On Feb. 26, legendary American actor Gene Hackman was found dead in his New Mexico home alongside his wife, classical musician Betsy Arakawa, and one of his three German Shepherd dogs. He passed away from complications with heart disease and Alzheimer’s Disease, while his wife died from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. Hackman’s dog’s cause of death is currently unknown, but was most likely due to starvation and dehydration.
After enlisting in the Marines at the age of sixteen and serving for five years, Hackman studied television production and journalism at the University of Illinois. He later packed his bags and traveled to the west coast to pursue acting at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. Here, Hackman met another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman, and both were voted “the least likely to succeed” by their classmates. Though most would be heavily discouraged by this, Hackman used it as fuel for his fiery passion to be an actor.
“It was more psychological warfare, because I wasn’t going to let those f—— get me down,” Hackman said in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2013. “I insisted with myself that I would continue to do whatever it took to get a job.
In 1964, Hackman booked his first Broadway role in Muriel Resnick’s “Any Wednesday” as a young suitor, which caught the eye of Hollywood agents and led to his first on-screen appearance as Norman in the film “Lilith” the same year. However, what resulted in his first Oscar nomination was his role as Buck Burrow in Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde” three years later.
Following his big break, Hackman went on to star in his first leading role as Gene Garrison in “I Never Sang for My Father” in 1970, and then proceeded to get cast in his more famously known role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in “The French Connection.” Screens around the world displayed Hackman as he starred in numerous other classics such as “Unforgiven,” “Mississippi Burning,” and “Superman: The Movie.” Hackman’s rugged, splenetic style on screen earned him 34 acting awards in his lifetime, including two Oscars, one for “The French Connection,” and one for “Unforgiven.”
In 2004, after an impressive career consisting of over 70 different movies and 20 different television appearances, Hackman decided to shut off the cameras and retire from acting. Although it wasn’t officially confirmed until an interview with Reuters in 2008.
“I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer,” Hackman said to interviewer Iain Blair. “I miss the actual acting part of it, as it’s what I did for almost 60 years, and I really loved that. But the business for me is very stressful.”
Hackman found a peaceful retirement, far away from the limelight, within a Pueblo-style estate in New Mexico with his wife and three dogs. The tranquil hills of Santa Fe are where he took up cycling, painting, and writing novels. Although no longer wanting to be on screen, Hackman did narrations for two documentaries and 4 episodes of “America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions.”
Gene Hackman will forever be remembered by his versatile acting abilities, impact on the movie industry, and influence on many actors and future generations to come. While not actually having enjoyed the action of Hollywood late in life, Hackman taught audiences a remarkable lesson that with enough ambition and determination, any dreams can be made true.
