Уильям Хоппер: Американдық актер өмірі мен мансабы

American actor (1915–1970)

William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in more than 80 feature films in the 1930s and 1940s. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he left acting, but was persuaded by director William Wellman in the 1950s to resume his film career. He’s perhaps best known for his portrayal of private detective Paul Drake in the CBS television series Perry Mason. He was the only child of actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer DeWolf Hopper and his fifth wife, actress Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry). He had a half brother, John A. Hopper, from his father's second marriage in the 1880s. Hopper made his film debut as a baby in his father's 1916 silent movie Sunshine Dad.

Hopper began his acting career as a teenager. He made his first stage appearance at the Pasadena Community Playhouse, in She Loves Me Not. He worked in summer stock in Ogunquit, Maine. He appeared on Broadway in Order Please (1934) and as a member of the ensemble in Katharine Cornell's production of Romeo and Juliet (1934–35). In 1936, Hopper won a contract at Paramount Pictures. He was credited in movies as Wolfe Hopper and DeWolf Hopper. In 1936, he appeared in The King Steps Out, and in 1937 he was in Public Wedding, Over the Goal, The Footloose Heiress and in 1938, Mystery House. and as a member of the newly created Underwater Demolition Team. He received a Bronze Star and several other medals during operations in the Pacific. For eight years after the war, Hopper became involved in business and sold cars in Hollywood. "I didn't even think about acting much until a friend, director Bill Wellman, asked me to do a part in The High and the Mighty," Hopper recalled.

In 1953, director William Wellman persuaded Hopper to resume his movie career with his 1954 film, The High and the Mighty, opposite Jan Sterling. Before filming began, Hopper challenged Wellman because he suspected his mother had arranged the offer. "When it appeared Wellman was serious, I asked him if he knew whose son I was. He ignored me," Hopper recalled. "I was so lousy, so nervous, I didn't even know where the camera was. But somehow Billy got me through. Afterward, I thanked him. He said, 'Thank me, my foot. After this, you're going to be in every picture I make.' I didn't believe him." He returned that year as murdering outlaw “Tasker” in S1E38’s “Unknown Grave”. The following year he played a supporting role in the pilot episode of the television series The Restless Gun, which was broadcast as an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars. Some of Hopper's other television guest appearances include The Joseph Cotten Show, Fury, Studio 57, and The Millionaire.

In 1959, Hopper was nominated as Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series at the 11th Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance as Paul Drake.

In 1940, Hopper married actress Jane Gilbert. They had worked together on the 1939 film Invisible Stripes. The couple had one daughter, Joan. In September 1962, TV Guide magazine reported that Hopper and Gilbert had separated. They later divorced, and Hopper married Jeanette Juanita Ward. They remained together until his death.

Hopper entered Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, California, He was buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.

Year Title Role Notes 1954 Mayor of the Town Girard "Minnie's Job" 1955 Lux Video Theatre Brad Scott "No Sad Songs for Me" 1955 Ford Theatre Joe Cramer "The Mumbys" 1955 Lux Video Theatre Host "Perilous Deception" 1956 Fury Sam Wilson "The Hobo" (credited as Bill Hopper) 1956 Phil Harland "One Life" 1956 Gunsmoke John Henry Jordan "Robin Hood" 1956 Lux Video Theatre Jim Johanson "The Star" 1956 Celebrity Playhouse "Stagecoach to Paradise" 1956 Capt. Jonathan Carroll "Captain Jonathan Carroll" 1956 Gunsmoke Tasker Sloane "Unmarked Grave" 1956 Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre Rick Gordon "Ten Percent" 1956 Matinee Theater "Madame de Treymes" 1956 Studio 57 Smith "The Magic Glass" 1957 Studio 57 Kip "Mr. November" 1957 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Dan Mailer "The Restless Gun" (pilot for TV series) 1957 The Joseph Cotten Show Arnold Bait "The Case of the Jealous Bomber" 1957–1966 Perry Mason Paul Drake 271 episodes