Dennis Hopper Rushed to Hospital

Easy Rider star taken to emergency room by ambulance, but rep says he's just suffering from the flu

Dennis Hopper's taken an uneasy ride to an emergency room.

The iconoclastic star of Easy Rider, Hoosiers and Blue Velvet was taken by ambulance today to an unidentified New York hospital.

While eyewitnesses told Entertainment Tonight the 73-year-old was brought into the E.R. wearing an oxygen mask, his publicist says Hopper is merely suffering from a flulike stomach ailment.

Hopper was in New York to promote his role as an unhinged music mogul on the Starz TV version of Crash, but has canceled most of his stops, including tonight's appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon as well as a swing by the Today show.

Hopper made a name for himself writing, starring and directing in 1969's counterculture classic Easy Rider, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

After a psychedelic-infused turn in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, Hopper nabbed a second Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's Hoosiers. He's also known for playing a series of memorable villains in such films as Blue Velvet and Speed and on the first season of 24.

(Originally published Sept. 30, 2009, at 11:20 a.m. PT)