue Velvet,” has died.