Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now

Dennis Hopper is dead. The star in the Movie Easy rider has died following complications from prostate cancer. As a actor he was one of my favouirte his role in Apolcalypse Now (1979)and Easy Rider (1969)both films are regarded as really Great Films...

Actor Dennis Hopper — star of "Easy Rider," "Blue Velvet," "Giant" and many other films — died Saturday of prostate cancer at his Los Angeles-area home, according to The Associated Press He was 74.

The two-time Academy Award nominee, who announced through a manager in the fall of 2009 that he had been diagnosed with the disease, was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death, family friend Alex Hitz told the AP.

The actor directed, co-wrote and starred in directed 1969's "Easy Rider," perhaps the most memorable film of his wildly erratic, nearly six-decade-long career. In that classic, generation-defining film — which also established Jack Nicholson as a major star — he and Peter Fonda played motorcycle-riding hippies in search of America. The film was a Hollywood success story; it was produced for less than $500,000 and ultimately earned in excess of $40 million. "Easy Rider" also earned two Academy Award nominations, including a shared screenplay nod for Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern.

He made his first television appearance in 1955, and appeared in two films featuring James Dean Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). Over the next ten years, Hopper appeared frequently on television in guest roles, and by the end of the 1960s had played supporting roles in several films. He directed and starred in Easy Rider (1969), winning an award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as co-writer of the film's script.

Hopper was for a while unable to build on his early success until  a featured role in the major blockbuster Apocalypse Now(1979) brought him attention. Apocalypse Now was a Major piece of film work produced by Stanley Kubrick. He subsequently appeared in Rumble Fish (1983) and The Osterman Weekend (1983), and received critical recognition for his work in Blue Velvet and Hoosiers, with the latter film gaining him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He directed Colors (1988), and played the villain in Speed (1994). Hopper's later work included a leading role in the television series Crash.