- Born
- Died
- Birth nameElda Furry
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Her father was a butcher. In 1913 she met and married matinée idol DeWolf Hopper Sr. and in 1915 they moved to Hollywood, where both began active film careers. He became a star with Triangle Company, she began in vamp parts and turned to supporting roles. After her divorce she appeared in dozens of films, becoming known as "Queen of the Quickies". In 1936 she started a gossipy radio show and two years later commenced a 28-year stint as a newspaper gossip columnist, rival of Louella Parsons. In her last films she mostly played herself, a tribute to her influence in Hollywood. Her son became famous as investigator Paul Drake in the Perry Mason (1957) series.- IMDb mini biography by: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
- SpouseDeWolf Hopper Sr.(May 8, 1913 - January 29, 1924) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- Her gossip column had a rich assortment of attacks on several film stars of the day. In particular, Joan Bennett was Hopper's No. 1 subject of disdain. In response, Bennett mailed Hopper a skunk as a Valentine's Day gift in 1950 with a note that read, "You Stink!".
- She died on the same day as Buster Keaton, her co-star in The Stolen Jools (1931), Speak Easily (1932) and Sunset Boulevard (1950).
- Mother of actor William Hopper
- Hedda's husband, DeWolf Hopper Sr., was the one who made Ernest Lawrence Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat" famous, performing it over 10,000 times.
- Comedian Red Skelton once painted a rather cartoonish portrait in oil of Hedda and gave it to her. Her son William Hopper owned the work until his death. Today it is worth about $22,000.
- [on her acerbic writing style] Nobody's interested in sweetness and light.
- [on Hollywood] Our town worships success, the bitch goddess whose smile hides a taste for blood.
- [on Hollywood] Two of the cruelest, most primitive punishments our town deals out to those who fall from favor are the empty mailbox and the silent telephone.
- I can wear a hat or take it off, but either way it's a conversation piece.
- In Hollywood gratitude is Public Enemy Number One.
- Sunset Boulevard (1950) - $5,000
- Virtuous Wives (1918) - $5,000
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