Ailing Dennis Hopper Claims Wife's Killing Him, Gets Restraining Order

Sick actor's divorce battle gets ugly after he accuses his wife of making his last days a "living hell"

By Josh Grossberg Feb 11, 2010 10:15 PMTags
Dennis Hopper, Victoria DuffyEric Charbonneau/VF/Getty Images

By all accounts, Dennis Hopper is a seriously sick man. By his account, his estranged wife isn't helping his health.

A Los Angeles judge has sided with the Easy Rider star and barred Victoria Hopper from coming near him after he accused her of being "inhuman," "extremely volatile" and "insane and out of her mind."

The 73-year-old actor has been confined to his Venice compound, struggling with prostate cancer. Per today's order, Victoria cannot come within 10 feet of her husband, his adult children or his assistant. Dennis, meanwhile, was granted permission to visit with his and Victoria's 6-year-old daughter, Galen, for two hours a day. And Victoria was allowed use of the couple's Jaguar.

Today's action was the latest in an ugly split.

Hopper filed a petition for divorce from Victoria Hopper (née Duffy) on Jan. 14, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking joint custody of Galen. Victoria is seeking sole custody of the child.

In new court papers, Hopper paints an unflattering portrait of his missus of 13 years, accusing her of mistreating him and keeping their daughter from visiting with him, including taking Galen to Boston over the holidays.

"This malevolent act...has caused me to miss what may very well be my last Christmas with my daughter Galen," Hopper says in his declaration.

Victoria fired back with allegations of her own, claiming he regularly smoked pot, kept loaded guns in the bedroom where Galen could get to them, watched explicit shows on TV while Galen was present and exhibited "unpredictable" behavior.

She's also asking the court to make sure she gets a substantial sum from Hopper—or his estate, in the event he dies before the case is adjudicated. According to the court docs, the couple's prenup would leave her with virtually none of Hopper's fortune.

Read the latest Hopper legal docs (part 1) (part 2) (part 3), and their prenup.

So far, the judge seems to be siding with Hopper, perhaps in no small part by an affidavit from one his physicians. Dr. David Agus stated that it is his "belief and recommendation that the less Mr. Hopper has to do with his estranged wife at this time, the more likely he is to have his life extended."

—Additional reporting by Claudia Rosenbaum

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No doubt medical marijuana has been a big help to Hopper. Read about his original diagnosis here.