Gene Hackman dead at 95: Tributes pour in for iconic Hollywood actor
Gene Hackman, the actor whose credits include The French Connection, The Conversation, and Superman, has died at the age of 95. Tributes for the late actor are already pouring in, with figures honouring his monumental impact on the film industry.
Hackman was found in his home in Santa Fe. Additionally, Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, was discovered to be deceased at the property upon it being searched by police. The couple’s dog has also passed away.
County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed in a statement provided to regional news publication Sante Fe New Mexican that Hackman and Arakawa, who was trained as a classical pianist, were found on February 26th by local police. “All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant,” the sheriff said of the deaths.
He added: “I want to assure the community and neighbourhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”
Hackman enjoyed a decades-long career, becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest and most respected names. Despite earning success a little later in life, he persevered against expectations, earning a reputation as one of the most versatile players in the game. “I was trained to be an actor, not a star,” he once said, “I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press.”
Hackman served in the US Marine Corps before moving on to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse in the 1950s, where he met and befriended Dustin Hoffman. Beginning his big screen venture with Lilith in 1964, he soon gained larger-scale recognition with Bonnie and Clyde, earning his first Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’.
Although it paved the way for his first leading role, it wasn’t until he played Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle in The French Connection that he earned his first Oscars accolade. In 2021, he told the NY Post that this role and subsequent praise was a “moment in a checkered career of hits and misses”.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he proved he could rise to any challenge with roles across comedy, mystery, and thriller, from his unmistakable intensity in The Conversation to his menacing take on Lex Luthor in Superman.
Despite his final film release in 2004 and confirmation of his retirement in 2008, Hackman remained semi-active, narrating documentaries and writing and co-writing thriller or historical fiction novels, some with Daniel Lenihan.
As news of Hackman’s passing spreads, tributes to the late actor have been flooding in from all corners of the globe. Those who have worked with him or know him more intimately have been keen to share their thoughts and memories in the wake of his death.
Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who worked with Hackman on The Conversation, honoured his legacy on Threads, writing: “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Writer and author George Takei praised Hackman’s ability to “play anyone”, saying, “We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it.” Continuing: “He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
Edgar Wright described him as “the greatest”, while Dara Ó Briain commended his performance in Young Frankenstein, saying, “The finest screen actor ever, I think. Not a single duff performance, in a long, long career. And the best delivery ever of a single word: when he says “Cigars!” In Young Frankenstein.”
Piers Morgan wrote on X: “What an incredibly sad end to a remarkable life.”
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