In Memoriam – Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper died today. He was 74. Put aside Easy Rider, Blue Velvet, The Trip, River’s Edge (Feck! What an unbelievable role, huh?) and all the rest for a minute and consider how many drugs the guy did. Just being able to live that long and maintain any degree of lucidity at all, after ingesting as many substances as Hopper did, is an accomplishment in itself. Or maybe that’s what sustained him. That’s not to say that any of us should emulate that kind of lifestyle, but maybe his own chemistry was a match for all those chemicals – or adapted to them. Maybe there was some crazy substance that’s never been isolated yet, maybe that only existed in him, that actually worked to his advantage.

Hopper famously remarked that he wanted to write a book on the ten best drugs for acting. But he never did.