Dennis Hopper's wife wins right to stay in his home

Dennis Hopper's estranged wife was yesterday granted permission to live at the ailing actor's property while their divorce battle is resolved in the courts. Los Angeles superior court judge Amy Pellman also ruled that Hopper must pay Victoria Duffy Hopper and the former couple's seven-year-old daughter $12,000 (£7,900) a month in support fees. The 73-year-old actor is battling prostate cancer and was yesterday described by his lawyer as being "desperately ill". Hopper and his wife are engaged in a legal fight which she alleges was instigated to cut her out of the Oscar-nominated actor's will. Hopper counters that his wife has engaged in "outrageous conduct" over the past year, at one point absconding with $1.5m of his art . In response, she said that he threatened her and smoked marijuana around their daughter. The pair, who have been married for 14 years, are currently living at the same property in Venice Beach, California, which is also home to one of Hopper's adult children. A judge ruled last month that Mrs Hopper must remain at least 10 feet away from her husband and avoid the compound's main building after the actor said he wanted to eliminate unnecessary stress. Hopper did not attend the hearing yesterday, though his three adult children from previous marriages were in court. Pellman told the assembled parties that there needed to be "street-cleaning on both sides of this street" and noted that the couple's daughter was about to lose her father. "Having her extended family in a war with her mother is not in her best interests," she said. According to reports, a prenuptial agreement means that Mrs Hopper stands to lose her stake in her husband's estate if they are divorced or not living together when he dies. Speaking after the hearing, Hopper's lawyer, Joseph Mannis, said that his client did not intend to further contest the support orders for his wife and child. Hopper, star of Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now and Blue Velvet, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October last year. According to papers filed in his divorce case in January, he is terminally ill and unable to undergo chemotherapy to treat his disease. The papers also revealed that Hopper weighed just 7st 2lb (45kg) at that time. He was described by his doctor, David Agus, as being extremely weak and unable to hold long conversations.