WILLIAM HOPPER: Out of the Shadows

Murderous little Patty McCormack can do no wrong in father William Hopper’s eyes in the offbeat, unsubtle horror opus THE BAD SEED (1956)
Hopper’s best known TV role was as private investigator Paul Drake in the popular whodunnit courtroom series PERRY MASON (1957-1966) with Raymond Burr in the title role and Barbara Hale as secretary Della Street

Films of the Golden Age,
Issue Number 115,
Winter 2023/2024

“There was a wall between the two of us (gossip columnist Hedda Hopper). We were close but definitely not like a mother/son relationship. I never had a damn thing to do with her column.”

Born to famous thespians, handsome WILLIAM HOPPER (1915-1970) had a movie career practically handed to him on a silver platter. He made a half-hearted attempt at leading man status in lightweight Warner Bros. “B” films (PUBLIC WEDDING, THE FOOTLOOSE HEIRESS (both 1937)). He fell away into uncredited roles until decorated war service ended things. Persuaded to return to films by director William Wellman, he provided serviceable roles as weak fathers (REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)) and stalwart military men (20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH) (1957). His major claim to fame came late with his smooth portrayal of ladies’ man private eye Paul Drake in the TV series PERRY MASON (1957-1966).

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