Hopper chronicled America in the '60s through photographs, before he rose to stardom in "Easy RIder"

Actor Dennis Hopper exhibits his photo talent

June 9, 2000
Web posted at: 6:28 p.m. EDT (2228 GMT)

	INTERACTIVE GALLERY
Click through the exhibit

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Actor Dennis Hopper roared into the American pop culture scene in 1969, as one of the stars of "Easy Rider." But before breaking through, he chronicled turbulent and creative times in photographs.

An exhibit of his pictures taken during the '60s is on display at the Schindler House in Hollywood. The black-and-white prints include political figures like John F. Kennedy and civil rights leaders, as well as artists like Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Roy Liechtenstein.

American artist Roy Lichtenstein helped define the Pop Art movement, using elements of cartoons and commercial art

"I thought that these artists, even though most of them had not had shows yet, would be very famous," Hopper said. "So I thought, in a sense, I was being a historian."

The actor-photographer also captured people who would be his Hollywood contemporaries. There's a shot of comedian Bill Cosby peeking his head out of ivy, which was taken at the start of the TV series "I Spy." Another depicts choreographer Toni Basil, with a group of dancers that includes Teri Garr -- before she'd had an acting gig.

The view through his lens was shaped by growing up in Kansas, where Hopper was a farm boy who drove combines, caught catfish and dreamed of other places.

"Being born in Dodge City, I really wanted to know where the trains were going," he said. "The first real light I saw was in a movie theater. I just wanted to know where they were making those movies."

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The Schindler House
R.M. Schindler
Jasper Johns
Andy Warhol museum
Roy Lichtenstein Foundation
Dennis Hopper
Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site
John F. Kennedy

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