Actor Dennis Hopper,dies of prostate cancer

Hooper was first diagnosed with prostate cancer a decade ago. He was hospitalised in January,at which time he also filed for divorce from his fifth wife.

Hopper first won praise as a teenager in 1955 for his portrayal of an epileptic on Medic. Hopper confirmed his status as a rising star as the son of a wealthy rancher and his wife,played by Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor,in Giant (1956).

In 1958 Hopper found himself in a battle of wills with director Henry Hathaway on the set of From Hell to Texas. As the story goes,he refused to play a scene in the manner that the director requested,following which he stubbornly performed over 80 takes before he followed orders.

It was not until after his marriage to Brooke Hayward — daughter of producer Leland Hayward— that Hopper was regularly offered roles. He grew close to his wife’s friend Peter Fonda,who,with Hopper,began mulling a film on western themes only with motorcycles for horses. Hopper shared an Oscar nomination for writing that film Easy Rider.

Easy Rider introduced much of its audience,if not Hopper,to cocaine. “I was terribly naïve in those days,” Hopper said. “I thought the crazier you behaved,the better artist you would be.”

Hopper returned to prominence with Apocalypse Now (1979). He earned a second Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role as the alcoholic father of a high school basketball star in Hoosiers (1986),and he honed his portrayal of unhinged villains in films like Blue Velvet (1986),Speed (1994) and Waterworld (1995),as well as in the first season of the television series 24 (2002).