William Hootkins


William Michael "Hoot" Hootkins was an American character actor and voice actor, best known for supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Batman.

Early life

Hootkins was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended St. Mark's School of Texas from grade 1 through 12. At age 15, Hootkins found himself caught up in the FBI's investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy when he was interviewed about Ruth Paine, his Russian teacher. Marina Oswald, the Russian wife of the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and their children had been living with Paine in Dallas. In school he also developed his taste for theatre, joining the same drama group as Tommy Lee Jones, who was a year ahead of him in high school. Hootkins would later say that, since Jones was better-looking and got all the best parts, "I supported from then on in."
Hootkins attended Princeton University, studying astrophysics before transferring to oriental studies, where he became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. This stood him in good stead when he played the part of an interpreter in an episode of The West Wing titled "Impact Winter". He was a mainstay of the Theatre Intime, making a particular impact with his performance in Orson Welles' Moby Dick—Rehearsed. On the recommendation of his friend John Lithgow, he moved to London in the early 1970s and trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He made his home in London until 2002, when he moved to Los Angeles.

Acting career

Stage

In England, Hootkins found work in the theatre as well as in film, and he would have his greatest success on stage portraying Alfred Hitchcock in Terry Johnson's 2003 hit play Hitchcock Blonde, first at the Royal Court Theatre and in London's West End. The role was such a success that producers planned to take the show to Broadway, but it was canceled after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Film and television

Hootkins appeared in many roles that made him a welcome figure at fan conventions, particularly for Star Wars in his role of Jek Tono Porkins. He also appeared in significant parts in films such as Hardware, Like Father, Like Santa, and Hear My Song, where he was the Mr. X who was presumed to be the Irish tenor Josef Locke under a false name. He portrayed Fatty Arbuckle in Ken Russell's infamous 1977 flop Valentino, and played Hans Zarkov's assistant in the 1980 Flash Gordon. He also made appearances in such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Tim Burton's Batman.
He also appeared in several roles on television, including Charles Frohman in The Lost Boys, Colonel Cobb in the remake of The Tomorrow People and as Uncle George in the 2002 remake of The Magnificent Ambersons.
At the time of his death, Hootkins was planning a screenplay on Fatty Arbuckle, focusing on the comic's life after his fall from grace in 1921; he had met Arbuckle's last wife, Addie McPhail.

Voice acting

He was also a voice artist, recording dozens of plays for BBC Radio Drama where his roles ranged from J. Edgar Hoover and Orson Welles to Winston Churchill. In audio books, he read works by Jack London, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Bloch and Carl Hiaasen and performed a complete reading of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick for Naxos Records Audiobooks in some 24 hours and 50 minutes. He also voiced Dingodile in ', Maximillian Roivas in the cult hit ', and Lucifer in the stop-motion film The Miracle Maker. He played Bobby Mallory in BBC Radio4's dramatisations of Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski novels, alongside Kathleen Turner.

Death

Hootkins died of pancreatic cancer in Santa Monica, California on October 23, 2005, at the age of 57. His mausoleum is at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1973Big ZapperKono's Henchman
1977Twilight's Last GleamingSgt. FitzpatrickCredited as Bill Hootkins
1977Star WarsJek Tono Porkins
1977ValentinoFatty
1978The Billion Dollar Bubble
1979The Lady VanishesParty guest
1979Hanover StreetBeef
1980Bad TimingCol. Taylor
1980Hussy1st punter
1980Flash GordonMunson
1981SphinxDon
1981Raiders of the Lost ArkMajor Eaton
1982Trail of the Pink PantherTaxi Driver
1983Curse of the Pink PantherTaxi Driver
1985ZinaWalter Adams
1985WaterBen
1985Dreamchild1st Radio actor
1985White NightsChuck Malarek
1986'Chuck
1986Haunted HoneymoonReporter
1987'Harry Howler
1988American GothicTeddy
1989CrusoeAuctioneer
1989BatmanLt Eckhardt
1990HardwareLincoln Wineberg Jr.
1991The Pope Must DieCardinal Verucci
1991Hear My SongMr X
1991The Princess and the GoblinPeterVoice
1992Dust DevilCaptain Cornelius Beyman
1992A River Runs Through ItMurphy
1992La vida lácteaJulian Reilly
1993The Cement GardenCommander HuntVoice
1994The NeverEnding Story IIIBark Troll / FalkorVoice
1994Death MachineJohn Carpenter
1995Funny BonesAl
1995GospaJudge Marulic
1996The Island of Dr. MoreauKiril
1997This World, Then the FireworksJake Krutz
1997Rhinoceros Hunting in BudapestThe Man
1998Something to Believe InCar Dealer
1999The Omega CodeSir Percival Lloyd
2000The Miracle MakerLuciferVoice
2001Town & CountryBarneyCredited as Bill Hootkins
2001The BreedFusco
2004BlessedDetective Lauderdale
2004SteamboyEnglish version, Voice
2004Dear WendyMarshall Walker
2005Colour Me KubrickFrank Rich

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986Rocket to the MoonPhil CooperBroadcast on American Playhouse and Channel 4
1977Yanks Go HomeColonel RichterEpisode: Some of Our Coal is Missing
1977Van der ValkFrank GarvinEpisode: Dead on Arrival, credited as Bill Hootkins
1977Come Back, Little ShebaPostmanTV movie, credited as Bill Hootkins
1978The Lost BoysCharles FrohmanTV mini-series, 3 episodes
1978Crown CourtBarry FergusonEpisode: Scalped
1980-1981Tales of the UnexpectedHarry Chester/Peter Bligh2 episodes
1981AgonyHerman TweederEpisode: Communications Breakdown
1981Play for TodayMelEpisode: Before Water Lilies
1981The Life and Times of David Lloyd GeorgeWinston Churchill6 episodes
1982Bret MaverickCongressman Theodore RooseveltEpisode: Horse of Yet Another Color
1983-1990BergeracKarl Goldman/Eugene Field2 episodes
1983Cagney & LaceyZachary KendallEpisode: Date Rape
1983Remington SteeleChester HarcourtEpisode: Vintage Steele
1983Philip Marlowe, Private EyeFrank DorrEpisode: Finger Man
1983TaxiLiquor Authority AgentEpisode: Jim's Mario's
1983Agatha Christie's Partners in CrimeHamilton BettsEpisode: The Affair of the Pink Pearl
1983Whiz KidsGregorEpisode: Red Star Rising
1983Who Dares WinsVarious roles
1986Blackadder IIMonkEpisode: Beer
1986Paradise PostponedBugloss3 episodes
1987The New StatesmanWiloughby GuzzlerEpisode: Baa Baa Black Sheep
1989ValerieBelize3 episodes
1990Capital CityJayEpisode: Shoes on the Wrong Feet
1990Agatha Christie's PoirotFBI Agent BurtEpisode: The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
1991ChancerMoodyEpisode: "Remembrance"
1992The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesDiaghilevEpisode: Barcelona, May 1917
1994The Tomorrow PeopleColonel Cobb5 episodes
1995Iron ManCrimson Dynamo Episode: "Not Far from the Tree"
1997-2002Extreme Machines HimselfNarrator
2002The Magnificent AmbersonsUncle GeorgeTV movie
2003Justice LeagueCommander Episode: "The Terror Beyond" Part 1
2004Land of Lost MonstersNarrator
2004The West WingUS TranslatorEpisode: Impact Winter
2005Absolute PowerUS AmbassadorEpisode: Spinning America

Video games