William Hopper

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Other people|otherPeople}} Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person

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.<ref name=nytobit/>

Early life

William DeWolf Hopper Jr., was born January 26, 1915, in New York City.<ref>Ancestry.com. California, Death Index 1940–1997 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, U.S.: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2000. Retrieved May 6, 2015.</ref> 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.<ref name="Brooklyn Daily Eagle">Template:Cite news</ref>

Hopper made his film debut as a baby in his father's 1916 silent movie Sunshine Dad.<ref name="AFI" /> His mother divorced his father in 1922 and took Hopper to live in Hollywood. Hedda Hopper became a gossip columnist with nearly 30 million readers in newspapers in the U.S., and was a proponent of the Hollywood blacklist.<ref name="HH obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

1930s–1940s

Hopper began his acting career as a teenager. He made his first stage appearance at the Pasadena Community Playhouse, in She Loves Me Not.<ref name="Paramount Contract">Template:Cite news</ref> He worked in summer stock in Ogunquit, Maine.<ref name="Meet Hadda's Son Bill">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="PM Book Hopper">Template:Cite book</ref> 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).<ref name="IBDB Romeo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="IBDB Order">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1936, Hopper won a contract at Paramount Pictures.<ref name="Paramount Contract"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="AFI"/>

Hopper's film roles included Stagecoach (1939), The Return of Dr. X (1939), Over the Goal (1939), Knute Rockne, All American (1940), The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).<ref name="AFI"/>

Hopper became an actor because his mother expected it of him.<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp "When I worked at Warner Bros.," Hopper said, "I was so scared I stuttered all the time."<ref name="Rick Du Brow"/>

Military service and postwar career

Hopper served with the United States Navy during World War II, as a volunteer with the Office of Strategic Services<ref name="Meet Hadda's Son Bill"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="UPI obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

For eight years after the war, Hopper became involved in business and sold cars in Hollywood.<ref name="UPI obit"/> He combined car sales and acting when opportunities came up during the advent of television.<ref name="Bob Thomas">Template:Cite news</ref>

"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.<ref name="Rick Du Brow">Template:Cite news</ref>

1950s

In 1953, director William Wellman persuaded Hopper to resume his movie career with his 1954 film, The High and the Mighty,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp Hopper subsequently appeared in two of Wellman's films, Track of the Cat (1954) and Good-bye, My Lady (1956).<ref name="AFI"/>

Hopper was cast to star opposite Claire Trevor in the live television drama "No Sad Songs for Me",<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp broadcast April 14, 1955, on NBC's Lux Video Theatre.<ref name="Lux 5"/> He had such stage fright, he initially cancelled: "I swore I'd never act again as long as I lived", Hopper recalled. "Then I thought, what the heck, they can't shoot me, and walked on the set. Something happened then. It was as if someone had surgically removed the nerves."<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp

At last comfortable on screen, Hopper played the stern and emotionally distant father of Natalie Wood in the James Dean classic Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and the absentee father in The Bad Seed (1956). He starred in the science-fiction films 20 Million Miles to Earth and The Deadly Mantis, released in 1957.<ref name="AFI"/>

In 1956 Hopper guest-starred again on television during the first season of the Western series Gunsmoke, portraying an outlaw initially supported by townsfolk in an episode titled "Robin Hood".<ref>"Robin Hood", season 1 episode 17 (S01E17) of Gunsmoke, originally broadcast February 4, 1956. Full video of "Robin Hood" available for viewing on YouTube. Retrieved June 15, 2017.</ref> 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: On Trial, Fury, Studio 57, and The Millionaire.

Perry Mason

Hopper is best known for his principal role as the private investigator Paul Drake on CBS's courtroom television series Perry Mason (1957–66). He initially tested for the title role, while Raymond Burr read for the role of Mason's courtroom adversary, district attorney Hamilton Burger. Burr was encouraged to lose weight and return to audition for the role of Perry Mason – which he did, successfully.<ref name="50th">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hopper, too, was called back. Executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson recalled, "When Bill Hopper came in to read for Paul Drake he blurted out, 'You hate my mother.' And that was Hedda Hopper. Well, I disliked what she stood for, but 'hate' is something else — and anyway he was perfect as Drake, and we got him."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Wrote Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill in their chronicle of the television series:<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp

As Paul Drake, William Hopper was called on to be the most versatile of the principals in the Perry Mason cast. He was not only the careful investigator, the duke-it-out tough guy, the ladies' man, and the hipster, but also the fall guy, the strikeout artist, the "eating machine" and "the big kid." Hopper's Drake alone provided the comic relief for the show. And, despite being a rather late bloomer to the acting field, he played all the parts surprisingly well and believably. His appearances made fair shows good, and good shows better.<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp

A 1959 episode, "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma", had Hopper's character on trial for murder.<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp

Hopper continued to work in summer stock and to make movie appearances during his years on Perry Mason; however, after the series was cancelled in 1966, he declined other television offers. He did, though, make one final film appearance in Myra Breckinridge (1970), which premiered in New York three months after his death.<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp<ref>Myra Breckinridge, cast and crew credits, production details, and release dates; catalog of the American Film Institute (AFI). Retrieved June 15, 2017.</ref>

Awards and honors

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.<ref name="Emmy Database">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

In 1940, Hopper married actress Jane Gilbert.<ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp<ref name="miami">Template:Cite news</ref> They had worked together on the 1939 film Invisible Stripes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The couple had one daughter, Joan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="PM Book Hopper"/>Template:Rp<ref>Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905–1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2005. Retrieved May 3, 2015.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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.<ref>"Life With Mother," TV Guide, September 1, 1962.</ref>

Death

Hopper entered Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, California,<ref name="UPI obit"/> on February 14, 1970, after suffering a stroke. He died of pneumonia three weeks later, on March 6, at the age of 55.<ref name=nytobit>Template:Cite news</ref> He was buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.<ref name=grave>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Broadway

• 1934: Order Please, Playhouse Theatre (as Victor Neilson)<ref name="IBDB Order"/>
• 1934–35: Romeo and Juliet, Martin Beck Theatre (Ensemble)<ref name="IBDB Romeo"/>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1916	Sunshine Dad	Baby	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1936	Template:Sortname	Soldier	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Murder with Pictures	Photographer	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Ship's Officer	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Easy to Take	Monitor room man	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Beware of Ladies	Reporter	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
1937	Larceny on the Air	Announcer	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Join the Marines	Marine	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Dick Tracy	Dirigible Pilot	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Public Wedding	Tony Burke	Male lead, opposite Jane Wyman<ref name="AFI"/>
	Mr. Dodd Takes the Air	Second production manager	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Template:Sortname	Jack Pierson	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Back in Circulation	Pete Edington	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Love Is on the Air	Eddie Gould	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Over the Goal	Ken Thomas	Male lead, opposite June Travis<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Matt	<ref name="AFI"/>
1938	Daredevil Drivers	Neeley bus driver	Offscreen credit <ref name="AFI"/>
	Love, Honor and Behave	Yale tennis player	Offscreen credit <ref name="AFI"/>
	Mystery House	Lal Killian	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Grabshot	Offscreen credit <ref name="AFI"/>
	Women Are Like That	Larraby	Offscreen credit <ref name="AFI"/>
1939	Stagecoach	Cavalry Sergeant	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Midnight	Flammarions' Party Guest	Uncredited
	Daughters Courageous	Striped-shirted man at beach	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/><ref name="IMDb"/>
	Template:Sortname	Handsome Sam	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	John	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Photographer	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Dust Be My Destiny	Reporter	Uncredited
	Espionage Agent	Student	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	On Your Toes	Ronald – Peggy's Escort	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Pride of the Blue Grass	Joe	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	On Dress Parade	Soldier Getting Radio Report from H4	Uncredited
	Template:Sortname	Intern	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Intern	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Invisible Stripes	Young Man	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
1940	Template:Sortname	Private Turner	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Calling Philo Vance	Hotel clerk	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Castle on the Hudson	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Virginia City	Lieutenant	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Man	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Tear Gas Squad	George	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Flight Angels	Lefty	Credited as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Brother Orchid	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Gambling on the High Seas	Station operator	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Ladies Must Live	Joe Barton	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Money and the Woman	J.L. Burns, Bank Depositor	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/><ref name="IMDb"/>
	No Time for Comedy	First-Nighter	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Knute Rockne, All American	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Always a Bride	Man at campaign meeting carrying Michael	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/><ref name="IMDb"/>
	Lady with Red Hair	Lyceum Theater Attendant	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Santa Fe Trail	Officer	Scenes deleted; offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/><ref name="IMDb"/>
1941	Template:Sortname	Second mate	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Flight from Destiny	Travin	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Footsteps in the Dark	Police secretary	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Here Comes Happiness	Best Man	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Knockout	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Jones	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Strange Alibi	Desk clerk	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Affectionately Yours	Airline attendant	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Keenan's pilot	Credited as DeWolf Hopper
	Bullets for O'Hara	Richard Palmer	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Highway West	Frank Carson – Murdered Cashier	Uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Manpower	Power company telephone operator	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/><ref name="IMDb"/>
	Dive Bomber	Pilot	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	International Squadron	Radio operator	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Passage from Hong Kong	Watson	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Navy Blues	Ensign Walters	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Reporter	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Blues in the Night	Billiard Player	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	They Died with Their Boots On	Lt. Frazier	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Terrence Abbott	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	You're in the Army Now	Clerk	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
1942	All Through the Night	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Bullet Scars	Reporter	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Lady Gangster	John	Credited as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Murder in the Big House	Reporter	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Larceny, Inc.	Customer	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Yankee Doodle Dandy	Reporter	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Juke Girl	Atlanta Postal Clerk	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Spy Ship	Reporter	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Escape from Crime	Reporter	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Secret Enemies	Ensign	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Busses Roar	Sailor	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Across the Pacific	Orderly	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Desperate Journey	Aircraftsman	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	You Can't Escape Forever	Soldier	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Beyond the Line of Duty	University of Texas classmate	Short film, uncredited<ref name="IMDb"/>
	Gentleman Jim	Undetermined Role	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
1943	Template:Sortname	Hotel Desk Clerk	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Orderly	Credited as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Air Force	Sergeant	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Truck Busters	Trucker	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Action in the North Atlantic	Canadian soldier	Offscreen credit as DeWolfe Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Murder on the Waterfront	First sentry	Offscreen credit as DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
1944	Template:Sortname	Swank	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
1954	Template:Sortname	Roy	Offscreen credit as William DeWolf Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	Sitting Bull	Charles Wentworth	Offscreen credit as Bill Hopper<ref name="AFI"/>
	This Is My Love	District Attorney	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	Track of the Cat	Arthur Bridges	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
1955	Conquest of Space	Dr. George Fenton	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Robbers' Roost	Robert Bell	Offscreen credit<ref name="AFI"/>
	One Desire	Mac McBain	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Rebel Without a Cause	Judy's father	<ref name="AFI"/>
1956	Good-bye, My Lady	Walden Grover	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	William B. Travis	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Template:Sortname	Col. Kenneth Penmark	<ref name="AFI"/>
1957	Template:Sortname	Dr. Nedrick (Ned) Jackson	<ref name="AFI"/>
	20 Million Miles to Earth	Col. Bob Calder	<ref name="AFI"/>
	Slim Carter	Joe Brewster	<ref name="AFI"/>
1970	Myra Breckinridge	Judge Frederic D. Cannon	Uncredited, Released posthumously<ref name="AFI"/><ref name="UPI Redlands">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BFI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Mayor of the Town	Girard	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1955	Lux Video Theatre	Brad Scott	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Ford Theatre	Joe Cramer	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Lux Video Theatre	Host	"Perilous Deception"<ref name="Lux 5"/>
	Warner Brothers Presents … Casablanca	Wilson Randall	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1956	Fury	Sam Wilson	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Sortname	Phil Harland	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Gunsmoke	John Henry Jordan	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Lux Video Theatre	Jim Johanson	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Celebrity Playhouse		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Sortname	Capt. Jonathan Carroll	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Gunsmoke	Tasker Sloane	"Unmarked Grave"<ref name="Gunsmoke 1"/>
	Lux Video Theatre	George	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre	Rick Gordon	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Matinee Theater		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Studio 57	Smith	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1957	Studio 57	Kip	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	Dan Mailer	"The Restless Gun" (pilot for TV series)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	The Joseph Cotten Show	Arnold Bait	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1957–1966	Perry Mason	Paul Drake	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• William Hopper at Turner Classic Movies
• {{#if: {{#property:P1220}}

| [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/{{#if:

 | {{{id}}}
 | Template:First word
 }} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at the Internet Broadway DatabaseTemplate:EditAtWikidataTemplate:WikidataCheck{{#ifeq:0|0|{{#if:||}}}}

| {{#ifeq:0|0|}}

}}

• Template:Find a Grave
• William Hopper at Aveleyman