Serious Movie Lover

ON LOCATION FROM TAOS, NM, JUNE 2, 2010. A beautiful summer day here in Taos welcomed the remains of Dennis Hopper along with many friends and family, some flying in from Los Angeles in the morning and other locals who have known him a long time. The memorial gathering was low-key and casual, the setting perfect; San Francisco de Asis Church in Ranchos de Taos, a world heritage church, is one of the most photographed churches in the U.S. Among the celebrities in attendance were Jack Nicholson, Val Kilmer, Dean Stockton and Peter Fonda. The memorial service was advertised as private, but a good number of reporters and photographers were present. Standing next to me were two British photogs from Splash News—their fabulous photos can be seen here.

Joseph Lynch

Also filming for Albuquerque’s Channel 4 News was Joseph Lynch who actually appeared with Hopper in one scene in Hoosiers—walking behind the bench during the first tense time-out of the big final game! He’s also in many of the crowd shots from the shoot in Indianapolis. I love Hoosiers and Turner Classic Movies was running it just last night (June 1). What better tribute to Dennis Hopper than to watch him on screen—a truly charismatic actor/director/artist and one we will remember forever. Farewell, Dennis; may you rest in peace in Taos.

P.S. Hopper first discovered Taos in 1969 when scouting for locations for Easy Rider. Many scenes from the film were shot in and around Taos; Hopper lived here for many years and kept a house in Ranchos. Just last year, he appeared in person to kick off the Taos Summer of Love at the Harwood Museum with “Hopper at the Harwood. LA to Taos: 40 Years of Friendship” featuring works by Larry Bell, Ron Cooper, Ronald Davis, Dennis Hopper, Ken Price and Robert Dean Stockwell. He visited the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, his residence in the wild days, just recently to say good-bye.