He is most famous for Easy Rider and Blue Velvet. I happen to have a large soft covered book of his photos as well as a poster from an art show of his in Soho from a long time ago. They had plastered the posters all over the downtown area and I was able to take one home and frame it. I had the Dennis Hopper poster by my bed of a biker couple huddled closely together in a diner. When I moved under the most disturbing and awful of circumstances of which I still have not recovered, I sold or gave away most of my book collection but for some reason I did keep his book. “Dennis Hopper Fotografien von 1961 bis 1967”. I have the poster some where along with my own art work that I have yet to unpack. I see NYC as losing it’s soul along with it’s historic buildings, small businesses and mass displacement of people either shifted or completely moved out of NYC....so why bother unpacking. That is life under a developer’s mayor, Mike Bloomberg.
Clearly I liked Dennis Hopper’s photographs of the art scene and counter culture era very much in sync with his Easy Rider fame. Supposedly Hopper resisted Jack Nicholson and wanted Rip Torn for the film but Nicholson in true form shined and greatly contributed to the film and of course there was Peter Fonda.
What many people may not know is Jack Nicholson had done a biker film “Hell on Wheels” with the Hell’s Angels and Sonny Barger was hired as a consultant, made 2 years before Easy Rider. Some how I have a feeling Jack Nicholson spending some time with the Angels had a big influence on “Easy Rider” which is globally iconic still.
I can’t help but think the infamous Hell’s Angels deeply influenced Hollywood and infact still do considering how many TV and films seem to “borrow heavily” and Jesse James has a YouTube stating the Hell’s Angels greatly influenced him. Sonny Barger is reported to be in talks with Tony Scott to make a Hell’s Angel film about his life and Mickey Rourke is being considered for the role of Barger. Even Harley Davidson acknowledges the mystique of the Hells Angels driving their sales. The infamous Angels were known to “acquire” motorcycles one way or another and make-them over, which drove the creativity and beauty that is now called motorcycle art. You can see the Hell's Angels motorcycle creative influence coming threw in Easy Rider as well in the multi-million dollar success of bike builder Jesse James and James openly admits it. By the way, I am anti-Nazi but even in Dennis Hopper’s photos of bikers from the 1960’s you see Nazi imagery which is upsetting but it seemed that bikers and surfers of that era adopted the symbols and memorabilia perhaps as shock value.
(Side note: I keep talking to you about my short story, “Chopping the Street, one mega-million dollars, at a time". It is about a woman that takes over an infamous international biker club and transforms them into a financial service firm on wheels. I wrote it in 2003 and it is about White Collar Crime above the radar costing the tax payers billions whether they are caught, successfully or not prosecuted.)
I remember finding Hopper startling in Blue Velvet. He continued to have success and his voice will be heard as a wolf called Tony in an animated film, “Alpha and Omega”, yet to be released.
He was clearly a troubled person and was married 5 times. The latest marriage clearly with someone to young for him ended with him trying to divorce her on his death bed and he was unsuccessful. It became a struggle over what she would inherit and what he felt she was actually entitled to. They have a young daughter who must be very sad and perhaps this animated cartoon will be some small solace for her.
Hopper has three adult children from previous marriages and his oldest daughter is 5 years older then his widow he was desperately trying to divorce from his death bed.
A lot of older men want a younger trophy wife and perhaps this is a cautionary tale.
In The New York Post, a reporter asks Hopper’s son Henry how he is doing. The son handed the reporter a white rose. He than gave him the finger and said this is how I am doing. No DNA testing to know Henry is truly Dennis Hopper’s son.
Note: I am deeply focused on corruption and the economic catastrophe here in New York. I am also horrified at the on going environmental catastrophe now washing up on New Orleans. This oil spill is killing sea life which is a travesty that may be beyond comprehension for most people and will have long range damage to Mother Earth beyond what is understandable right now. The oil spill has killed untold sea life and is devastating to all life on this planet in ways we don’t understand yet. It is hard to write about celebrity news with these concerns.
