[1] Unable to remain in their house, a month later the two of them moved to a new residence in nearby Ware Shoals, where his grandfather and uncles worked in another mill.

[1] At age 12, he met his birth mother who lived with his half-sisters and a half-brother in Lockhart, another small mill town in South Carolina.

[1] Billy led a troubled life as a youngster, with numerous instances of truancy, minor crimes, and a stay in a reform school.

That's how it became Bo.Hopkins appeared in more than 100 film and television roles in a career of more than 40 years, including the major studio films The Wild Bunch (1969), The Bridge at Remagen (1969), The Getaway (1972), American Graffiti (1973), The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973), The Killer Elite (1975), Posse (1975), A Small Town in Texas (1976), Midnight Express (1978), and More American Graffiti (1979).

Hopkins starred or co-starred in many made-for-television movies of the mid-1970s, including Gondola (1973), Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley (1975), The Runaway Barge (1975), The Kansas City Massacre (1975), The Invasion of Johnson County (1976), Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976), Woman on the Run (1977), Thaddeus Rose and Eddie (1978), Crisis in Sun Valley (1978), and The Busters (1978).

His many other appearances on television included in miniseries Aspen (1977) and Beggarman, Thief (1979), and in episodes of Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, The Virginian, Nichols, The Rat Patrol (replacing Justin Tarr as the jeep driver for three episodes), The Mod Squad, Hawaii Five-O, Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers, The Rookies, Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island, The A-Team, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, The Fall Guy, Crazy Like a Fox, Murder, She Wrote, and Doc Elliot.

[1] Hopkins became interested in pursuing an acting career, but his wife disapproved of it and she soon left him, taking their daughter with her.

After appearing in some area plays, he received a scholarship to study acting and stage production at the Pioneer Playhouse in Kentucky, where he soon moved.

After six years of professional inactivity, Hopkins returned to acting, reading scripts, and was writing his autobiography.