Person Details

Birthday: 1948-07-05 20:52:43

Death: 2005-10-23 20:52:43

Aliases: Bill Hootkins , William Michael Hootkins

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Dallas, Texas, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 62

TV Involvements: 16


Most Famous Work

Biography

William Michael Hootkins was born on July 5, 1948, in Dallas, Texas. He moved to London, England in the early '70s and lived there up until 2002. Hootkins was an actor at Theatre Intime while attending Princeton University where he learned how to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese. He also trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and attended St. Marks, where he was in the same theater group as Tommy Lee Jones. The imposingly bulky and heavyset Hootkins first began acting in films and TV shows alike in the mid '70s. His more noteworthy parts include the first of the Rebel fighter pilots to get killed while attacking the Death Star in "Star Wars", scientist Topol's bumbling oaf assistant in "Flash Gordon", Major Eaton, sent by the US government in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", one of Rod Steiger's demented sons in "American Gothic", a corrupt police lieutenant in "Batman", a disgusting sleazy voyeur in "Hardware", a coarse South African police chief in "Dust Devil", the mysterious and duplicitous Mr. X in "Hear My Song", a haughty corporate executive in "Death Machine", Santa Claus in "Like Father, Like Santa", and an opera-singing vampire in "The Breed". Moreover, Hootkins had small parts in two "Pink Panther" pictures: he's a taxi driver in both "The Trail of the Pink Panther" and "Curse of the Pink Panther". Among the TV shows he did guest spots on are "Yanks Go Home", "Agony", "Play for Today", "Tales of the Unexpected", "The Life and Times of David Lloyd George", "Brett Maverick", "Cagney and Lacey", "Taxi", "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense", "Poirot", "Chancer", "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", "The Tomorrow People", "The West Wing", and "Absolute Power". Hootkins received many accolades for his outstanding performance as Sir Alfred Hitchcock in Terry Johnson's hit play "Hitchcock Blonde". In addition to his substantial film and TV credits, Hootkins was also a popular and prolific voice artist who recorded dozens of plays for BBC Radio Drama; he supplied the voices for such iconic individuals as Orson Welles, J. Edgar Hoover, and Winston Churchill. William Hootkins died of pancreatic cancer on October 23, 2005. IMDb Mini Biography

Most Famous Work

Van der Valk
Average
6

Van der Valk

(1972) Frank Garvin
NOVA
Average
7

NOVA

(1974) Voice of Methuselah
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Average
8

Agatha Christie's Poirot

(1989) FBI Agent Burt
The West Wing
Average
8

The West Wing

(1999) U.S. Translator
Tales of the Unexpected
Average
7

Tales of the Unexpected

(1979) Harry Chester
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Average
7
Iron Man
Average
7

Iron Man

(1994) Crimson Dynamo (voice)
Star Wars
Average
8

Star Wars

(1977) Red Six (Porkins)

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2005 Frank Rich
Marshall Walker
2004 Detective Lauderdale
2003 N/A
2002 Uncle George
Senor Balustrade (voice)
2001 Commander (voice)
Fusco
Barney
2000 Narrator
Starbucks (voice)
1999 Sir Percival Lloyd
U.S. Translator
Sergei Diaghilev
1998 Santa Claus
Car Dealer
1997 Jake Krutz
The Man
1996 Kiril
1995 judge Marulic
Al
Narrator
1994 John Carpenter
Loch Ness Monster (voice)
Bark Troll / Falkor (voice)
Crimson Dynamo (voice)
Narrator
Narrator
1993 Senator Garrus
Julian Reilly
Commander Hunt (voice)
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
1992 Murphy
Capt. Cornelius Beyman
Diaghilev
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
Narrator
1991 Mr. X
Cardinal Verucci
Narrator
1990 Lincoln Wineberg Jr.
1989 Eckhardt
James Hoffman
FBI Agent Burt
1987 Willoughby Guzzler
Teddy
Harry Howler
August T. Mirch
Myron Spellman
1986 Earl Linton
Reporter
Chuck
1985 Chuck Malarek
Walter Adams
1st Radio Actor
Ben
1984 N/A
1983 Hamilton Betts
Taxi Driver
Monk
Frank Dorr
1982 Taxi Driver
Chester Harcourt
Caliban
N/A
Phil Cooper
1981 Eugene Field
Karl Goldman
Major Eaton
Mel
Winston Churchill
Don, Tour Guide
1980 Munson
1st. Punter
Col. Taylor
1979 U.S. Embassy Photographer
Beef
Party Guest
Peter Bligh
Harry Chester
1978 Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman
N/A
Liquor Authority Agent
Reverend Dewey
Lloyd Edens
1977 Postman
Fatty
Red Six (Porkins)
Sgt. Fitzpatrick
1976 Postman
N/A
Party Guest
1974 Voice of Methuselah
1973 Kono's Henchman
1972 Frank Garvin
Year Character Movie/Tv

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