Bo Hopkins Dies: Actor In 'The Wild Bunch' And 'American Graffiti' Was 80

Bo Hopkins, who appeared in such memorable films as The Wild Bunch (1969), The Getaway (1972), American Graffiti (1973), The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), Posse (1975), and Midnight Express (1978), has died at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys. He was 80 and had a heart attack.

Born William Hopkins in 1942 in Greenville, South Carolina, Hopkins appeared in more than 100 film and television roles in a career that spanned more than five decades.

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He picked up the nickname “Bo” thanks to a character of the same name he played in Bus Stop, his first off-Broadway play.

Hopkins television appearances included The Phyllis Diller Show, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West and The Andy Griffith Show. His first shot at a regularly scheduled TV series came in 1973 in medical drama Doc Elliott, which lasted one season.

He also appeared in a number of made-for-television movies of the mid-1970s, including Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley (1975), The Runaway Barge (1975), The Invasion of Johnson County (1976), Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976), Woman on the Run (1977), Thaddeus Rose and Eddie (1978), Crisis in Sun Valley (1978), and The Busters (1978).

He also scored a recurring role on The Rockford Files, and appeared in the first season of the original Dynasty from Aaron Spelling.

From there, his resume also lists TV miniseries Aspen and Beggerman Thief, and Charlie’s Angels, Fantasy Island, The A-Team, Hotel, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, The Fall Guy, Matlock and Murder, She Wrote.

His most recent role was Papaw Vance opposite Glenn Close in direct-to-streaming theatrical Hillbilly Elegy in 2020.

Hopkins is survived by his wife Sian and son Matthew.