Hedda Hopper of Stewart Wallace's "Hopper's Wife" — a 1997 chamber opera about an imagined marriage between painter Edward Hopper and Hedda Hopper—at Harlem Stage from April 28 through May 1, 2016. Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American actress and gossip columnist, notorious for feuding with her arch-rival Louella Parsons. She had been a moderately successful actress of stage and screen for years before being offered the chance to write the column "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" for the "Los Angeles Times" in 1938. At the height of her power in the 1940s she commanded
Hedda Hopper off her pleas for a slot in his lavish Follies. After a few years, she joined the theater company of matinee idol DeWolf Hopper, whom she called "Wolfie" and would later marry. She remained in the chorus and they toured the country. While in the Hopper company, she realized that chorus and understudy jobs were not acting. She wanted to act, and she knew she would have to prove herself before she could hope to get anywhere in the theater. Hearing that Edgar Selwyn was casting his play "The Country Boy" for a road tour, she went to his office