William Hootkins

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

113

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

  • Remington Steele

    Remington Steele

  • Taxi

    Taxi

  • Raiders of the Lost Ark

    Raiders of the Lost Ark

  • Bergerac

    Bergerac

  • Bergerac

    Bergerac

  • BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

  • Tales of the Unexpected

    Tales of the Unexpected

  • Tales of the Unexpected

    Tales of the Unexpected

  • Blackadder

    Blackadder

  • Cagney & Lacey

    Cagney & Lacey

  • Playhouse

    Playhouse

  • Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime

    Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime

  • Batman

    Batman

  • Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

    Aaahh!!! Real Monsters

  • Justice League

    Justice League

  • Van der Valk

    Van der Valk

  • A River Runs Through It

    A River Runs Through It

  • The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

    The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles

  • The Breed

    The Breed

  • Flash Gordon

    Flash Gordon

  • White Nights

    White Nights

  • Charlie Muffin

    Charlie Muffin

  • American Gothic

    American Gothic

  • Hanover Street

    Hanover Street

  • Bad Timing

    Bad Timing

  • Iron Man

    Iron Man

  • Death Machine

    Death Machine

  • Haunted Honeymoon

    Haunted Honeymoon

  • Zina

    Zina

  • Blessed

    Blessed

  • Hamilton Mattress

    Hamilton Mattress

  • Town & Country

    Town & Country

  • The New Statesman

    The New Statesman

  • American Playhouse

    American Playhouse

  • Biggles

    Biggles

  • Hardware

    Hardware

  • Dear Wendy

    Dear Wendy

  • The Ambassadors

    The Ambassadors

  • Black Carrion

    Black Carrion

  • Dust Devil

    Dust Devil

  • Valentino

    Valentino

  • Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

    Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

  • The NeverEnding Story III

    The NeverEnding Story III

  • Dreamchild

    Dreamchild

  • Sphinx

    Sphinx

  • Big Zapper

    Big Zapper

  • Hussy

    Hussy

  • Curse of the Pink Panther

    Curse of the Pink Panther

  • The Island of Dr. Moreau

    The Island of Dr. Moreau

  • Philip Marlowe, Private Eye

    Philip Marlowe, Private Eye

  • Lillie

    Lillie

  • Monkeys

    Monkeys

  • Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense

    Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense

  • The Billion Dollar Bubble

    The Billion Dollar Bubble

  • Predators of the Wild: Shark

    Predators of the Wild: Shark

  • The Cement Garden

    The Cement Garden

  • Trail of the Pink Panther

    Trail of the Pink Panther

  • The Lady Vanishes

    The Lady Vanishes

  • Funny Bones

    Funny Bones

  • Virgin Mary

    Virgin Mary

  • The Return of Sherlock Holmes

    The Return of Sherlock Holmes

  • Like Father, Like Santa

    Like Father, Like Santa

  • Come Back, Little Sheba

    Come Back, Little Sheba

  • Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest

    Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest

  • The Milky Life

    The Milky Life

  • The Life and Times of David Lloyd George

    The Life and Times of David Lloyd George

  • Survivor Science: The Dead Man Walking

    Survivor Science: The Dead Man Walking

  • The Lost Boys

    The Lost Boys

  • U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart

    U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart

  • Laurence Olivier Presents

    Laurence Olivier Presents

  • The Pope Must Die

    The Pope Must Die

  • Gummed Labels

    Gummed Labels

  • Twilight's Last Gleaming

    Twilight's Last Gleaming

  • Animated Epics: Moby Dick

    Animated Epics: Moby Dick

  • The Omega Code

    The Omega Code

  • Hear My Song

    Hear My Song

  • Age of Treason

    Age of Treason

  • Rabbit Pie Day

    Rabbit Pie Day

  • The Paradise Run

    The Paradise Run

  • Something to Believe In

    Something to Believe In

  • This World, Then the Fireworks

    This World, Then the Fireworks

  • The Tempest

    The Tempest

  • Predators of the Wild: Hunters and Hunted

    Predators of the Wild: Hunters and Hunted

  • Colour Me Kubrick

    Colour Me Kubrick

  • The Lost Boys

    The Lost Boys

  • Predators of the Wild: Killer Whale

    Predators of the Wild: Killer Whale

  • Extreme Machines

    Extreme Machines

  • Water

    Water

  • Predators of the Wild: Tiger

    Predators of the Wild: Tiger

  • Yanks Go Home

    Yanks Go Home

  • Predators of the Wild: Crocodiles and Alligators

    Predators of the Wild: Crocodiles and Alligators

  • Predators of the Wild: Snake

    Predators of the Wild: Snake

  • Clouds of Glory

    Clouds of Glory

  • Predators of the Wild: Grizzly Bear

    Predators of the Wild: Grizzly Bear

  • Predators of the Wild: Hawk

    Predators of the Wild: Hawk

  • The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades

  • Predators of the Wild: Bats

    Predators of the Wild: Bats

  • Predators of the Wild: Giant Tarantula

    Predators of the Wild: Giant Tarantula

  • A State of Emergency

    A State of Emergency

  • The Magnificent Ambersons

    The Magnificent Ambersons

  • Before Water Lilies

    Before Water Lilies

  • Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive

    Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive

  • Predators of the Wild: Lion

    Predators of the Wild: Lion

  • American Gangster

    American Gangster

  • Predators of the Wild: Polar Bear

    Predators of the Wild: Polar Bear

  • Mars: Pioneering the Planet

    Mars: Pioneering the Planet

  • Predators of the Wild: Cheetah and Leopard

    Predators of the Wild: Cheetah and Leopard

  • Predators of the Wild: African Survival

    Predators of the Wild: African Survival

  • Predators of the Wild: Wolf

    Predators of the Wild: Wolf