William Hootkins

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

112

Gender

Male

Birthday

1948-07-05

Day of death

2005-10-23 (57 years old)

Place of Birth

Dallas, Texas, USA

William Hootkins

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

Known For

  • Agatha Christie's Poirot

    Agatha Christie's Poirot

  • The West Wing

    The West Wing

  • NOVA

    NOVA

  • Star Wars

    Star Wars

  • Taxi

    Taxi

  • Playhouse

    Playhouse

  • Bergerac

    Bergerac

  • Bergerac

    Bergerac

  • Blackadder

    Blackadder

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • Raiders of the Lost Ark

    Raiders of the Lost Ark

  • Tales of the Unexpected

    Tales of the Unexpected

  • Tales of the Unexpected

    Tales of the Unexpected

  • Remington Steele

    Remington Steele

  • Cagney & Lacey

    Cagney & Lacey

  • Justice League

    Justice League

  • Batman

    Batman

  • Blessed

    Blessed

  • The Breed

    The Breed

  • Van der Valk

    Van der Valk

  • The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

    The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

  • Charlie Muffin

    Charlie Muffin

  • Hussy

    Hussy

  • Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

    Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

  • Big Zapper

    Big Zapper

  • Zina

    Zina

  • Biggles

    Biggles

  • The New Statesman

    The New Statesman

  • Town & Country

    Town & Country

  • Gummed Labels

    Gummed Labels

  • The Lady Vanishes

    The Lady Vanishes

  • Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense

    Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense

  • Hardware

    Hardware

  • Valentino

    Valentino

  • Colour Me Kubrick

    Colour Me Kubrick

  • Sphinx

    Sphinx

  • Curse of the Pink Panther

    Curse of the Pink Panther

  • Twilight's Last Gleaming

    Twilight's Last Gleaming

  • Hear My Song

    Hear My Song

  • Iron Man

    Iron Man

  • Funny Bones

    Funny Bones

  • Age of Treason

    Age of Treason

  • American Playhouse

    American Playhouse

  • Monkeys

    Monkeys

  • Flash Gordon

    Flash Gordon

  • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

    Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

  • Dreamchild

    Dreamchild

  • A River Runs Through It

    A River Runs Through It

  • Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime

    Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime

  • The Cement Garden

    The Cement Garden

  • Trail of the Pink Panther

    Trail of the Pink Panther

  • The NeverEnding Story III

    The NeverEnding Story III

  • Laurence Olivier Presents

    Laurence Olivier Presents

  • White Nights

    White Nights

  • Dust Devil

    Dust Devil

  • Philip Marlowe, Private Eye

    Philip Marlowe, Private Eye

  • The Island of Dr. Moreau

    The Island of Dr. Moreau

  • Bad Timing

    Bad Timing

  • Death Machine

    Death Machine

  • The Lost Boys

    The Lost Boys

  • Hanover Street

    Hanover Street

  • The Tempest

    The Tempest

  • Dear Wendy

    Dear Wendy

  • American Gothic

    American Gothic

  • Water

    Water

  • The Omega Code

    The Omega Code

  • This World, Then the Fireworks

    This World, Then the Fireworks

  • Yanks Go Home

    Yanks Go Home

  • Clouds of Glory

    Clouds of Glory

  • Extreme Machines

    Extreme Machines

  • Haunted Honeymoon

    Haunted Honeymoon

  • The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades

  • The Return of Sherlock Holmes

    The Return of Sherlock Holmes

  • The Lost Boys

    The Lost Boys

  • The Pope Must Die

    The Pope Must Die

  • Virgin Mary

    Virgin Mary

  • Something to Believe In

    Something to Believe In

  • Come Back, Little Sheba

    Come Back, Little Sheba

  • The Magnificent Ambersons

    The Magnificent Ambersons

  • Predators of the Wild: Snake

    Predators of the Wild: Snake

  • Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest

    Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest

  • The Life and Times of David Lloyd George

    The Life and Times of David Lloyd George

  • U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart

    U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart

  • Like Father, Like Santa

    Like Father, Like Santa

  • The Paradise Run

    The Paradise Run

  • The Billion Dollar Bubble

    The Billion Dollar Bubble

  • The Milky Life

    The Milky Life

  • Survivor Science: The Dead Man Walking

    Survivor Science: The Dead Man Walking

  • Hamilton Mattress

    Hamilton Mattress

  • Animated Epics: Moby Dick

    Animated Epics: Moby Dick

  • A State of Emergency

    A State of Emergency

  • Predators of the Wild: Wolf

    Predators of the Wild: Wolf

  • Black Carrion

    Black Carrion

  • American Gangster

    American Gangster

  • Predators of the Wild: Tiger

    Predators of the Wild: Tiger

  • The Ambassadors

    The Ambassadors

  • Rabbit Pie Day

    Rabbit Pie Day

  • Predators of the Wild: Shark

    Predators of the Wild: Shark

  • Mars: Pioneering the Planet

    Mars: Pioneering the Planet

  • Predators of the Wild: Grizzly Bear

    Predators of the Wild: Grizzly Bear

  • Predators of the Wild: Cheetah and Leopard

    Predators of the Wild: Cheetah and Leopard

  • Predators of the Wild: Bats

    Predators of the Wild: Bats

  • Predators of the Wild: Killer Whale

    Predators of the Wild: Killer Whale

  • Predators of the Wild: Lion

    Predators of the Wild: Lion

  • Predators of the Wild: Giant Tarantula

    Predators of the Wild: Giant Tarantula

  • Before Water Lilies

    Before Water Lilies

  • Predators of the Wild: Hawk

    Predators of the Wild: Hawk

  • Predators of the Wild: Hunters and Hunted

    Predators of the Wild: Hunters and Hunted

  • Predators of the Wild: Crocodiles and Alligators

    Predators of the Wild: Crocodiles and Alligators

  • Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive

    Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive

  • Predators of the Wild: Polar Bear

    Predators of the Wild: Polar Bear

  • Predators of the Wild: African Survival

    Predators of the Wild: African Survival