Tribute to Dennis Hopper

By my best friend- Nick Nicholson

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Dennis Hopper dead at 74

Dennis Hopper dead at 74

Dennis Hopper

Matt Sayles / AP file
Dennis Hopper is seen in 2008, before he was diagnosed with cancer.
TODAY news services
updated 5/29/2010 10:22:00 AM
LOS ANGELES — Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper, best known for directing and starring in the 1969 cult classic "Easy Rider," died on Saturday at his home in Venice, California, from complications of prostate cancer, a friend told Reuters. Hopper was 74.
The hard-living screen icon died at 8:15 a.m. PT, surrounded by family and friends, said the friend, Alex Hitz. The two-time Oscar nominee, who appeared in more than 100 films, last March got a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, saying he came to Hollywood from his native Kansas at 18, "so that was my college." "Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from Hollywood," he said. "This has been my home and my schooling."

"Easy Rider," regarded is one of the greatest films of American cinema, helped usher in a new era in which the old Hollywood guard was forced to cede power to young filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.
The low-budget blockbuster, originally conceived by Fonda, introduced mainstream moviegoers to pot-smoking, cocaine-dealing, long-haired bikers.

"We'd gone through the whole '60s and nobody had made a film about anybody smoking grass without going out and killing a bunch of nurses," Hopper told Entertainment Weekly in 2005. "I wanted 'Easy Rider' to be a time capsule for people about that period."

Hopper and Fonda were joined on screen by a then-unknown Jack Nicholson as an alcoholic lawyer, but it was not a harmonious set. Hopper clashed violently with everyone and Fonda later described him as a "little fascist freak." Their friendship was destroyed.
Hopper fell ill last September. He continued working almost to the very end, both on his cable TV series "Crash" and on a book showcasing his photography. But his final months were also consumed by a bitter divorce battle with his fifth wife, Victoria Duffy.
Indeed, his private life was never dull. His marriages included an eight-day union in 1970 with Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and Papas, who later told Vanity Fair that she was subjected to "excruciating" treatment.
Hopper is survived by four children.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Posted by Nick Nicholson at 1:51 PM

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“KWB remembers meeting Dennis”

Dennis, in black shirt and tiger stripe jungle pants, as photojournalist at Col. Kurtz’s Compound…greets the PBR with Capt. Williard

The Korean War Baby remembers his first meeting with Dennis Hopper, his idol and that of every freedom loving “wanna be a longhair hippie freak” high school student in the ‘60s. Dennis arrived early in time to witness a special Night Mission Attack by the Ifugao tribesmen, former headhunters of Central Luzon.

During the filming of “Apocalypse Now” by July, 1976, I had been helping to train the Ifugao tribesmen from the Mountain Province up in northern Luzon, the main big island of the Philippines. Director Francis Coppola wanted them to look like they had been trained into a Striker Force, one of the Special Forces led mercenary units that responded to “Over the Fence” ops under the MACV-SOG.

The Ifugao were a proud tribe, one of many that had resisted Lowlanders, and foreign armies for centuries. The Spanish for over 300 years, the Americans, then briefly the Japanese occupation troops, then the national Philippine Army all were unsuccessful in subduing the hardy mountain people who were famous for the Banaue Rice Terraces. (See Steve Rogers Facebook for great mountain adventures).

During the time after the Typhoon (Didang) the movie sets had to be repaired from extensive damage. Pagsanjan Falls, Laguna Province, southeast of Manila, was to become a major location for the film crew, actors, production crew. We took over the town but Nick Nicholson has a much better memory and has posted on these details. But I digress.

With a couple of American crew who were also veterans, we trained the Ifugao boys and men to look like Striker Companies of the Central Highlands Montagnard tribes who fought against their enemies the lighter skinned Vietnamese. The ‘Yards were looked down as inferior and wild headhunters, uncivilized compared to the Annamese people.

The Ifugao men were split up into two companies, organized into three and four platoons, with squad leaders, platoon leaders, company commanders, etc. One company was the Native Weapons Company, with spears, crossbows, bolos (machetes of the Ifugaos), even blowguns. They were dressed in native dress of the Montanyards, mostly black with red trim, Loinclothes and long sleeve shirts.

The Main Striker Company, was dressed in various uniforms of Tiger Stripe Camo, Marine Camo, Korean, Vietnamese Par as, even Black Pajamas of the Viet Cong.

Dennis raised himself up and almost blocked me!

They were armed with M-16, AK-47, M14, some World War II weapons, M3 Greaseguns, M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, .45 autos, hell we even had some French weapons like Matt machinepistols, plus several M-60 'Hog' machineguns! I had them doing patrols, infantry tactics, from squad, platoon, company manuevers.

Dennis was given a chance by Francis Coppola, after enduring a period of being ‘blacklisted’. Being a ‘method actor’ for several weeks Dennis DID NOT Shower or have his costume cleaned and he was RIPE. One day several of us, led by 2nd A.D. Larry Franco, grabbed him and threw him into the swimming pool at the Pagsanjan Rapids Hotel


.

They learned fast and were very disciplined, and we planned a major night mission, splitting up the force into defensive force at the Dou Long Bridge set, and a combined attack by land and sea by the attacking force. I led the Sea borne attack group, we made our approach silently, moving past houses until we were in position within thirty meters.

The Land force made contact right on time on the south perimeter, just on time. They had traveled by truck to one kilometer from the base and were to create probes at many points as diversions.

Our smaller Special Assault Force of 30 men were to be taken by Boatmen who plied the Pagsanjan Falls Rapids in Banca dugouts.

Michael Elliot-Background artist in Banca, Pagsanjan Rapids Hotel in background. Thanks, Michael for posting this on Facebook.

We would land on the smaller river which led to the Do Long Bridge set, several hundred meters down river and move through Coconut fields until we reached the north perimeter. The boatmen brought us to a place we had scouted several days before. We would penetrate the outer wire (we took big wire cutters) then throwing colored smoke grenades, launch our attack and “capture the flag” at the Command Post. Everything depended on our moving undetected and not getting, well, lost in the coconut field.

We bypassed all the houses and only one dog barked at us. In total darkness all my men arrived and spread into three groups. Noise discipline was very good and the noise of the southern groups firing and yelling was great cover. My two M-60 medium Machinegun crews set up on each end of the line, several men were armed with “Bloopers” M-79 40mm Grenade Launchers with FLARES.

CONTACT!! The south perimeter began slowly with a few ‘shots’ then built into a crescendo of bursts of AK-47 and M-16 fire with one M-60 blasting through without let up. I urged the men forward and we cut the wire and pour inside with several ladders to throw on top of the next line of wire.

I checked to my left and right,I was to give the signal, two short bursts with my AK-47 Chicom assault rifle. Of course I had test fired and checked my ammo for two magazines of BLANK ammo. We had not been detected yet and my men were lined up, read to attack, waiting for MY SIGNAL.

All of us had already taken our ‘safety off” down all the way for single fire, but I was set on automatic, only one position down. I squeezed the trigger.

Nothing but a "CLICK". “Shit! Dud!! I immediately reached over and jacked back the bolt with my left hand, slamming another round into the chamber, AND squeezed AGAIN.

The sounds of "Click, CHA Chack..Click" filled the night in a momentary bit of silence. I screamed "Fire!! Moses, FIRE!!'

Moses-My Sergeant Major and main interpreter.

Moses fired his AK-47, also set for Automatic, firing the entire magazine of 28 blank rounds. Everyone around me began to fire their weapons and advance.

On the THIRD round MY DAMN AK-47 fired perfectly. I had test fired before but had TWO Duds misfire in a row. Unbelievable luck.

We executed a perfect assault over the inner wire, using the wide bamboo ladders, and the special effects were firing flares and even blowing up some “Black powder/cork” effects. We had some over zealous Ifugaos using rifle butt techniques but no major injuries happened.

We had seized the flag and finally settled down as I assembled all of my men proudly, I ordered “Sgt. Major Moses to do a “Head count” to make sure we had not ‘lost any one in the dark.’ Lights flooded the area, to reveal quite a few “Guests” from the production staff and some familiar faces.

Dennis Hopper was with the actors and staff who were observing. He came up to us. Dennis, “Are you in charge? Yeah? Who was going, CLICK-CLICK? Was that you?"
I had to sheepishly admit to him, “Uh…Yes, that was me. I had two DUDS.” Dennis interrupted me, “I am gonna call you Click-Click from now on.” Oh, wonderful I thought.


That was my introduction to Dennis Hopper, who called me Click-Click for the longest damn time. We smoked a few ‘herbs’ a few times on the set, and I showed him how we used a “Blooper”, opened up, a cooling tube for the ‘shotgun method’ of inhaling ‘Thai Sticks’. One day Dennis did not know that the schedule had changed and he was totally trashed on some hard stuff. I think we did over 70 takes that day, Francis and Dennis were discussing with ‘some animation’ by the 45th take. It was the longest day other than the infamous USO Show with the Playmates. That is for another day…

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Dennis Hopper

One of the Great Actors of Film. Hope to see up there, brother.

“Take no SHIT!”