Hollywood actor Bo Hopkins, best known for his roles in films such as “American Graffiti” and “Wild Bunch,” has died at the age of 80.
The star’s death Saturday at a California hospital came a few weeks after the actor suffered a heart attack.
Hopkins was confirmed by his wife Sian Hopkins, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The point of sale reported that Hopkins died in Van Nuys, California, at Valley Presbyterian Hospital.
One of the actor’s first film roles was playing Clarence “Crazy” Lee in Sam Peckinpah’s 1969 film “The Wild Bunch.”
A few years later, in 1973, he appeared in George Lucas’ film “American Graffiti.”
In this film, he played the supporting character of Joe “Little Joe” Young, a band leader.
“Graffiti made people crawl up and down the streets,” the actor said of the classic car movie, speaking to Shock Cinema magazine.
“It made people go back to cars doing that kind of thing again.”
Hopkins died in Van Nuys, California. Courtesy of the Everett Bo Hopkins Collection in “The Killer Elite” 1975. Courtesy of the Everett Collection
Decades later, the actor still appeared in classic car shows as a result of his role in American Graffiti and the film’s popularity among car lovers.
“If I told you how many times people have approached me … at these shows and told us that we’ve changed their lives, you wouldn’t believe it,” he said in a Shock Cinema interview.
This story originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.