Dennis Hopper appeared frail and with a bandage on his head when accepting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 26. (Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

Dennis Hopper's youngest daughter and estranged wife can continue to live on his California compound while the couple continue divorce proceedings, but the judge presiding over the case urged a speedy resolution amid the Hollywood veteran's deteriorating health.

At a hearing in Los Angeles Monday, Superior Court Judge Amy Pellman also ordered Hopper to pay his estranged wife, Victoria Duffy Hopper, $12,000 US a month in spousal and child support.

She advised both sides they had to come together during this stressful time. Hopper's attorney has described his client as "terminally ill."

While the actor was not at Monday's hearing, his three adult children from previous marriages attended.

"It's never one-sided," Pellman said of the family turmoil. "There needs to be street-cleaning on both sides of this street."

She also noted that the bickering between the two sides as Hopper appears near death could harm his youngest child, who is seven.

"Having her extended family in a war with her mother is not in her best interests," the judge said.

Hopper filed for divorce from his wife in January, after nearly 14 years of marriage.

The 73-year-old star of American classics like Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now is suffering from prostate cancer and too ill to undergo chemotherapy, according to his attorney.

He appeared thin and frail at a ceremony in late March honouring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

With files from The Associated Press