WILLIAM HOPPER

William Hopper was an actor from the 1910s to the 1950s. He is best remembered for his supporting role as private detective Paul Drake in TV's "Perry Mason". He was the son of famed columnist Hedda Hopper, who pushed him into acting when he was 22, but his heart wasn't in it. After some minor roles, he got the lead role in the 1937 football movie "Over the Goal", but did not get noticed from it, and after some more minor roles, he went into the military during World War II, and afterwards, after some serious problems with alcohol, he spent nine years as a car salesman! He returned to acting in the mid 1950s, when he appeared in some B-science-fiction movies, including 20 Million Miles to Earth and The Deadly Mantis, and he was memorable as Natalie Wood's odd father in Rebel Without a Cause. He finally got a big break in 1957 when he was cast on TV's "Perry Mason"! He passed away in 1970 at the age of 55.