William Michael Hootkins was born on July 5, 1948, in Dallas, Texas. He moved to London, England in the early '70s and lived there up until 2002. Hootkins was an actor at Theatre Intime while attending Princeton University where he learned how to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese. He also trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and attended St. Marks, where he was in the same theater group as Tommy Lee Jones. The imposingly bulky and heavyset Hootkins first began acting in films and TV shows alike in the mid '70s. His more noteworthy parts include the first of the Rebel fighter pilots to get killed while attacking the Death Star in "Star Wars", scientist Topol's bumbling oaf assistant in "Flash Gordon", Major Eaton, sent by the US government in "Raiders of the Lost Ark", one of Rod Steiger's demented sons in "American Gothic", a corrupt police lieutenant in "Batman", a disgusting sleazy voyeur in "Hardware", a coarse South African police chief in "Dust Devil", the mysterious and duplicitous Mr. X in "Hear My Song", a haughty corporate executive in "Death Machine", Santa Claus in "Like Father, Like Santa", and an opera-singing vampire in "The Breed". Moreover, Hootkins had small parts in two "Pink Panther" pictures: he's a taxi driver in both "The Trail of the Pink Panther" and "Curse of the Pink Panther". Among the TV shows he did guest spots on are "Yanks Go Home", "Agony", "Play for Today", "Tales of the Unexpected", "The Life and Times of David Lloyd George", "Brett Maverick", "Cagney and Lacey", "Taxi", "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense", "Poirot", "Chancer", "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles", "The Tomorrow People", "The West Wing", and "Absolute Power". Hootkins received many accolades for his outstanding performance as Sir Alfred Hitchcock in Terry Johnson's hit play "Hitchcock Blonde". In addition to his substantial film and TV credits, Hootkins was also a popular and prolific voice artist who recorded dozens of plays for BBC Radio Drama; he supplied the voices for such iconic individuals as Orson Welles, J. Edgar Hoover, and Winston Churchill. William Hootkins died of pancreatic cancer on October 23, 2005. IMDb Mini Biography
86 movies · 29 shows
Ancestors Of Ancient Rome: The Etruscans
2013·0.0
Colour Me Kubrick
2005·5.7
Dear Wendy
2005·5.8
Blessed
2004·4.8
Mars: Pioneering the Planet
2003·8.0
The Magnificent Ambersons
2002·5.9
Hamilton Mattress
2002·6.8
The Breed
2001·5.2
Town & Country
2001·4.5
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage Escapades
2000·5.5
The Miracle Maker
2000·6.1
Animated Epics: Moby Dick
2000·8.5
The Omega Code
1999·4.5
Survivor Science: The Dead Man Walking
1999·0.0
Like Father, Like Santa
1998·5.8
Something to Believe In
1998·5.0
This World, Then the Fireworks
1997·5.2
Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest
1997·8.0
The Island of Dr. Moreau
1996·4.9
Virgin Mary
1995·4.4
Funny Bones
1995·6.6
Death Machine
1995·5.9
Time Life Animal Oddities: The Meanest Animal Alive
1995·0.0
The NeverEnding Story III
1994·4.5
Predators of the Wild: Crocodiles and Alligators
1994·0.0
Predators of the Wild: African Survival
1994·0.0
Age of Treason
1993·6.4
The Milky Life
1993·3.6
The Cement Garden
1993·6.8
Predators of the Wild: Giant Tarantula
1993·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Polar Bear
1993·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Wolf
1993·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Hawk
1993·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Tiger
1993·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Snake
1993·0.0
A River Runs Through It
1992·7.0
Gummed Labels
1992·8.0
Dust Devil
1992·6.2
Predators of the Wild: Lion
1992·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Shark
1992·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Grizzly Bear
1992·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Cheetah and Leopard
1992·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Killer Whale
1992·0.0
Predators of the Wild: Hunters and Hunted
1992·0.0
Hear My Song
1991·5.9
The Pope Must Die
1991·5.0
The Princess and the Goblin
1991·5.8
Predators of the Wild: Bats
1991·0.0
Hardware
1990·5.9
Batman
1989·7.2
Monkeys
1989·7.0
American Gothic
1987·5.9
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
1987·4.6
U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart
1987·9.0
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
1987·6.0
A State of Emergency
1986·3.5
Haunted Honeymoon
1986·5.4
Biggles
1986·5.2
White Nights
1985·6.7
Zina
1985·6.0
Dreamchild
1985·6.6
Water
1985·6.1
Black Carrion
1984·7.5
Curse of the Pink Panther
1983·4.6
Trail of the Pink Panther
1982·5.2
The Tempest
1982·6.0
Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981·7.9
Before Water Lilies
1981·0.0
The Life and Times of David Lloyd George
1981·0.0
Sphinx
1981·5.7
Flash Gordon
1980·6.3
Rabbit Pie Day
1980·0.0
Hussy
1980·4.9
Bad Timing
1980·6.5
Charlie Muffin
1979·6.4
Hanover Street
1979·5.6
The Lady Vanishes
1979·6.0
The Lost Boys
1978·8.0
The Billion Dollar Bubble
1978·7.5
Come Back, Little Sheba
1977·7.0
Valentino
1977·5.8
Star Wars
1977·8.2
The Ambassadors
1977·7.0
Twilight's Last Gleaming
1977·6.5
The Paradise Run
1976·0.0
Big Zapper
1973·4.0