Steve was a good man and a friend to Streetplay. His absence is still sorely missed. His name and memory lives in our hearts and minds at Streetplay as well as legions of people in the NYC stickball community.
Steve Mercado plays stickball on the National Mall, 2001
We were sad to hear of today’s passing of Dennis Hopper. Dennis and Streetplay crossed paths in 1999 during the filming of Knockaround Guys, which featured a scene where he and John Malkovich played handball (see our coverage of behind-the-scenes action). Here’s the film trailer:
This wasn’t Hopper’s crowning cinematic achievement (they waited until 2002 to even release the picture), but we still have fond memories of seeing him chasing a little blue ball around the court.
Perhaps more memorable in Hopper’s connection to sport was his popular series of Nike advertisements playing the paranoid, unhinged character Stanley. Here’s a memorable ad, a 1995 Super Bowl commercial:
Also not to be forgotten is Hopper’s portrayal of the down-and-out “Shooter” in the film Hoosiers. Here’s a scene featuring a temporarily rehabilitated Shooter:
Rest in peace.
Perhaps better known as the impresario of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren had a hit with “Double Dutch” in 1983 (a follow-up on “Buffalo Gals,” his take on what we called rap back then).
He definitely helped shape a lot of the music scene back then, mixing and matching genres. Sadly, he died today at the age of 64.
Steve was a good man and a friend to Streetplay. His absence is still sorely missed. His name and memory lives in our hearts and minds at Streetplay as well as legions of people in the NYC stickball community.
Steve Mercado (click for more photos)
