Talk:William Hopper

Homosexual
As far as the rumors of DeWolfe(his birth name) being gay: I talked to a close relative and the person never heard one thing(from other family members)about him being gay. This person said other relatives, who were willing to speak their mind and in some cases were homophobic, would have DEFINITELY mentioned that DeWolfe was gay especially after he died. The relative said Hedda, as bad as she was, would not likely throw her son under the bus and reveal such a personal secret to a friend(i.e. the segment in the book about Lucille Ball claiming Hedda told her William was in love with a man.) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tvnutt (talk • contribs) 22:41, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

There is a rumor that he was a homosexual, can anyone speak to that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.203.58.1 (talk) 18:23, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Uh, no. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.184.72.247 (talk) 02:44, 7 July 2008 (UTC)
 * An individual who was a nurse in LA at the time Mr Hopper was acting has said at the IMDB message boards that it was only a rumour stemming from people's confusion between him and Raymond Burr. There was an article written by Robert Keser recently at brightlightsfilm.com that states Mr Hopper was gay, but he cites no source for this information, so...? I would recommend writing to him. To the above who says, 'Uh, no', I wish you'd signed your post and said a bit more, though I have a sneaking suspicion I know who you are. Here's to hoping you're as nice a fellow as your stepdad seems to have been. I don't think he was gay, or at least not exclusively homosexual but this is purely an opinion. Cheers, everyone. Xanthippe (talk) 09:12, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

"Hedda's son William Hopper, best known as Paul Drake on television's Perry Mason, was gay, though Hedda could not accept it." Ellis Amburn, ''The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: The Obsessions, Passions, and Courage of Elizabeth Taylor (Harper, 2011), sorry no page ref. Bmclaughlin9 (talk) 20:32, 14 July 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps Amburn was re-telling this, which is more substantive.

Lucille Ball describes her close friendship with Hedda Hopper to author Jim Brochu. She describes how Hedda visited her in tears because her son's marriage was ending. Brochu reports that Ball told him: "Hedda finally came out with it. Bill had two children, and his marriage was on the rocks because he had fallen in love with one of the biggest stars on television at the time. It was a man....I couldn't believe who it was when she told me, because you don't think about this guy as being anything but straight. I won't tell you who it is, because he's still one of the biggest stars on TV. Anyway, it broke Hedda's heart. The fellow loved Bill very much, and I understood their relationship lasted until Bill died. Jim Brochu, Lucy in the Afternoon: An Intimate Memoir of Lucille Ball (NY: Pocket Books, 1990) p. 124.

When did Hedda Hopper tell this to Ball? We're told William Hopper was appearing as Paul Drake on the Perry Mason show and in his mid-40s. The show ran from 57 to 66. Hopper turned 45 in 1960.

Ball's conversations with Brochu date to 1988-89. That's only of critical interest to someone who wants to know who the other man was, since he was still a big TV star in the late 80s.

William did divorce in 1959, but remarried. And his second wife outlived him. How to make sense of this? I really can't find any good sourec for teh second marriage. I just find sources that repeat the same facts almost verbatim. One wonders.

Bmclaughlin9 (talk) 17:21, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Hi, I'm Edward Williams, great-step-grandson of William Hopper; I can upload IDs and death/birth certificates for verification upon request. I don't have any way to confirm or deny the rumors since William Hopper, my grandmother (Jeanette Hopper) and my father (Gordon Williamsii) have passed away (and I wish I saw this section when at least my father was alive), but what I do know for certain is that if William Hopper was indeed homosexual, I would've known about it since my father and grandmother were very open and outspoken. I've been hearing a lot about my grandfather's health and stress problems that created rifts in their relationship, which the former even contributed for them to move to Yucca Valley, but not once was William Hopper mentioned to be homosexual or even bi-curious. Hope this helps. Edwardw818 (talk) 06:56, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

Trying to to definitively and retrospectively reconstruct the sexuality of a high-profile Hollywood actor in the 1950s is probably futile. The massive prejudice then, in America's Peyton Place mindset, against gay men, particularly those who had served in the military in WWII, meant that almost invariably a subterfuge was essential. (Raymond Burr constructed a completely mythological backstory involving a wife and a child to protect his career.) Also, possibly a man might have problems being frank with his own family, with its connotations of bringing shame. So constructing a plausible heterosexual identity was perfectly standard behaviour at the time. I'm sure those who had been in the military (national service for WW2 service) were particularly sensitive to the condemnation and social punishment meted out to to homosexual men in the 40s and 50s, and still is in some quarters to this day. This is complicated by the fact that many men are inherently bisexual and the homosexual predilections do not prevent them from being perfectly capable of having a family life. Fathering children whilst engaging in gay relationships is a necessary ploy in many cultures of a theocratic nature, which America's Billy Graham-style churchianity was in those days. The compromise holds true in every age. The fact is, we'll never know what William Hopper did on his time off. And why would it matter? The majority of those who live a double life die undisclosed in their public persona. Raymond Burr and William Hopper were fine actors. I think it is not a coincidence that the makers of the Perry Mason series played down the love interest aspects of these two main characters, and focused on their professional relationship, whilst leaving a little gap for ambivalence in the person of "Della Street", whose character was used as a kind of feminine foil to what could otherwise have been perceived as something of a bromance. Trevor H. (UK) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Trevor H. (talk • contribs) 00:29, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Isn't this a stub?
I don't know how to mark a page as a stub, so I thought I'd just ask... Doesn't this William Hopper article look like a stub? Shouldn't it be marked as such? IndieNate (talk) 20:16, 25 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I think it's long enough not to be a stub. I don't think there's an exact definition. Rothorpe (talk) 20:16, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

Broken template
I fixed a problem where additional text appeared after the template name causing the page to render incorrectly. 118.208.184.222 (talk) 11:15, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Dennis Hopper
Years ago, someone told me that Dennis Hopper was the younger brother of William Hopper. I've been repeating that to others over many years. After seeing Dennis Hopper's obits in the last couple of days, I realize that it isn't true. Does anyone know if that myth was widespread? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Midstream (talk • contribs) 18:35, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Stage Credit
The first stage credit seems to have the wrong date -- 1907. Hopper was born in 1915. Shawn of Oz —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.3.160.27 (talk) 01:07, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

LGBT tag
I've added the LGBT project tag. That does not mean anyone has identified William Hopper as gay. It means this article is of interest to that project. Bmclaughlin9 (talk) 17:24, 15 July 2011 (UTC)
 * I removed the banner - two rumors on the talk page and no indication in the article isn't quite enough to be considered "of interest", in my opinion. If there's something more substantial, and/or if the article itself said something, I'd agree to it. -- SatyrTN (talk / contribs) 21:24, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Children....
Is the 1942 birth date for Joan Hopper correct? I remember being at Isabelle P. Buckley School with her and being friends, and I was born 1946. I don't think we would've been friends if there'd been 4 years' age difference. --Snow (talk) 02:44, 16 January 2013 (UTC).

Pinky Ring - The gay rumor could be attributed to the pinky ring both he and Raymond Burr wore, which is visa le in some episodes of Perry Mason. And does it matter? We don’t conjecture about heterosexual individuals. 2600:1700:42D6:2200:4C1B:B926:3E4A:210D (talk) 03:51, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Fixing Marriage Dates
The current page says that Hopper divorced his first wife in 1959 and married his second wife that same year. But that's incorrect according to an article in the September 1, 1962 issue of TV Guide. It says that Bill and Jane "had separated after 22 years of marriage," so it would appear the divorce and second marriage happened sometime in the mid-'60s. What's the best way to fix the entry when I can't pinpoint a specific date? Bonna92386 (talk) 19:20, 23 August 2023 (UTC)