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.[1]
Early life
William DeWolf Hopper Jr., was born January 26, 1915, in New York City.[2] 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.[3]
Hopper made his film debut as a baby in his father's 1916 silent movie Sunshine Dad.[4] 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.[5]
Contract players Wolfe Hopper and Gail Patrick in a July 1936 Paramount Pictures fashion photograph; 20 years later, William Hopper was Paul Drake and Gail Patrick Jackson was executive producer of the CBS-TV series Perry Mason.
Hopper and Raymond Burr in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma" (1959)
Guest star Bette Davis with Hopper in Perry Mason (1963)
In 1936, Hopper won a contract at Paramount Pictures.[6][11] 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.[4]
Hopper became an actor because his mother expected it of him.[8]: 57 "When I worked at Warner Bros.," Hopper said, "I was so scared I stuttered all the time."[12]
For eight years after the war, Hopper became involved in business and sold cars in Hollywood.[14] He combined car sales and acting when opportunities came up during the advent of television.[15]
"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.[12]
1950s
In 1953, director William Wellman persuaded Hopper to resume his movie career with his 1954 film, The High and the Mighty,[16] 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."[8]: 60 Hopper subsequently appeared in two of Wellman's films, Track of the Cat (1954) and Good-bye, My Lady (1956).[4]
Hopper was cast to star opposite Claire Trevor in the live television drama "No Sad Songs for Me",[8]: 61 broadcast April 14, 1955, on NBC's Lux Video Theatre.[17] 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."[8]: 61
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".[18] 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.[19] 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."[20]
Wrote Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill in their chronicle of the television series:[8]: 61
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.[8]: 61
A 1959 episode, "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma", had Hopper's character on trial for murder.[8]: 65
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.[8]: 66 [21]
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.[28]
^"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.
