Career Hopper

He got his start in Hollywood over 50 years ago as a callow teenager opposite James Dean and Natalie Wood in the l956 movie, Rebel Without a Cause, and with Dean again a year later in Giant. He shared the screen with Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda in the classic Easy Rider back in l969, a movie he also wrote and directed. And now after more than 150 movies including Appocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, Speed, True Romance, and Hoosiers, the 69-year-old Dennis Hopper, the one time rebel of Hollywood, has embarked on another chapter of his impressive career: This time as a TV star.

Before the Dean movies in the ’50s, he had worked in television shows such as Sugarfoot and Cheyenne. Now in the new ripped-from-the-headlines political thriller E-Ring, Hopper stars opposite Benjamin Bratt as Marine Colonel McNulty, a former Vietnam veteran who heads the Pentagon’s special operations unit.

Even approaching his 70s, Hopper is busier than ever. The five times wed movie legend married actress Victoria Duffy in 1996, the mother of his two-year-old daughter, Galen. This year alone, besides the new TV series, he has shot some seven movies which will be coming out this year and next.

Are you the ultimate Hollywood survivor?
I still think of myself as a 13-year-old and fortunately I haven’t started to think about my age. I feel terrific, I’m having a great time, and I’m going to create until they cart me away.

So when will you slow down?
I’m having too much fun. I love playing the colonel. This series is great opposite a terrific bunch of actors. Me and my fellow thespians we’re going to rock and roll. Rocking in the free world.

Why did you wait so long to do television again?
I started out at Warner Brothers at the age of 18. At the time I didn’t think that anyone doing television would become a star. But I was totally wrong. Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Clint Eastwood all did it.

Who persuaded you to return?
I was at an Academy Awards party and met (director) Taylor Hackford, who did the pilot episode of E-Ring. He said, “Hey, Dennis you look great — what are you up to?” And then he said, “The good news is you’re perfect for a show I’m doing — the bad news is that we start shooting in two days.” I read the script the next morning and said, “Why not.”

Isn’t it ironic that Dennis Hopper, once the ultimate dyed-in-the-wool Hollywood rebel, is now playing a Pentagon officer?
It’s ironic to everybody but me. I’m a news buff. I watch CNN and the Fox Channel all day long and I’m involved in what goes on in Iraq or Africa. And the part is a great learning device. In the show we’re dealing with the headlines and we show life inside the Pentagon. Do you know that 28,000 people work there every day. It’s quite an eye opener.

What’s the biggest misconception that people have about you?
I’ve played so many bad guys that people expect to meet an extroverted bad guy. But I’m an introvert.

You have a two-year-old daughter — are you a better dad in your mid-60s?
I probably have more time to be observant of the child. It’s such a miracle — birth — and she’s the light of my life. It’s so wonderful to watch her every day. It’s a thrill.

Who are the people that most influenced you?
The first one was James Dean who died very young. And then there’s my 15-year-old son and two-year-old daughter. And my wife, Victoria.

How does she influence you?
She has a very full life of her own. She’s a three day eventer — she trains horses and she’s a great mother. She’s involved in politics raising money for the democrats. I’m on the other side.

What’s this — Dennis Hopper is a republican?
Yup. We don’t talk about politics in my house, it wouldn’t be wise to do that.

After half a century in the business what do you feel are the big changes?
I’ve had a love hate relationship with Hollywood. They still make great movies but they fall into formulas. If a space movie or a detective story or a western makes money, they saturate the market with space movies, detective stories, and westerns.

Is there a new James Dean in Hollywood?
He was the best actor I ever saw. He had something no actor had. He studied dance a lot and expressed a lot with his body. He had this great inner life going on. In Giant when he hit the gusher and danced in that oil — his hand movements. I can’t put anybody into that space although we have wonderful actors. Sean Penn is doing great emotional work. Jack Nicholson has been so great. But Dean just had an edge.

Talking of Nicholson — do you see much of him?
All the time. We play a lot of golf together.

Who drives the golf cart?
When I’m on Jack’s course — Bel Air, Sherwood Country Club, or Lakeside, he drives. When he’s at Riviera, I drive.

What do people say when they see you?
People try to stay out of our way. No, I’m just teasing.

What do you two talk about?
We talk about how old we’re getting and that we’re both still alive. — Ivor Davis

Kelly, You’re Hired!

On the hit show The Apprentice, Donald Trump catapulted 38-year-old Kelly Perdew to soaring New York heights with the words “Kelly, you’re hired.” Perdew won a one-year contract with the Trump organization worth $250,000. But he had to endure the 15-week Trump evaluation and the televised scrutiny of millions
to get it.

The Apprentice, now in its fourth season, pits business-minded professionals against each other in time-sensitive challenges, such as having only a few hours to raise money on a street corner without a product to sell. Such challenges are metaphors for real life business problems, and Perdew proved he could handle them. “Reacting quickly is just part of the equation for solving business problems,” says Perdew. “You have to have a plan —including contingencies or a Plan B. You have to measure and monitor your progress, and motivate your team to success. The show was a great parallel with today’s business world.”

As winner of the 2004 series, Perdew, a former U.S. Army officer, made a quick and permanent exit from his home in Carlsbad to an office in New York where he took command of a bottled water company called Trump Ice. Today he is involved in Trump Towers Tampa, a residential complex in Florida, and a commercial real estate development at 40 Wall Street in Manhattan. He also continues as president of MotorPride.com, an online community portal where motor enthusiasts talk about cars, trucks, and motorcycles, an idea he came up with while driving back and forth between Los Angeles and San Diego. He is advisor and equity owner in CoreObjects, and this month, his new book, Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles Learned in the Military and Applied Under Donald Trump, is available on Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.

As for Donald Trump’s contribution to that title, Perdew points out that he has learned a few things under the mogul’s tutelage. “I’ve learned as much about branding and marketing as I have about real estate. The new company I started with him, www.trumpexclusives.com, takes advantage of that aspect of this learning experience.”

When asked about the qualities that led to his Trump success, he identified his leadership training in the military, education at UCLA’s Law School and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management (MBA/JD ’96) and his real life experiences starting and running companies. Perdew raised over $6 million in equity and debt financing and sold the company Eteamz for over $12 million.

Perdew hopes his TV appearances reflect how his military experience directly relates to the business world. “I chose the U.S. Military Academy West Point because I am very patriotic about serving my country and wanted an all-around experience — academics, athletics, military, and leadership.” Perdew graduated from West Point in 1989, commissioned as a second lieutenant. West Point provided him with innumerable opportunities for leadership roles. Between his sophomore and junior year, he went to Germany and served as a platoon leader on the Fulda Gap in a real world defense position. “This was before the Berlin Wall came down and I actually looked across the border at Soviet troops in East Germany looking back at me.”

As a professional soldier, he entered into army military intelligence because he felt it was a challenging role. “The commander depends on the intelligence he receives on the battlefield to make decisions,” explains Perdew. As I speak with him in Ohio for this interview, he is filming and hosting a show on the Military Channel called GI Factory.

Perdew left active duty to attend law and business school in 1992. He believes his military experiences significantly shaped his character and directed his development. “Leadership is the ability to motivate others to action, and the ten leadership principles I describe in my book I attribute directly to my time in the military.”
Integrity: Take the harder right over the easier wrong.

Duty: Do what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it.
Passion: Be passionate about what you do, or do what you’re passionate about.
Impeccability: If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right.
Teamwork: There is no “I” in TEAM.
Selfless Services: Give back.
Planning: Fail to plan, plan to fail.
Loyalty: Up, down, and across your organization.
Perseverance: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
Flexibility: The person with the most varied responses wins.

As a boy, Perdew had a great interest in problem solving and wanted to be a marine biologist. He identifies one of his role models as master problem-solver Leonardo De Vinci, “… an incredibly creative Renaissance man whose inventions are still in use today.” His mother always emphasized education and learning and, “I guess it stuck,” says the eldest son of five, three of whom served in the military. His father was a land developer and his mother a real estate broker. “Funny that it took me until I was 38 and winning The Apprentice to get into real estate.”

When asked if he thought his employees liked him, Perdew said, “I think employees vote with their feet. If they don’t like you, then they find someplace else to work. I’m fortunate because I’ve been able to surround myself with some incredible people.”

Perdew believes in the importance of giving back to the community both as an individual and as a company. “As a celebrity spokesperson — it still sounds weird to say that — I support several charities and donate my time. I’m glad I’ve been able to positively impact two charities — Big Brothers/Sisters and The National Guard Youth Challenge Program.”

Growing and expanding companies is what Perdew loves best. “Growing companies makes me happy but I’m not sure where it came from. It is one of the most challenging activities I’ve ever encountered. Marketing, finance, product development, sales, competition, customer service — all of these things must work in unison.

Additionally, creating value for shareholders, employees, customers, and the community is very exciting.”

Perdew believes the single most important factor to being a successful business person is integrity.

A final question asking what he would like to see written on his gravestone perplexes him. “Not something I really think about,” he laughs. “Hmmm…here lies Kelly Perdew — a loving husband, father, brother, and son, and a passionate builder of companies.” — Ingrid Hoffmeister