Known For
Acting
Born
Jul 05, 1948
Died
Oct 23, 2005
Place of Birth
Dallas, Texas, USA
Credits
115 titles
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
Filmography
Ancestors Of Ancient Rome: The Etruscans
Self / Narrator
Colour Me Kubrick
Frank Rich
Dear Wendy
Marshall Walker
Blessed
Detective Lauderdale
Mars: Pioneering the Planet
The Magnificent Ambersons
Uncle George
Hamilton Mattress
Senor Balustrade (voice)
Justice League
Commander (voice)
The Breed
Fusco
Town & Country
Barney
American Gangster
Narrator
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades
Sergei Diaghilev
The Miracle Maker
Lucifer (voice)
Animated Epics: Moby Dick
Starbucks (voice)
The Omega Code
Sir Percival Lloyd
The West Wing
U.S. Translator
Survivor Science: The Dead Man Walking
Narrator (voice)
Like Father, Like Santa
Santa Claus
Something to Believe In
Car Dealer
This World, Then the Fireworks
Jake Krutz
Extreme Machines
Narrator
Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest
The Man
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Kiril
Virgin Mary
judge Marulic
Funny Bones
Al
Death Machine
John Carpenter
Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive
Narrator
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Loch Ness Monster (voice)
The NeverEnding Story III
Bark Troll / Falkor (voice)
Iron Man
Crimson Dynamo (voice)
Predators of the Wild: African Survival
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Crocodiles and Alligators
Narrator
Age of Treason
Senator Garrus
The Milky Life
Julian Reilly
The Cement Garden
Commander Hunt (voice)
Predators of the Wild: Hawk
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Wolf
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Tiger
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Polar Bear
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Snake
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Giant Tarantula
Narrator
A River Runs Through It
Murphy
Gummed Labels
Dust Devil
Capt. Cornelius Beyman
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Diaghilev
Predators of the Wild: Lion
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Hunters and Hunted
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Cheetah and Leopard
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Killer Whale
Narrator
Predators of the Wild: Grizzly Bear
Narrator