Hopping Mad Hopper

Donna Rosenthal’s Nov. 5 article on Dennis Hopper brought to mind an incident I saw at the Santa Monica Pier about 1960. Hopper was acting in a scene in the movie “Nighttide” in which a sailor meets a girl.

As the cameras rolled, three young rowdy onlookers yelled, just to disrupt the scene. They thought it a big joke until an angry Hopper in a sailor costume came tearing out of the pier’s merry-go-round. They suddenly became three scared little boys and disappeared fast.

Through the years, I have admired Hopper for the courage he showed that day. His movie work is not bad either.

HENRY L. DUVAL

Santa Monica