31 May 2010

Actor Dennis Hopper dies at 74

9:28 am on 31 May 2010

Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper, best known for the 1969 film Easy Rider, has died at 74 from complications arising from prostate cancer.

In a wildly varied career spanning more than 50 years, Hopper appeared alongside 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 his co-writing role for Easy Rider, which he also directed, and for his portrayal of an alcoholic high-school basketball coach in the 1986 drama Hoosiers.