Gene Hackman was an Oscar-winning actor and novelist who starred in films including “The French Connection,” “Mississippi Burning,” and “Unforgiven.”
- Died: February 2025
- Details of death: Died at his home in Sante Fe, New Mexico at the age of 95.
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Gene Hackman’s legacy
Hackman first became widely known with his Oscar-nominated supporting role as Buck Barrow in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde.” He was nominated again for 1970’s “I Never Sang for My Father,” and he won his first Academy Award the following year for his leading role in “The French Connection.” Other prominent leading roles followed in the 1970s, including in “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Conversation.”
Hackman played supervillain Lex Luthor in 1978’s “Superman: The Movie” and two sequels, and he portrayed basketball coach Norman Dale in 1986’s “Hoosiers.” His 1988 performance as an FBI agent in “Mississippi Burning” earned another Oscar nomination, and his role as Sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in 1992’s “Unforgiven” won a second Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actor. His many other movies include “Young Frankenstein,” “Reds,” “Postcards from the Edge,” “The Birdcage,” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
Hackman announced his retirement after his final film, 2004’s “Welcome to Mooseport.” He published his first novel in 1999, “Wake of the Perdido Star,” co-written with Daniel Lenihan, and he continued to write and publish novels after his retirement from acting. On February 26, 2025, Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home. No immediate signs of foul play were reported.
Voted least likely to succeed
Hackman began pursuing his acting career only after lying about his age to join the U.S. Marine Corps at 16 and serving for five years. When he made his way to California in 1956 to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, he found a friend in another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman. The two were voted “Least Likely to Succeed” by their classmates.
Hackman later speculated in an interview with Film Comment that the vote was based on their unconventional looks, as well as Hackman’s advanced age for an acting student, rather than a judgement on their talent. He elaborated that both he and Hoffman “were constantly told by acting teachers and casting directors that we were ‘character’ actors. The word ‘character’ denotes something less than attractive.” Hackman and Hoffman would go on to win two Academy Awards each.
Notable quote
“I never wanted to be anything but an actor. George Scott had a line in ‘Patton’ that I think is appropriate: ‘God help me, I love this. I truly do.’” —from his acceptance speech of the Cecil B. DeMille Award during the 60th Golden Globes
Tributes to Gene Hackman
Full obituary: The New York Times
