William Hootkins

Overview

Known for
Acting
Gender
Other
Birthday
Jul 05, 1948 (76 years old)
Death date
Oct 23, 2005

William Hootkins

Known For

American Gangster
TV Show 2000

American Gangster

The "war to end all wars" was over, but a new one was just beginning - on the streets of America. In one big city alone - Chicago - an estimated 1,300 gangs had spread like a deadly virus by the mid-1920s. By 1926, more than 12,000 murders were taking place every year across America. With the bootlegging and speakeasies the "Roaring Twenties" also saw bank robbery, kidnapping, auto theft, gambling, and drug trafficking become increasingly common crimes. Some gangsters, perhaps most notably Al Capone, have become infamous. 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Al Capone. Capone went on to leave a lasting impression on western culture - the American Gangster.

Like Father, Like Santa
1h 45m
Movie 1998

Like Father, Like Santa

An unscrupulous businessman, embittered by years of neglect from his true father, who happens to be Santa Claus, finds that after years of taking over numerous toy factories, he must save the holidays for the children of the world.

Something to Believe In
1h 53m
Movie 1998

Something to Believe In

Reports of a weeping Madonna in Italy reach Las Vegas, where blackjack dealer Maggie has just learnt she has only weeks to live. With a massive leap of faith she convinces herself that seeing the Madonna with her own eyes could lead to her salvation, and travels to Europe to find it. Hitching through Italy, she meets pianist Mike, who is also en route to what he believes could be a life-changing event - a performance at the Barbarina concert in Naples.

This World, Then the Fireworks
1h 40m
Movie 1997

This World, Then the Fireworks

In 1950s, two incestuous lovers, a depraved suave journalist and his equally depraved prostitute sister, plan to get rich through seduction and murder.

Extreme Machines
1h 0m
TV Show 1997

Extreme Machines

This series features some of the world's biggest and meanest machines and examines their complex mechanics.

Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest
1h 55m
Movie 1997

Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest

A young man's odyssey from a small town in Colorado to Budapest, in search of his estranged girlfriend.

The Island of Dr. Moreau
1h 36m
Movie 1996

The Island of Dr. Moreau

A shipwrecked sailor stumbles upon a mysterious island and is shocked to discover that a brilliant scientist and his lab assistant have found a way to combine human and animal DNA—with horrific results.

Funny Bones
2h 8m
Movie 1995

Funny Bones

Tommy Fawkes wants to be a successful comedian. After his Las Vegas debut is a failure, he returns to Blackpool where his father—also a comedian—started, and where he spent the summers of his childhood.

Death Machine
1h 57m
Movie 1995

Death Machine

Chaank Armaments is experimenting with the ultimate fighting machine which is part human - part machine. So far, the Hardman project has been unreliable and has killed a number of innocent people. The genius behind this project is Jack who lives in a world of models, toys and magazines. When he is fired by Cale for killing a few corporate officers, he unleashes the ultimate killing machine called the 'Warbeast' against Cale and those who would help her.

Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive
0h 51m
Movie 1995

Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive

Shows the killer instinct in action in an African honey badger, a savage, relentless predator which will attack any animal, seemingly for pure sport.

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

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