Jack Nicholson and Val Kilmer were among celebrity mourners at New Mexico service. By Gil Kaufman Dennis Hopper Photo: Ron Galella/ Wireimage Friends, family and acting colleagues gathered at San Francisco de Asis Church in Taos, New Mexico, on Wednesday to pay their final respects to legendary movie rebel Dennis Hopper . The actor, who died at age 74 on Saturday after a long battle with prostate cancer, was remembered by co-stars and friends such as Jack Nicholson at the memorial, according to The Associated Press. “It was a very singular relationship I had with him, like nobody else. We were soul mates in a way,” said Nicholson, who co-starred with Hopper in the landmark 1969 counterculture biker movie “Easy Rider,” which helped make both men stars. “I’m really missing him.” Also on hand to pay respects to the Oscar-nominated Hopper was actor Val Kilmer, who lives in nearby Pecos, New Mexico. Though Hopper had a long, distinguished career in Hollywood with films ranging from “Giant” to “True Grit,” “Apocalypse Now” and “Speed,” his funeral was described as a simple, low-key affair, down to the modest wooden coffin the actor was buried in during a private ceremony. The church’s bells chimed as Hopper’s casket was wheeled into the chapel and again when it was taken out two hours later. Mourners described the ceremony as “lovely,” “tender” and “beautiful,” noting that it did not mention Hollywood or Hopper’s public persona. The actor’s 19-year-old son, Henry Lee Hopper, spoke during the ceremony, drawing tears while reading from the Walt Whitman collection of poems, “Leaves of Grass.” “You find something that you believe in and you really realize you’ve got to fight for it. Some people fight for a minute, but there are very, very few people in this world who fight from the day they’re born to the day they go out,” Henry told the AP after the funeral. “I would say Dennis was undoubtedly one of these people.” Share your favorite memories of Dennis Hopper’s work in the comments below. Related Videos Remembering Dennis Hopper Related Photos Dennis Hopper: A Life In Photos
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Dennis Hopper Honored In Private Funeral
