There have been quite a few Hollywood obituaries in the news lately. Movie actors, and other celebrities–some big stars, some not so big– seem to be dropping like flies. Ray Liotta, William Hurt, Gilbert Gottfried, Robert Morse, Naomi Judd, to name a few. But a death notice announced May 29 hit me kind of personally. Character actor Bo Hopkins, perhaps most known for his portrayal of Crazy Lee in Sam Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH, passed away at age 84, following a heart attack earlier in the month.
Hopkins appeared in dozens of films over the years, with his most successful period occurring in the mid seventies. He had parts in THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN, MACHO CALLAHAN, MONTE WALSH, THE GETAWAY, THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING, AMERICAN GRAFFITI, THE DAY OF THE LOCUST, and others. For me, one of his most memorable roles was gunman/security agent Jerome Miller, the third member of the team James Caan hires to protect an Asian leader in exile in THE KILLER ELITE. In one scene, in a script written by veteran screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, Caan’s character, Mike Locken and Miller are on a hill overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, with Miller limbering up his automatic rifle out in broad daylight. Locken calls Miller: “The patron poet of the manic depressives.” When they drive into Chinatown in a taxi tricked out with armor plate and bullet proof glass to take custody of the Asian politician, Miller and his team member Mac (Burt Young) assess the situation. Locken tells Mac to watch the street, and gives the rooftops to Miller. “Love to work them down angles,” Jerome says. It’s a totally cool movie and Hopkins was cool without even breaking a sweat.
I mentioned that the news of his death affected me personally. The fact is I met Bo Hopkins and had a chance to hang out with him for part of a day. It was in 2009 and my wife and I drove out to what was called a Hopalong Cassidy Reunion. I don’t think they hold these reunions anymore but back then they would hold sort of a min-convention of cowboy movie actors in Cambridge, Ohio, near where William Boyd, the real Hopalong Cassidy was born. I didn’t realize until we got there that there would be some celebrities in attendance. Edd (Kookie) Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip fame was there. I believe I mentioned in an earlier blog that I asked him what he was doing these days, and he replied “Whatever the hell I want.” Guys dressed up like the Lone Ranger and Tonto were in attendance. A couple of Hoppy look-alikes as well. To my surprise I found Bo Hopkins in the auditorium sitting at a table signing photos and shaking hands with fans. I went over to talk to him and found him to be the nicest guy you’d ever meet. I purchased a couple of pics from him and he didn’t even mind, when requested, repeating the line in The Wild Bunch that he’s most known for. It was a kick to be there and hear him say: “How’d you like to kiss my sister’s black cat’s ass?” His dying last words in The Wild Bunch. I met up with him again out on the streets of Columbus and that night there was an outdoor barbecue with some prizes given away. Bo got on stage and gave one of the best James Dean impersonations I’ve ever seen.
Old Bo was one of the last few survivors of The Wild Bunch, which I consider to be the greatest western film ever made. I guess LQ Jones may be THE LAST LIVING SURVIVOR. But even more than that, Bo represents for me the end of an era, a time and a place, a world that has slowly disappeared around us. The Wild Bunch rode off at the end of film only as memories, phantoms, after an unforgettable and bloody battle, just as we ourselves are slowly becoming memories and phantoms. The winds of time long ago began unraveling the very fabric of our lives, thread by thread. And so it is. A tip of the sombrero to you, Crazy Lee! Pass the bottle!