Gene Hackman, the two-time Academy Award winner, was found dead along with his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, on Wednesday. He was 95; she was 63.
No cause of death was given, but local law enforcement said there was no indication of foul play.
Hackman’s roles varied widely throughout his decades-long career. He played everyone from politicians to cops and military leaders to the one and only Royal Tenenbaum, bringing his unique touch and indisputable talent to each and every role.
He was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1930, but his family settled in Danville, Illinois, where they lived with his maternal grandmother.
When he was 13, Hackman’s father abandoned the family, waving goodbye to Hackman while he was playing in the street. “I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean,” he later said of the moment. “Maybe that’s why I became an actor.”
Three years later, at 16, Hackman dropped out of high school and enlisted in the Marine Corps, lying about his age. Once in the military, Hackman was able to finish his high school education and eventually began work as a radio operator. After he was discharged in 1951, Hackman studied journalism and TV production before eventually settling on acting, which he studied at the Pasadena Playhouse Theatre.
He met Dustin Hoffman — his roommate for a time — and when they moved to New York, the two also spent time with Robert Duvall. Hackman landed his first acting role in 1958, in the off-Broadway production “Chaparral.” In 1961, he was cast in his first film role: a small part in “Mad Dog Coll.”
His Broadway debut came two years later with “Children From Their Games,” followed by a role in “A Rainy Day in Newark.” Hackman was also a member of the original cast of “Any Wednesday.”
In 1964, director Robert Rossen cast Hackman in “Lilith” alongside Warren Beatty, who would turn out to be instrumental in Hackman’s big break: Beatty helped him get a supporting role in “Bonnie and Clyde,” for which Hackman later received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
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Hackman earned another Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role in 1970’s “I Never Sang for My Father,” in which he played a professor trying to build a relationship with his estranged father.
Hackman won his first Oscar for his role as Detective Popeye Doyle in “The French Connection” (1971).
Hackman went on to star in a number of films, including “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972), “Scarecrow” (1973), “The Conversation” (1974) and “Night Moves” (1975). The actor, who had been known for his dramatic work, tried his hand at a comedic role playing Lex Luthor in 1978’s “Superman,” which starred Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. Hackman reprised the role in two sequels.
Then, of course, came the film “Hoosiers” in 1986, in which Hackman played a basketball coach leading a small-town team to victory. His performance included this iconic motivational speech:
After starring in the 1988 film “Mississippi Burning,” for which he earned another Oscar nomination, the actor dealt with some health problems. After almost suffering a heart attack, Hackman underwent an angioplasty. He briefly thought about retirement, but ultimately decided to continue working.
He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 film, “Unforgiven.” Throughout his career, he also won four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild award and two BAFTAs.
To younger filmgoers, Hackman might be best known for his starring role in Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001), alongside Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller and Gwyneth Paltrow.
“I loved being in the same scenes as him. He was kind of a bear of a guy, but I also found something very sweet and sad in there,” Paltrow said of her co-star at an anniversary screening of the film in 2011. “I liked him a lot. I think he’s one of the greatest actors who ever lived.”
Hackman became a novelist later in his life. He co-wrote four books with Daniel Lenihan, included “Wake of the Perdido Star” (1999) and “Justice for None” (2004). He also took up painting, drawing and sculpting.
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In 2004, during an appearance on “The Larry King Show,” Hackman announced that his film career was “probably all over,” and in 2008 he confirmed his retirement from acting.
Hackman had three children, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie, with his first wife, Fay Maltese. (They were married from 1956 to 1986.) He had been married to Arakawa since 1991.
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