Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor and film director. He is known for his roles as mentally disturbed outsiders and rebels. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice International Film Festival as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Hopper studied acting at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and the Actors Studio in New York. Hopper also began a prolific and acclaimed photography career in the 1960s.
Hopper was born on May 17, 1936, in Dodge City, Kansas, to Marjorie Mae (née Davis; July 12, 1917 – January 12, 2007) and Jay Millard Hopper (June 23, 1916 – August 7, 1982). He had Scottish ancestors. Hopper had two younger brothers, Marvin and David.
After World War II, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where the young Hopper attended Saturday art classes at the Kansas City Art Institute. When he was 13, Hopper and his family moved to San Diego, where his mother worked as a lifeguard instructor and his father was a post office manager, having previously served in the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, in World War II in the China Burma India Theater. Hopper was voted most likely to succeed at Helix High School, where he was active in the drama club, speech and choir. It was there that he developed an interest in acting, studying at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, and the Actors Studio in New York City (he studied with Lee Strasberg for five years). Hopper struck up a friendship with actor Vincent Price, whose passion for art influenced Hopper's interest in art. He was especially fond of the plays of William Shakespeare.
| Date of Birth | 17th May 1936 |
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| Date of Death | 29th May 2010 |
| Age at Death | 74 Years |
| Zodiac Sign | Taurus |
| Country | United States of America |
| Current City | Dodge City |
| Birth Place | Dodge City |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Citizenship | United States of America |
| Spouses | Brooke Hayward Michelle Phillips Daria Halprin Katherine LaNasa Victoria Duffy |
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| Children | Henry Hopper Ruthanna Hopper Marin Hopper |
| Education |
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| Actors Studio, Helix High School, Kansas City Art Institute, Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute |
| Occupation | television actor, film actor, film director, actor, photographer, screenwriter, writer, painter, character actor, artist, filmmaker, visual artist, voice actor, sculptor, art collector, printmaker, director |
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| Awards |
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