# Dennis Hopper dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207 "2010-05-29T17:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/21 "2010-05-29T20:50:52Z")
I will always remember him for being a psychotic villain. Waterworld, 24…and the many times I confused him with Anthony Hopkins 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/22 "2010-05-29T20:54:00Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I will always remember him for being a psychotic villain. Waterworld, 24…and the many times I confused him with Anthony Hopkins 😃 He was the only reason to watch _Waterworld_. “You wanna come sit in my lap?” and “Drink a toast to Uncle Joe!” were my favorite moments. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/23 "2010-05-29T21:54:59Z")
Heinekin!!! Fuck that shit!!! PABST-BLUE-RIBBON!! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/24 "2010-05-29T22:05:50Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Heinekin!!! Fuck that shit!!! PABST-BLUE-RIBBON!! Bud, not Heinekin. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/25 "2010-05-29T22:24:58Z")
The contrast between Heineken, at the height of it’s yuppy trendiness, and Pabst, traditional American mule piss, is what makes the joke. Unless you’re referring to Hopper’s penchant for the herb, in which case, ha. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/26 "2010-05-29T22:38:37Z")
He was also memorable in that movie about the bus that couldn’t slow down. 😉 **"‘The whim of a madman’ I like that!"** ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/27 "2010-05-29T22:47:47Z")
It was definitely Heineken–Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan’s character) won’t shut up about how great it is. I think **BrainGlutton** ’s thinking of a different scene in _Blue Velvet_, where Jeffrey asks Sandy (Laura Dern’s character) if she ever drinks Heineken, and she says her dad always drinks Budweiser, to which he responds “Ah, the king of beers.” The Frank Booth character, of course, was an especially memorable role. I’ve also always liked Hopper’s role as a photo-journalist in _Apocalypse Now_, who’s become a follower of Colonel Kurtz. From what I’ve heard, Hopper was basically playing himself as that character. > [@](#): > > "Hey, man, you don’t talk to the Colonel. You listen to him. The man’s enlarged my mind. He’s a poet warrior in the classic sense. I mean sometimes he’ll… uh… well, you’ll say “hello” to him, right? And he’ll just walk right by you. He won’t even notice you. And suddenly he’ll grab you, and he’ll throw you in a corner, and he’ll say, “Do you know that ‘if’ is the middle word in life? If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you”… I mean I’m… no, I can’t… I’m a little man, I’m a little man, he’s… he’s a great man! I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across floors of silent seas… ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/28 "2010-05-29T23:08:04Z")
Movie Villains have lost a true hero today. RIP Dennis, think I’ll finally get around to watching Easy Rider next week. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/29 "2010-05-30T00:10:39Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Movie Villains have lost a true hero today. TV Villains, too. He was the big bad of 24 season 1. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/30 "2010-05-30T01:24:55Z")
From \*Easy Rider \*to ghost rider. RIP to a great one. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/31 "2010-05-30T03:25:02Z")
RIP. ☹ For a period back when I was young, I tried my damnedest to emulate his antics. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/32 "2010-05-30T14:09:08Z")
Ah, shit, let’s drink to something else. Let’s drink to fucking. Yeah, say, “Here’s to your fuck, Frank.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/33 "2010-05-30T14:19:43Z")
I just saw _Space Truckers_ last week. Square pigs, anti-gravity beer, killer robots and Dennis Hopper-how can you possibly go wrong? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/34 "2010-05-30T14:30:04Z")
Played the crazy prisoner in Hang 'Em High. Superb. One of the great ensemble cast in Cool Hand Luke. I will never forget him in Apocalypse Now. RIP Dennis, and thanks. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/35 "2010-05-30T14:49:31Z")
> [@Gotterfunken](#): > > It was definitely Heineken–Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan’s character) won’t shut up about how great it is. > > I think **BrainGlutton** ’s thinking of a different scene in _Blue Velvet_, where Jeffrey asks Sandy (Laura Dern’s character) if she ever drinks Heineken, and she says her dad always drinks Budweiser, to which he responds “Ah, the king of beers.” > > The Frank Booth character, of course, was an especially memorable role. I’ve also always liked Hopper’s role as a photo-journalist in _Apocalypse Now_, who’s become a follower of Colonel Kurtz. From what I’ve heard, Hopper was basically playing himself as that character. I heard an interview on NPR years ago, (sorry, I do not remember who was being interviewed) that stated that Hopper was originally contracted to play the Martin Sheen character but showed up so strung out that they were unable to use him. They created the photojournalist character and just let Hopper ad lib all of his scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/36 "2010-05-30T15:13:06Z")
Many great Dennis Hopper roles have been mentioned. I certainly agree. But I have a soft spot for _Flashback_, although it’s hardly Great Cinema. In which Kiefer Sutherland plays the Very Straight Young FBI Agent tasked with escorting a Counterculture Legend to prison. (Guess who plays the Counterculture Legend? Guess who actually _was_ a Counterculture Legend?) Oh, look, it’s on [Hulu!](http://www.hulu.com/watch/129188/flashback) ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/37 "2010-05-30T15:55:59Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > I heard an interview on NPR years ago, (sorry, I do not remember who was being interviewed) that stated that Hopper was originally contracted to play the Martin Sheen character but showed up so strung out that they were unable to use him. They created the photojournalist character and just let Hopper ad lib all of his scenes. The photojournalist was based on a fairly memorable character from the book, so I have trouble believing he was added as an after-thought. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/38 "2010-05-30T19:59:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > The photojournalist was based on a fairly memorable character from the book, so I have trouble believing he was added as an after-thought. It is possible that I misunderstood the point made in the interview. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207/39 "2010-05-31T02:25:26Z")
The photojournalist was partly based on the real-life war photographer [Tim Page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Page_(photographer)). He’s still alive, just turned 66 last Tuesday. The wife and I last month viewed a permanent exhibition of his photos at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, including that famous shot of the little girl running naked down the highway, her clothing having been burned off by napalm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-hopper-dies/541207.md?page=1)