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William DeWolf Hopper (March 30, 1858September 23, 1935) was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. A star of
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
and
musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...
, he became best known for performing the popular
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
poem "
Casey at the Bat Casey may refer to: Places Antarctica * Casey Station * Casey Range Australia * Casey, Australian Capital Territory * City of Casey, Melbourne * Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives Canada * Casey, Ontari ...
".


Life and career

Hopper was born William D'Wolf Hopper in New York City, the son of John Hopper (born 1815) and Rosalie D'Wolf (born 1827). His father was a wealthy
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
lawyer and his mother came from a noted Colonial family. His paternal grandfather
Isaac Hopper Isaac Tatem Hopper (December 3, 1771 – May 7, 1852) was an American abolitionist who was active in Philadelphia and New York City in the anti-slavery movement and protecting fugitive slaves and free blacks from slave kidnappers. He was also c ...
was a Philadelphia Quaker, and conductor of the Philadelphia station of the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...
. Though his parents intended that he become a lawyer, Hopper did not enjoy that profession. Hopper was called Willie as a child, and then Will or Wolfie, but when he set out on an acting career he chose his more distinguished middle name as his stage name. It was modified to "DeWolf" because of the frequency that it was mispronounced "Dwolf". He made his stage debut in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, October 2, 1878. Originally, he wanted to be a serious actor, but at and 230 pounds, he was too large for most dramatic roles. He had a loud
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
singing voice, however, and made his mark in musicals, beginning in Harrigan and Hart's company. He achieved the status of
leading man A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person w ...
in ''The Black Hussar'' (1885) and appeared in the hit '' Erminie'' in 1887. Eventually, he starred in more than thirty
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
musicals, including ''Castles in the Air'' (1890), ''Wang'' (1891), ''Panjandrum'' (1893),
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( , ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era known primarily for American military March (music), marches. He is known as "The March King" or th ...
's ''
El Capitan El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...
'' (1896), and
Reginald De Koven Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas. Biography De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he receive ...
's '' Happyland''. The role that he remembered with greatest pleasure was Old Bill in ''
The Better 'Ole ''The Better 'Ole'', also called ''The Romance of Old Bill'', is an Edwardian musical comedy with a book by Bruce Bairnsfather and Arthur Elliot, music by Herman Darewski, and lyrics by Percival Knight and James Heard, based on the cartoon char ...
'' (1919). Known for his comic talents, Hopper popularized many comic songs and appeared in a number of
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
comic "patter" roles from 1911 to 1915, including ''
The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'', ''
Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...
'', and ''
H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, w ...
''. A lifelong baseball enthusiast and
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
fan, he first performed
Ernest Thayer Ernest Lawrence Thayer (; August 14, 1863 – August 21, 1940) was an American writer and poet who wrote the poem "Casey" (or "Casey at the Bat"), which is "the single most famous baseball poem ever written" according to the Baseball Almanac, and ...
's then-unknown poem "
Casey at the Bat Casey may refer to: Places Antarctica * Casey Station * Casey Range Australia * Casey, Australian Capital Territory * City of Casey, Melbourne * Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives Canada * Casey, Ontari ...
" to the Giants and
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
the day his friend,
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
pitcher
Tim Keefe Timothy John Keefe (January 1, 1857 – April 23, 1933), nicknamed "Smiling Tim" and "Sir Timothy", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He stood tall and weighed . He was one of the most dominating pitchers of the 19th century and po ...
had his record 19-game winning streak stopped, August 14, 1888. Hopper helped make the comic poem famous and was often called upon to give his colorful, melodramatic recitation, which he did about 10,000 times in his booming voice, reciting it during performances and as part of curtain calls, and on
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
. He released a recorded version on phonograph record in 1906, and recited the poem in a
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
made in the
Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. In 1919 and 1920, de Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofi ...
sound-on-film process in 1923. It was in ''The Black Hussar'' that Hopper first incorporated a baseball theme that drew notice in the sporting press. To accompany a song with a baseball stanza, "Mr. Hopper enacts the pitcher, Mr. igbyBell, with a bird cage on his head and boxing gloves on his hands, plays catcher, while Mme. athildeCottrelly handles a diminutive bat as striker and endeavors to make a 'home run.'" In 1889, Hopper became founding president of the Actors' Amateur Athletic Association of America. Back in 1886, besides organizing a regular ball team among actors, he played in a benefit game for a demented playwright. The following year, he helped organize an actor's benefit for a sick young actress. In the first inning, someone presented him with an eight-inch sunflower. Also in 1889, Bell, Hopper and fellow McCaull Comic Opera Company actor Jefferson De Angelis were doing the following skit for their third encore in ''Boccaccio.'' Bell returns "with a bat in his hand, followed by DeWolf Hopper and De Angelis. The latter has a ball, and as Hopper takes the bat in hand and Bell acts as catcher the former goes through the customary contortion act in pitching, and as Hopper hits the ball he runs off the stage, as if running the bases, and presently returns chased by De Angelis, who passes the ball to Bell as catcher just as Hopper makes a big slide for home base. The slider tumbles Bell, and when he rises from the somersault all three yell out to the audience for judgment ruling and go off kicking like Anson and ew York captain BuckEwing. It is a rich gag and takes immediately", the ''Brooklyn Eagle'' said. That year, Bell called Hopper "the biggest baseball crank that ever lived. Physically, of course, he is a corker, but when I say big I mean big morally and intellectually. Why, he goes up to the baseball ologrounds at One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street after the matinees on Saturday, and he travels this six miles simply to see, perhaps, the two final innings, and any one can imagine the rapidity with which he must scrape off the makeup and get into his street clothes in order to secure even this much. But he says the Garrison finishes are worth it, and he is perfectly right. Hopper always was a baseball crank, long before the public knew anything about it." Bald from childhood (he had
alopecia Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarring ...
), Hopper wore wigs both on and offstage. In later years, a reaction to harsh medicines that he took for throat problems gave his skin a bluish tinge. Regardless, his powerful voice and great sense of humor seemed an attraction to women all his life. With an insatiable appetite for young actresses, he left a long trail of six wives and countless mistresses in his wake, he became known by the
nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
"The Husband of His Country." Hopper also appeared in several silent
motion pictures A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
, two examples being ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
'' (1915) and ''Casey at the Bat'' (1916). Hopper also appeared in a few short
sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...
s, including one in 1923 when he actually recites ''Casey at the Bat'' in an experimental sound film produced by
Lee De Forest #REDIRECT Lee de Forest {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from other capitalisation ...
's
Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. In 1919 and 1920, de Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofi ...
process.Hopper was a part of the
Triangle Film Corporation Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in Jul ...
, which he described as “the first great flourish” of a “prattling, infant industry”.New York Times, September 24, 1935 He made a Broadway appearance in ''White Lilacs'' (1928). He then did ''Radio City Music Hall Inaugural'' (1932), and played Dr. Gustave Ziska in ''The Monster'' (1933). At the time of his death, he was in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, making a radio appearance. His funeral was at the Little Church Around the Corner, in New York City His autobiography, ''Once a Clown, Always a Clown'', written with the assistance of Wesley W. Stout, was published in 1927.


Marriages

All of Hopper's marriages ended in divorce. * At age 21, Hopper was married to his first wife, actress Helen Gardiner, his second cousin. * His second wife was Ida Mosher. They had one son in 1886, John Allan Hopper, and divorced in 1893. * 1893–1898: His third wife was Edna Wallace. * 1899–1913: His fourth wife was choir singer Nella Bergen ( Reardon), whom he married in London. She was divorced from actor James Bergen. * 1913–1922: His fifth wife was actress and gossip columnist
Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...
; they had one son, actor
William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in more than 80 feature f ...
. * 1925–1935: His sixth wife was vocal instructor Lillian E. "Lulu" Glaser ( Faulkes), a widow.


Theatre credits


DeWolf Hopper Opera Company productions

;''The Charlatan'' riginal, Musical, Comedy, Opera:December 5, 1889 – June 17, 1899 ;''Mr. Pickwick'' riginal, Musical:January 19, 1903 – May 1903


Stage roles

;''Lorraine'' riginal, Musical, Comedy, Opera:February 28, 1887 – March 12, 1887, Gaspard de Chateauvieux ;''The Begum'' riginal, Musical, Comedy, Opera:September 21, 1887 – December 10, 1887, Howja-Dhu ;''Casey at the Bat'' riginal, Special, Poem, Solo:August 14, 1888 – August 14, 1888, Himself ;''The Charlatan'' riginal, Musical, Comedy, Opera:December 5, 1889 – June 17, 1899, Demidoff ;''Wang'' riginal, Musical, Comedy, Operetta:May 4, 1891 – October 3, 1891, Wang ;''Fiddle-dee-dee'' riginal, Musical, Burlesque, Extravaganza:September 6, 1900 – April 20, 1901 ::''Fiddle-dee-dee'', Hoffman Barr ::''Quo Vass Iss?'', Petrolius ::''Arizona'', Henry Cannedbeef ::''Exhibit II'', The Gay Lord Quex ;''Hoity Toity'' riginal, Musical, Burlesque:September 5, 1901 – April 19, 1902 ::''Hoity Toity'', General Steele ::''Depleurisy'', Countess Zicka ::''A Man From Mars'', An A.D.T. Man from Mars ::''The Curl and the Judge'', Judge Charges ::''DuHurry'' ;''Mr. Pickwick'' riginal, Musical:January 19, 1903 – May 1903, Pickwick ;''Wang'' evival, Musical, Comedy, Operetta:April 18, 1904 – June 4, 1904, Wang ;''Happyland'' riginal, Musical, Comedy, Opera:October 2, 1905 – June 2, 1906, Ecstaticus ;''The Pied Piper'' riginal, Musical, Comedy:December 3, 1908 – January 16, 1909, The Pied Piper ;''A Matinee Idol '' riginal, Musical, Comedy:April 28, 1910 – May 1911, Medford Griffin ;''H.M.S. Pinafore'' evival, Musical, Operetta:May 29, 1911 – July 8, 1911, Performer ;''Patience '' evival, Musical, Operetta:May 6, 1912 – June 1, 1912, Reginald Bunthorne ;''The Pirates of Penzance'' evival, Musical, Operetta:June 3, 1912 – June 26, 1912, Edward ;''H.M.S. Pinafore'' evival, Musical, Operetta:June 27, 1912 – June 28, 1912, Dick Deadeye ;''The Mikado'' evival, Musical, Operetta:June 29, 1912 – June 29, 1912, Ko-Ko ;''The Beggar Student '' evival, Musical, Comedy, Opera:March 22, 1913, General Ollendorf ;''The Mikado'' evival, Musical, Operetta:April 21, 1913 – May 3, 1913, Ko-Ko ;''H.M.S. Pinafore'' evival, Musical, Operetta:May 5, 1913 – May 10, 1913, Dick Deadeye ;''Iolanthe'' evival, Musical, Comedy, Operetta:May 12, 1913 – June 14, 1913, The Lord Chancellor ;''Lieber Augustin'' riginal, Musical, Operetta:September 3, 1913 – October 4, 1913, Bogumil ;''Hop o' My Thumb'' riginal, Play, Pantomime:November 26, 1913 – January 3, 1914, King Mnemonica ;''H.M.S. Pinafore'' evival, Musical, Operetta:April 19, 1915 – June 19, 1915, Dick Deadeye ;''Trial by Jury'' evival, Musical, Operetta:April 19, 1915 – June 19, 1915, The Learned Judge ;''The Yeomen of the Guard '' evival, Musical, Operetta:April 19, 1915 – May 8, 1915, Jack Point ;''The Mikado'' evival, Musical, Operetta:May 10, 1915 – June 19, 1915, Ko-Ko ;''The Sorcerer'' evival, Musical, Comedy, Operetta:May 24, 1915 – June 5, 1915, John Wellington Wells ;''The Pirates of Penzance'' evival, Musical, Operetta:June 7, 1915 – June 18, 1915, Major General Stanley ;''Iolanthe'' evival, Musical, Comedy, Operetta:June 10, 1915 – June 17, 1915, The Lord Chancellor ;''The Passing Show of 1917 '' riginal, Musical, Revue:April 26, 1917 – October 13, 1917, Performer ;''Everything'' riginal, Musical, Revue, Spectacle:August 22, 1918 – May 17, 1919, Performer ;''Erminie'' evival, Musical, Comedy, Opera:January 3, 1921 – February 26, 1921, Ravennes ;''Snapshots of 1921'' riginal, Musical, Revue:June 2, 1921 – August 6, 1921, Performer ;''Some Party '' riginal, Musical, Revue:April 15, 1922 – April 29, 1922, Producer and Performer ;''White Lilacs'' riginal, Musical, Operetta, Romance:September 10, 1928 – January 12, 1929, Dubusson ;''Radio City Music Hall Inaugural Program'' riginal, Special:December 27, 1932 – December 27, 1932, Himself ;''The Monster'' evival, Play, Drama:February 10, 1933 – Mar 1933, Dr. Gustave Ziska


Filmography

*


Notes


External links

* *
Info on Hopper from the comprehensive musicals 101 site



Links to a recording by Hopper of "Casey at the Bat"


* * ttps://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=de+wolf+hopper De Wolf Hopperportrait gallery at New York Public Library(Billy Rose Collection)
Collected Works of DeWolf Hopper at archive.org
*'' Once a Clown, Always a Clown: Reminiscences of DeWolf Hopper'' (1927) at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

The Bright Stars of Yesterday
biographical rundown of De Wolfe Hopper's life
Grave site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopper, Dewolf 1858 births 1935 deaths 19th-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from New York City American male film actors American radio personalities American male silent film actors American vaudeville performers American male stage actors Casey at the Bat Members of The Lambs Club The Lambs presidents American male comedians Comedians from New York City