Dennis Hopper Net Worth – 2023

What was the net worth of Dennis Hopper?

At the time of his death, American actor, director, and artist Dennis Hopper had a net worth of $40 million. Dennis Hopper died of prostate cancer on May 29, 2010. Alongside his pals Jack Nicholson and Viggo Mortensen, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame two months before his death.

Dennis Hopper’s breakthrough came as director, co-writer, and co-star of “Easy Rider,” a seminal 1969 independent road picture. His subsequent filmography includes “The Last Picture,” “The American Friend,” “Apocalypse Now,” “Rumble Fish,” “Blue Velvet,” “Hoosiers,” “Colors,” and “Speed,” among others. In addition to his work in cinema and television, Hopper was prolific in painting, photography, and sculpture. His art was shown in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Amsterdam, Vienna, and Paris, among other cities.

Childhood and Education

Dennis Hopper was born in Dodge City, Kansas on May 17, 1936 to James and Marjorie. His brothers were named David and Marvin. He was of Scottish heritage. After World War II, Hopper and his family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, where he enrolled in painting school at the Kansas City Art Institute. At the age of 13, he relocated to San Diego, California, with his family. Hopper attended Helix High School in La Mesa, where he was involved in speech, chorus, and theater club. He attended the Actors Studio in New York City after completing his studies at the Old Globe Theatre.

Beginning of Film Career and “Easy Rider” Debut

In 1955, Hopper made his feature film debut in the James Dean movie “Rebel Without a Cause” as a thug. The next year, he participated in another film directed by Dean, “Giant.” Hopper later appeared in “Gunfight at the OK Corral,” “The Story of Mankind,” “From Hell to Texas,” “The Young Land,” and “Key Witness” in supporting parts. In the 1961 supernatural thriller “Night Tide,” he played his first starring role as sailor Johnny Drake. Four years later, he featured in “The Sons of Katie Elder” alongside Dean Martin and John Wayne. Hopper subsequently appeared in “Queen of Blood,” “The Trip,” “Cool Hand Luke,” “The Glory Stompers,” “Panic in the City,” “Hang ‘Em High,” and “True Grit,” another picture starring John Wayne.

In 1969, Hopper’s directorial debut, the independent road picture “Easy Rider,” cemented his breakthrough. He co-wrote the story and co-starred in the picture alongside Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, and Terry Southern. “Easy Rider” grossed $60 million on a budget of less than $500,000, despite being plagued by creative disputes throughout production. The film’s depiction of drugs and hippies made it a counterculture classic, and it had a profound impact on the nascent New Hollywood era of cinema.

Continue Film Career

Hopper directed and acted in the metafictional neo-Western “The Last Movie,” which followed “Easy Rider.” However, the picture was unable to replicate his prior success. He subsequently appeared in films such as “Kid Blue,” “Mad Dog Morgan,” “Tracks,” “The American Friend,” and “Flesh Color.” In 1979, Hopper had important parts in the Spanish thriller “The Sky is Falling” and the psychological war drama “Apocalypse Now” by Francis Ford Coppola. Beginning the 1980s with “Out of the Blue,” his third picture as director, he also acted opposite Linda Manz. Before reconnecting with Coppola for “Rumble Fish,” Hopper featured in “King of the Mountain” and “Human Highway.” The next episodes were “The Osterman Weekend,” “O.C. and Staggs,” and “My Science Project.”

1986 was undoubtedly Hopper’s finest year in movies. In addition to “Riders of the Storm,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” and “River’s Edge,” he gave two of his most renowned and lauded performances in “Blue Velvet” and “Hoosiers” by David Lynch. For his performance in the latter, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Hopper later appeared in “Black Widow,” “Straight to Hell,” “The Pick-up Artist,” and “Blood Red” In 1988, he directed his fourth picture, “Colors,” a procedural crime thriller involving police procedures. After two years, he appeared in “Flashback” and directed “Catchfire” and “The Hot Spot.” Other prominent films directed by Hopper in the 1990s include “Boiling Point,” “Speed,” and “Waterworld,” as well as “Super Mario Bros.,” “True Romance,” “Chasers,” and “EDtv.” “Land of the Dead,” “Elegy,” “Swing Vote,” “Palermo Shooting,” and “An American Carol” are among his latter works.

Television Profession

Hopper was equally active on television as he was on the big screen. In 1954, he made his debut appearance on television in an episode of “Cavalcade of America.” He featured in episodes of “Medic,” “Cheyenne,” “Conflict,” “Sugarfoot,” “Zane Grey Theater,” and “The Lineup” for the remainder of the decade. Hopper also appears in the premiere episode of “The Rifleman.” In the 1960s, he appeared in several television shows, including “The Millionaire,” “Naked City,” “General Electric Theater,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Wagon Train,” “Espionage,” “The Defenders,” “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” “Combat!” and “The Big Valley.” Hopper did not return to television until 1980, when he appeared in two episodes of “Wild Times” as Doc Holliday. He later appeared in a number of television movies, including “Stark,” “Doublecrossed,” “Paris Trout,” “Nails,” and “Samson and Delilah.”

In 2002, Hopper had a noteworthy recurring role on the action series 24 as Victor Drazen. He then appeared in an episode of “Las Vegas” and “The Last Ride” on television. Hopper portrayed Colonel Eli McNulty on the short-lived military drama series “E-Ring” from 2005 to 2006. In 2008 and 2009, he played Ben Cendars, the main character in the television version of Paul Haggis’ film “Crash.”

Photographic and Visual Arts

In addition to cinema and television, Hopper was also active in photography and art. Early in his career, he designed the 1966 album cover for Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep – Mountain High” and photographed portraits for a number of prominent publications. Andy Warhol, Paul Newman, James Brown, Peter Fonda, Jane Fonda, and Timothy Leary were among his subjects. Hopper’s approach as a painter went from photorealism to abstraction. In addition to being a passionate artist and art collector, he showed his own works and items from his collection all over the world.

Individual Life and Death

Hopper, infamous for his drug abuse and turbulent relationships with women, was married and divorced several times. From 1961 to 1969, he was married to actress Brooke Hayward, and they had a daughter named Marin. Next, in 1970, Hopper was wed to Michelle Phillips for eight days. In 1972, he married Daria Halprin; they had a daughter called Ruthanna and divorced in 1976. Hopper later married Katherine LaNasa in 1989, with whom he had a son called Henry. They split up in 1992. In 1996, he wed his fifth and final wife, Victoria Duffy. The couple had a daughter called Galen, and their divorce in 2010 was formalized months before he passed away.

Victoria opposed the prenuptial agreement she signed in 1996, which entitled her to a one-time payment of $250,000 covered by his life insurance policy and 25 percent of the balance of his assets, which comprised his art collection and properties in both Los Angeles and New Mexico.

In the 1970s, Hopper developed a severe cocaine addiction, consuming up to three grams each day. Soon after, he vanished into the Mexican desert while on a drug high and was buried with 17 sticks of dynamite. In 1983, Hopper entered into treatment.

It was revealed in 2009 that Hopper had advanced prostate cancer. The next year, his illness apparently deteriorated, and he weighed barely 100 pounds. On May 29, 2010, at the age of 74, he passed away at his Los Angeles home.

Real Estate

A month after Dennis’s passing, his family placed his Venice, California mansion on the market for $6.2 million. Dennis purchased the first of five contiguous acres for $21,000 in 1985. In 1999, he purchased the residence next door. Over three transactions beginning in 1997 and ending in 2008 he bought three additional surrounding properties. There were no bids, thus the price was cut to $5.8 million shortly thereafter. The family accepted $5 million in August 2012.