Gene Hackman, One Of The Greatest Actors Of All Time, Is Dead At 95

News

We're sorry to report that Hollywood legend Gene Hackman passed away on February 26, 2025, alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, as confirmed by Variety. The actor was 95 years old and his cause of death has yet to be announced at the time of writing, though local authorities in Sante Fe, New Mexico, where the couple resided, confirmed they don't have any reason to believe foul play was involved. 

The 1970s was a wild time for Hollywood. Gone were the movie stars of old and what replaced them was a new breed of actor grounded in reality. These actors could be balding and pudgy or wiry and short. Even the traditionally handsome and beautiful stars embraced non-glamorous roles as the world was transitioning from the tumultuous 1960s to a newer era of disillusion.

Hackman thrived in this environment, becoming one of the most versatile stars of his era. The man could move between silly and scary with almost sickening ease. His Lex Luthor is mostly a comedic villain in "Superman: The Movie," but that's by design. Compare that with his Oscar-winning portrayal of "Little" Bill Daggett in "Unforgiven," in which he exudes the air of a man you absolutely, positively should not cross.

There's a scene in "Unforgiven" where Hackman has English Bob (Richard Harris) locked up in a cell and is talking with his biographer, Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek), dispelling the myth of the aging gunslinger by telling him the reality behind the legend. You can almost feel the temperature drop around you during this scene as Hackman turns from lighthearted to deadly serious and offers both of his prisoners a loaded gun. If they can shoot him, they're free and clear. But it's not that easy and when you have Hackman giving you his serious face, suddenly it doesn't feel like such a good idea to try to outdraw him.

Hackman got a later than normal start in the business

Gene Hackman wanted to be an actor early in his life, but like most men of his generation, he enlisted at a young age. Too young, in fact. He lied about his age and signed up for the United States Marine Corps. He served in China and Hawaii before leaving the service and going to college. There, he tried his hand at studying acting, a profession he had been obsessed with he was only 10 years old.

He had numerous setbacks trying to break into the business, spending a full 6 years studying before he started booking regular bit work in TV and supporting roles in Off-Broadway productions. It wasn't until 1964 when he nabbed his first meaty role, a supporting part in the play "Any Wednesday" opposite Sandy Dennis.

By 1967, he got the head-turning part of Clyde's brother, Buck Barrow, in "Bonnie and Clyde," a role which garnered him his first Academy Award nomination. He would later win two Oscars, one for lead actor in "The French Connection" and the other for supporting actor in "Unforgiven." Hackman was also nominated for "I Never Sang for my Father" and "Mississippi Burning," but didn't win for either film.

Hackman always had an uncanny ear for character

One of Gene Hackman's best performances can be seen in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation," the film Coppola made in between "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II." It's all about a sad, lonely, saxophone-playing private detective who is the guy you hire if you want to snoop on people's conversations. In typical '70s thriller style, Hackman's Harry Caul hears something he's not supposed to and then all hell starts breaking loose.

It's a subtle, very grounded performance that acts as further proof of Hackman's versatility, considering he made this movie around the same time he starred in the big-budget box office smash "The Poseidon Adventure" and filmed his cameo in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein." Both of those performances border on the hammy, or at the very least in on the joke.

Yes, it turned out, that Hackman was just as deft with comedy as he was his thriller roles. We got to see his more funny side in the "Superman" films as well as "The Birdcage," "Get Shorty," "The Royal Tenenbaums," and "Welcome to Mooseport." The latter isn't exactly a good movie, but it is notorious for being Hackman's final film.

On the one hand, film fans will continually ask "Are you sure you want to end it on that one?!" but you gotta give it to Hackman. He could have spent the last 20 years working himself to the bone, but he instead decided to retire to his Santa Fe home with his wife.

Funnily enough, one of the last times he appeared on any program was a totally random episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," when the show's host just happened to turn up at one of his favorite eateries in Santa Fe: Harry's Roadhouse.

A favorite performance

Seeing Popeye Doyle sitting there with Guy Fieri at his Guy Fieri-est, having a little light conversation about good breakfast food, will always be a trip to me. And yes, I do miss the many surely great performances we didn't get due to Gene Hackman's retirement, but I also can't begrudge the guy for wanting to enjoy his life, either.

There are easily a dozen Hackman performances we could spend an entire article examining in-depth, but I want to point out one role in particular that I think gets left out of the conversation. Hackman played the heavy in a Sam Raimi Western that is way better than it gets credit for called "The Quick and the Dead," which also stars Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Gary Sinise, Lance Henriksen, and Keith David. 

Being mid-'90s Sam Raimi, this is one wild western all about a woman seeking revenge for the killing of her father. Turns out, the mean gunslinger that did it is Hackman, who is now the most feared Mayor in the west. 

It's like Hackman took his "Unforgiven" character and ran him through his own Lex Luthor filter. The result is a scenery-chewing bad guy who's both colorful and threatening, a kind of amalgamation of all of Hackman's best attributes as an actor.

There were stories about Hackman being hard to work with, particularly on the "Quick and the Dead" set, but I guess the proof is in the pudding because what ended up onscreen was always magic.  Hackman was the kind of performer who always gave his characters 100%, so even when he was in a stinker you knew you could count on his performance.

They don't make 'em like Hackman anymore. He was one of a kind and will be dearly missed.