Cancer-stricken Dennis Hopper gets Hollywood star
AFP
LOS ANGELES- Ailing US actor Dennis Hopper was given his own star on the Hollywood Boulevard Friday with a bevy of screen legends turning out to honor him as he battles prostate cancer.
"Everyone here today that I've invited and obviously some that I haven't invited have enriched my life tremendously," Hopper said, flanked by fellow actors Jack Nicholson and Viggo Mortensen.
Dennis Hopper
A frail-looking Hopper, 73, was being honored at the ceremony outside the Egyptian Theatre for his 50-year career stretching back to "Rebel Without a Cause" in which he starred with James Dean in 1955.
Later came the iconic road flick "Easy Rider" with Peter Fonda in 1969, the Vietnam war movie "Apocalypse Now" in 1979 and then "Blue Velvet" in 1986.
"Everything I've learned in my life I learned from you and the wonderful world that I traveled and saw... well, I got it all from you. This has been my home and my school," Hopper said.
"And I love all of you. I just want to thank you. This means so much to me, and thank you very much, everyone."
He is said to be in the last phase of terminal cancer and is also embroiled in a bitter divorce against his wife Victoria, after being married for 14 years.
His lawyer said in court documents Thursday that Hopper was too weak to be questioned by his wife's attorney in the divorce settlement.
The court filing said his physician David Agus found that Hopper weighs less than 100 pounds (45 kg).
Hopper took part in the ceremony wearing a bandage around his head and right hand, saying he had been injured in a run-in with paparazzi.
"So I fell directly on my face, and I had my glasses in my hand. I got pretty screwed up," he added.
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