Hopkins died at a hospital in Van Nuys, California, after suffering a heart attack on May 9, his wife, Sian Hopkins, told The Hollywood Reporter. His death was also reported by TMZ.
Hopkins was noted for playing rogues and villains, most notably as Joe Young in the 1973 film “American Graffiti,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I go to car shows because ‘American Graffiti’is the national anthem of car shows,” Hopkins said in a 2012 interview with Shock Cinemamagazine. “‘Graffiti’got people out draggin’ and going up, and down streets cruisin’. It got people into cars doing that kind of stuff again.
“If I told you how many times people have come up to Candy (Clark), Paul (Le Mat) and me at these shows and told us that we’ve changed their lives, you wouldn’t believe it.”
Hopkins also played villains in three films directed by Sam Peckinpah -- as Clarence “Crazy” Lee in “The Wild Bunch” (1969), as a bank robber in “The Getaway” (1972) and as a weapons expert in “The Killer Elite” (1975), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Hopkins finally got to play a “good-guy” role when executive producer Quentin Tarantino cast him as Sheriff Otis Lawson 1999′s “From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money.”
William Mauldin Hopkins was born Feb. 2, 1938, in Greenville, South Carolina, according to South Carolina online birth records.
His father worked at a local mill and died at the age of 39 of a heart attack in front of his wife and son, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He went to live with his grandparents when his mother remarried the next year. As a 12-year-old, Hopkins learned he was adopted, the website reported. He eventually met his birth mother and connected with his half-siblings.
“I don’t know how my mother and grandmother put up with me,” Hopkins once said. “Later, I went back home and took them to see ‘The Wild Bunch’and my second movie, ‘The Bridge at Remagen.’ And that’s when everybody who said I was gonna end up in prison said they always knew Billy was going to make something of himself.”
Hopkins made his onscreen debut in 1966 on an episode of “The Phyllis Diller Show.”
“After the Phyllis Diller thing, I did a “Gunsmoke” (episode), then “The Andy Griffith Show,” playing Goober’s helper,” Hopkins recalled. “George Lindsey always said he was the one who started my career.”
Bo Hopkins through the years Los Angeles, CA - 1975: Bo Hopkins appearing in the period drama ABC tv movie 'The Kansas City Massacre'. (Photo by American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images) (Walt Disney Television Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years HOLLYWOOD, CA - APRIL 10: Bo Hopkins attends the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival's opening night gala and world premiere of the restoration of "Oklahoma!" hosted at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on April 10, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jennifer Lourie/FilmMagic) (Jennifer Lourie/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years MOD SQUAD - "Welcome to the Human Race, Levi Frazee!" which aired on November 10, 1970. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) BO HOPKINS (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years DYNASTY - "The The Siege" - Airdate September 23, 1987. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) BO HOPKINS;LINDA EVANS;JOHN FORSYTHE (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years Bo Hopkins during "Shade" World Premiere - Arrivals at Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage) (Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years HOLLYWOOD, CA - APRIL 10: Actors Candy Clark and Bo Hopkins attend the after party for the opening night gala screening of "Oklahoma!" during the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival at W Hollywood Hotel on April 10, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage) (Stefanie Keenan/WireImage via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years Bo Hopkins holding a cigarette towards Richard Dreyfuss while Beau Gentry is smiling in a scene from the film 'American Graffiti', 1973. (Photo by Universal Pictures/Getty Images) (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 31: Singer Carol Connors and actor Bo Hopkins attending 38th Annual Golden Globe on January 31, 1981 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years THE INVASION OF JOHNSON COUNTY -- Aired 7/31/76 -- Pictured: (l-r) Bill Bixby as Sam Lowell, Bo Hopkins as George Dunning -- Photo by: Fred A. Sabine/NBCU Photo Bank (NBC/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years HOLLYWOOD, CA - APRIL 10: weekend daytime host of Turner Classic Movies, Ben Mankiewicz, actor Bo Hopkins and actress Candy Clark attend the screening of "American Graffiti" at Club TCM at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 10, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Sciulli/WireImage) (John Sciulli/WireImage via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years guest, Al Corley, Pamela Bellwood, Wayne Northrup, Bo Hopkins, John James and Linda Evans (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years BURBANK, CA - AUGUST 13: Actor Bo Hopkins attends the Ben Johnson Pro/Celebrity Rodeo to Benefit Permanent Charities Committee of the Entertainment Industry on August 13, 1989 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years THE ROCKFORD FILES -- "The Jersey Bounce" Episode 503 -- Pictured: (l-r) Bo Hopkins as John Cooper, James Garner as Jim Rockford -- (Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) (NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years Los Angeles, CA - 1975: Bo Hopkins appearing in the period drama ABC tv movie 'The Kansas City Massacre'. (Photo by American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images) (Walt Disney Television Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years CENTURY CITY, CA - MARCH 24: Actor Bo Hopkins attends the Benefit Dinner to Raise Funds for James Stacy's Medical Expenses from a Motorcycle Accident on March 24, 1974 at Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years BEVERLY HILLS, CA - APRIL 5: Actor Bo Hopkins and girlfriend Sian Green attend the "Dynasty" Season Seven Wrap-Up Party on April 5, 1987 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 20: Bo Hopkins attends Myasthenia Gravis Foundation Awards Benefit on February 20, 1982 at the Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years VALLEY GLEN, CA - JUNE 24: Actor Bo Hopkins and athlete Lyle Alzado attend the Los Angeles Raiders vs. Hollywood All-Stars Celebrity Softball Game to Benefit People Helping People on June 24, 1984 at the Los Angeles Valley College in Valley Glen, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 24: Actor Bo Hopkins at The Hollywood Show held at The Westin Hotel LAX on January 24, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images) (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 24: The cast of "Dynasty" at The Hollywood Show held at The Westin Hotel LAX on January 24, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images) (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years Los Angeles, CA - 1980: (L-R) Sheila Cassidy, Bo Hopkins appearing in the ABC tv movie 'Casino', aka 'SS Casino'. (Photo by Chic Donchin /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images) (Walt Disney Television Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)
Bo Hopkins through the years Los Angeles, CA - 1980: Bo Hopkins appearing in the ABC tv movie 'Casino', aka 'SS Casino'. (Photo by Bob Coburn /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images) (Walt Disney Television Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)