William Hootkins
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
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
113
Gender
Male
Birthday
1948-07-05 (77 years old)
Place of Birth
Dallas, Texas, USA
Acting

2005

Colour Me Kubrick as Frank Rich

2005

Dear Wendy as Marshall Walker

2004

Blessed as Detective Lauderdale

2003

Mars: Pioneering the Planet as Not available

2002

The Magnificent Ambersons as Uncle George

2002

Hamilton Mattress as Senor Balustrade (voice)

2001

Justice League as Commander (voice)

2001

Town & Country as Barney

2001

The Breed as Fusco

2000

American Gangster as Narrator

2000

Animated Epics: Moby Dick as Starbucks (voice)

1999

The West Wing as U.S. Translator

1999

The Omega Code as Sir Percival Lloyd

1998

Like Father, Like Santa as Santa Claus

1998

Something to Believe In as Car Dealer

1997

Extreme Machines as Narrator

1995

Death Machine as John Carpenter

1995

Funny Bones as Al

1995

Virgin Mary as judge Marulic

1994

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters as Loch Ness Monster (voice)

1994

Iron Man as Crimson Dynamo (voice)

1994

The NeverEnding Story III as Bark Troll / Falkor (voice)

1993

The Cement Garden as Commander Hunt (voice)

1993

Age of Treason as Senator Garrus

1993

The Milky Life as Julian Reilly

1992

Dust Devil as Capt. Cornelius Beyman

1992

Gummed Labels as Not available

1991

The Pope Must Die as Cardinal Verucci

1991

Hear My Song as Mr. X

1990

Hardware as Lincoln Wineberg Jr.

1989

Agatha Christie's Poirot as FBI Agent Burt

1989

Batman as Eckhardt

1989

Monkeys as James Hoffman

1987

The New Statesman as Willoughby Guzzler

1987

American Gothic as Teddy

1987

The Return of Sherlock Holmes as Myron Spellman

1987

U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart as August T. Mirch

1986

Biggles as Chuck

1986

Haunted Honeymoon as Reporter

1986

A State of Emergency as Earl Linton

1985

White Nights as Chuck Malarek

1985

Water as Ben

1985

Dreamchild as 1st Radio Actor

1985

Zina as Walter Adams

1984

Black Carrion as Lou Delmart

1983

Blackadder as Monk

1983

Philip Marlowe, Private Eye as Frank Dorr

1983

Curse of the Pink Panther as Taxi Driver

1982

Cagney & Lacey as Not available

1982

Remington Steele as Chester Harcourt

1982

American Playhouse as Phil Cooper

1982

Trail of the Pink Panther as Taxi Driver

1982

The Tempest as Caliban

1981

Bergerac as Eugene Field

1981

Bergerac as Karl Goldman

1981

Raiders of the Lost Ark as Major Eaton

1981

Sphinx as Don, Tour Guide

1980

Flash Gordon as Munson

1980

Hussy as 1st. Punter

1980

Bad Timing as Col. Taylor

1980

Rabbit Pie Day as Kolossov

1979

Tales of the Unexpected as Peter Bligh

1979

Tales of the Unexpected as Harry Chester

1979

The Lady Vanishes as Party Guest

1979

Hanover Street as Beef

1979

Charlie Muffin as U.S. Embassy Photographer

1978

Taxi as Liquor Authority Agent

1978

The Lost Boys as Charles Frohman

1978

Lillie as Not available

1978

Clouds of Glory as Reverend Dewey

1978

The Lost Boys as Charles Frohman

1978

The Billion Dollar Bubble as Lloyd Edens

1977

Star Wars as Red Six (Porkins)

1977

Valentino as Fatty

1977

Twilight's Last Gleaming as Sgt. Fitzpatrick

1977

Come Back, Little Sheba as Postman

1977

The Ambassadors as Little Bilham

1976

Yanks Go Home as Not available

1976

The Paradise Run as Party Guest

1974

NOVA as Voice of Methuselah

1974

Playhouse as Mr. Bowles

1973

Big Zapper as Kono's Henchman

1972

Van der Valk as Frank Garvin

1965

BBC Play of the Month as Little Bilham