Today is the birthday of William DeWolf Hopper Jr., who was born January 26, 1915, in New York City. He was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and Hollywood columnist and actress, Hedda Hopper, he had minor roles in more than 80 feature films in the 1930s and '40s. He became best known for his work in television, as the suave gumshoe, Paul Drake, in the long-running CBS series, Perry Mason.
He was my favorite character on Perry Mason; there was something about the way he moved that intrugued me. He kind of glided from place to place in an easy going way. He was debonair as all get out and he knew EVERYTHING!
In 1957, the CBS television network launched the Perry Mason series based on Erle Stanley Gardner characters. Hopper auditioned for both the Mason and Drake roles. "He was perfect as Drake, and we got him," recalled executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson.
"Paul Drake in the Erle Stanley Gardner books was an entirely different character," Hopper said in 1962. "I play him my way. Now I'm amused to read Gardner's new books. Paul Drake now comes out like me!"
"Just as Raymond Burr will always be Perry Mason, Bill Hopper will always be Paul Drake," wrote Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill in their chronicle of the TV series. "He defined the role."
A running gag on the series, is that although Paul Drake is a "wolf" and dates nearly every woman that appears on the series, the only woman he does not date is Della Street whom he always respectfully refers to as "Hi Beautiful".
The 1959 episode, The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma, had Hopper's character on trial for murder. It was the only time in the series' nine-year run that Paul Drake was the defendant.
In 1957, the CBS television network launched the Perry Mason series based on Erle Stanley Gardner characters. Hopper auditioned for both the Mason and Drake roles. "He was perfect as Drake, and we got him," recalled executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson.
"Paul Drake in the Erle Stanley Gardner books was an entirely different character," Hopper said in 1962. "I play him my way. Now I'm amused to read Gardner's new books. Paul Drake now comes out like me!"
"Just as Raymond Burr will always be Perry Mason, Bill Hopper will always be Paul Drake," wrote Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill in their chronicle of the TV series. "He defined the role."
A running gag on the series, is that although Paul Drake is a "wolf" and dates nearly every woman that appears on the series, the only woman he does not date is Della Street whom he always respectfully refers to as "Hi Beautiful".
The 1959 episode, The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma, had Hopper's character on trial for murder. It was the only time in the series' nine-year run that Paul Drake was the defendant.
The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma - (1959)
Hopper made his film debut as a baby in his father's 1916 silent movie Sunshine Dad. His mother, Hedda Hopper, divorced his father in 1922 and moved to Hollywood with their son. She became one of America's best-known gossip columnists, with nearly 30 million readers in newspapers in the U.S.
I will never forget the cameo appearance Hedda Hopper made near the end of the 1950 film, Sunset Boulevard; she plays herself reporting the murder to her publication. She's officious as all get-out, wears her trademark outrageous hat, and is just delightful.
Sunset Boulevard starred Gloria Swanson. It was the role of a lifetime for her. I've always thought it was brilliant of Swanson to take on the role of Norma Desmond as very few remember a single one of her films when her star shined in her early career but almost everyone knows her stunning performance in Sunset Boulevard. And when being photographed, who hasn't said, "Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup!" The role enshrined her in the Pantheon of Movie Star Greats.
William Hopper became an actor because his mother expected it of him. "When I worked at Warner Bros.," he said, "I was so scared I stuttered all the time."
In March 1936, Hopper, working under the name Wolfe Hopper, won a contract at Paramount Pictures. Early in his film career, Hopper appeared in numerous movies, uncredited and also under the name DeWolf Hopper.
In 1940, Hopper married actress Jane Kies, whose professional name was Jane Gilbert; Kies was the sister of Margaret Lindsay. Lindsay appeared in the films, Jezebel (1938) and Scarlet Street (1945). Lindsay's most acclaimed film role was in The House of the Seven Gables in 1940, with George Sanders and Vincent Price. Gilbert and Hopper had worked together on the 1939 film, Invisible Stripes.
Hopper served with the United States Navy during World War II, as a volunteer with the Office of Strategic Services 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.
In the course of his career Hopper worked with many theater and film lumiaries, Katharine Cornell, Grace Moore, Franchot Tone, Ann Sheridan, John Ford, Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor, Natalie Wood, Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Fred MacMurray, James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney and, of course, Raymond Burr.
His film credits as DeWolf Hopper include Knute Rockne - All American, They Died with Their Boots On, The High and the Mighty and Dive Bomber. As William Hopper, The Maltese Falcon, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Rebel Without a Cause, The Bad Seed, Myra Breckinridge, and the Sci-Fi adventures, The Deadly Mantis (1957) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) (link to complete list below).
His television credits include, Gunsmoke, The Millionaire, Studio 57, The Joseph Cotten Show and, of course, 271 episodes of Perry Mason (complete list below).
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.
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.
I will never forget the cameo appearance Hedda Hopper made near the end of the 1950 film, Sunset Boulevard; she plays herself reporting the murder to her publication. She's officious as all get-out, wears her trademark outrageous hat, and is just delightful.
Hedda Hopper - Sunset Boulevard - 1950
Sunset Boulevard starred Gloria Swanson. It was the role of a lifetime for her. I've always thought it was brilliant of Swanson to take on the role of Norma Desmond as very few remember a single one of her films when her star shined in her early career but almost everyone knows her stunning performance in Sunset Boulevard. And when being photographed, who hasn't said, "Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup!" The role enshrined her in the Pantheon of Movie Star Greats.
William Hopper became an actor because his mother expected it of him. "When I worked at Warner Bros.," he said, "I was so scared I stuttered all the time."
In March 1936, Hopper, working under the name Wolfe Hopper, won a contract at Paramount Pictures. Early in his film career, Hopper appeared in numerous movies, uncredited and also under the name DeWolf Hopper.
Wolfe Hopper & Gail Patrick - July 1936
Paramount Pictures fashion photograph
In 1940, Hopper married actress Jane Kies, whose professional name was Jane Gilbert; Kies was the sister of Margaret Lindsay. Lindsay appeared in the films, Jezebel (1938) and Scarlet Street (1945). Lindsay's most acclaimed film role was in The House of the Seven Gables in 1940, with George Sanders and Vincent Price. Gilbert and Hopper had worked together on the 1939 film, Invisible Stripes.
Hopper served with the United States Navy during World War II, as a volunteer with the Office of Strategic Services 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.
William Hopper - Navy Frogman - WW2
In the course of his career Hopper worked with many theater and film lumiaries, Katharine Cornell, Grace Moore, Franchot Tone, Ann Sheridan, John Ford, Jan Sterling, Claire Trevor, Natalie Wood, Ronald Reagan, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Fred MacMurray, James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Richard Whorf, Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeanne Cagney and, of course, Raymond Burr.
His film credits as DeWolf Hopper include Knute Rockne - All American, They Died with Their Boots On, The High and the Mighty and Dive Bomber. As William Hopper, The Maltese Falcon, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Rebel Without a Cause, The Bad Seed, Myra Breckinridge, and the Sci-Fi adventures, The Deadly Mantis (1957) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) (link to complete list below).
His television credits include, Gunsmoke, The Millionaire, Studio 57, The Joseph Cotten Show and, of course, 271 episodes of Perry Mason (complete list below).
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.
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.
Viewfinder links:
Humphrey Bogart articles/mentions
Carl Van Vechten articles/mentions
Natalie Wood articles/mentions
Net links:
Film credits
Television credits
List of Perry Mason episodes
YouTube links:
William Hopper -
Screen Test as 'Perry Mason' (1956)
20 Million Miles to Earth Trailer
The Bad Seed (1956) - Original Theatrical Trailer
Paul Drake in The Case of the Garrulous Gambler
"Hi, beautiful!"
~ Paul Drake (William Hopper)
Styrous® ~ Friday, January 26, 2018
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