Gene Hackman Galleries 1

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Gene HackmanEugene Allen Hackman (born 30 January 1930) is an Oscar winning American actor. Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California to Eugene Hackman (a newspaper pressman) and Lyda Gray. His parents divorced while he was a child, and he therefore moved from one place to another until he settled finally in Danville, Illinois, where he lived with his English-born grandmother. At 16 he left home to join the United States Marine Corps, where he served 3 years as a field radio operator. Having finished his service, he moved to New York, where he worked in several minor jobs. He then studied television production and journalism at the University of Illinois, taking advantage of the "G.I. Bill".

Already over 30 years old, Hackman decided to become an actor, and joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California. It was in that school that Hackman forged a friendship with another aspiring actor named Dustin Hoffman. Already seen as outsiders by their classmates, Hackman and Hoffman were later voted "The Least Likely To Succeed", which has proven famously untrue. Determined to prove them wrong, Hackman hopped on a bus bound for New York City with his wife, with Hoffman later following. A 2004 article in Vanity Fair described how Hackman, Hoffman and Robert Duvall were all struggling actors and close friends, while living in New York City in the Sixties. As one of many odd jobs, Hackman was working as a doorman when he ran into an instructor whom he despised at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Reinforcing the "The Least Likely To Succeed" vote, the man had said "See Hackman, I told you you wouldn't amount to anything." Hackman began performing in several off-Broadway plays. Finally, in 1964, he had the offer to play on Broadway, which opened the doors to the movies. His first role was in Lilith, with Warren Beatty in the leading role. Another secondary role, Buck Barrow, in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. In 1971, he was again nominated for the same award, this time for I Never Sang for My Father, working alongside Melvyn Douglas. The next year he won the Best Actor award for his memorable performance as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection.

By the end of the 1980s Hackman was a deeply respected actor (during the decade he made at least seventeen movies - see list below), and alternated between leading and supporting roles, earning another Best Actor nomination for Mississippi Burning. In 1990, he underwent heart surgery, which kept him away from work for a while. In 1992, he played the sadistic sheriff, Bill Daggett in Unforgiven, for which role he earned a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor. After so many years of acting, Hackman wanted to try another field of creativity, and wrote his first novel, which was published in 1999, a year that was exceptional in that he did not appear in any film.

His distinctive voice can be heard in television commercials from time-to-time, notably for United Airlines, GTE, CNN, and more recently for Oppenheimer Funds and Lowe's Home Improvement.

Hackman is one of the most acclaimed actors of his era. In over 40 years, he has convincingly played a wide variety of characters, not only in cinema, but also in TV productions, and on stage. Hackman's first wife was Fay Maltese. They had three children, but they divorced in 1986 after 30 years of marriage. In 1991, Hackman married Betsy Arakawa. They live in Beverly Hills and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Betsy is co-owner of a upscale retail home-furnishing store in Santa Fe, called Pandora's, Inc.

On 7 July 2004, Hackman gave a rare interview to Larry King, in which he announced that he had no future film projects lined up, and believes his acting career is finished. The interview came just a week after the death of Hackman's hero, Marlon Brando.

  Welcome to Mooseport (2004) .... Monroe Cole
Runaway Jury (2003) .... Rankin Fitch
Behind Enemy Lines (2001) .... Admiral Leslie McMahon Reigart
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) .... Royal Tenenbaum
Heist (2001/I) .... Joe Moore
... aka Vol, Le (Canada: French title)
Heartbreakers (2001) .... William B. Tensy
The Mexican (2001) .... Arnold Margolese
... aka Mexicana, La (Mexico)
The Replacements (2000) .... Jimmy McGinty
Under Suspicion (2000) .... Henry Hearst
... aka Suspicion (France)

Enemy of the State (1998) .... Edward 'Brill' Lyle
Antz (1998) (voice) .... General Mandible
Twilight (1998) .... Jack Ames
Absolute Power (1997) .... President Allen Richmond
The Chamber (1996) .... Sam Cayhall
Extreme Measures (1996) .... Dr. Lawrence Myrick
The Birdcage (1996) .... Sen. Kevin Keeley
... aka Birds of a Feather
Get Shorty (1995) .... Harry Zimm
Crimson Tide (1995) .... Capt. Frank Ramsey
The Quick and the Dead (1995) .... John Herod
Wyatt Earp (1994) .... Nicholas Earp
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) .... Brig. Gen. George Crook
The Firm (1993) .... Avery Tolar
Unforgiven (1992) .... Little Bill Daggett
Company Business (1991) .... Sam Boyd/John Jones
Class Action (1991) .... Jedediah Tucker Ward
Narrow Margin (1990) .... Robert Caulfield
Postcards from the Edge (1990) .... Lowell
Loose Cannons (1990) .... MacArthur Stern

The Package (1989) .... Sgt. Johnny Gallagher
Mississippi Burning (1988) .... Agent Rupert Anderson
Full Moon in Blue Water (1988) .... Floyd
Split Decisions (1988) .... Dan McGuinn
... aka Kid Gloves (USA)
Another Woman (1988) .... Larry Lewis
Bat*21 (1988) .... Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton
No Way Out (1987) .... Defense Secretary David Brice
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) .... Lex Luthor/voice of Nuclear Man
Hoosiers (1986) .... Coach Norman Dale
... aka Best Shot
Power (1986) .... Wilfred Buckley
Target (1985/I) .... Walter Lloyd/Duncan (Duke) Potter
Twice in a Lifetime (1985) .... Harry MacKenzie
Eureka (1984) .... Jack McCann
Misunderstood (1984) .... Ned Rawley
... aka Ultimo sole d'estate, L' (Italy)
Uncommon Valor (1983/I) .... Col. Cal Rhodes
Under Fire (1983) .... Alex Grazier
Two of a Kind (1983) (uncredited) .... Voice of God
Reds (1981) .... Pete Van Wherry
All Night Long (1981) .... George Dupler
Superman II (1980) .... Lex Luthor

Superman (1978) .... Lex Luthor
... aka Superman: The Movie
March or Die (1977) .... Maj. William Sherman Foster
The Domino Principle (1977) .... Roy Tucker
... aka Domino principe, El (Mexico)
... aka The Domino Killings (UK)
A Bridge Too Far (1977) .... Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski
Lucky Lady (1975) .... Kibby
Bite the Bullet (1975) .... Sam Clayton
Night Moves (1975) .... Harry Moseby
French Connection II (1975) .... Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle
Young Frankenstein (1974) .... The Blindman (Harold)
Zandy's Bride (1974) .... Zandy Allan
... aka For Better, for Worse (USA: TV title)
The Conversation (1974) .... Harry Caul
Scarecrow (1973) .... Max Millan
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) .... Rev. Frank Scott
Prime Cut (1972) .... Mary Ann
Cisco Pike (1972) .... Sergeant Leo Holland
The French Connection (1971) .... Det. Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle
The Hunting Party (1971) .... Brandt Ruger
Doctors' Wives (1971) .... Dr. Dave Randolph
I Never Sang for My Father (1970) .... Gene Garrison

Marooned (1969) .... Buzz Lloyd
... aka Space Travelers (USA: reissue title)
Downhill Racer (1969) .... Eugene Claire
The Gypsy Moths (1969) .... Joe Browdy
Riot (1969) .... Red Fraker
Shadow on the Land (1968) (TV) .... Rev. Thomas Davis
The Split (1968) .... Detective Lt. Walter Brill
My Father and My Mother (1968) (TV)
... aka CBS Playhouse: My Father and My Mother (USA: series title)
Banning (1967) .... Tommy Del Gaddo
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) .... Buck Barrow
... aka Bonnie and Clyde... Were Killers! (UK)
A Covenant with Death (1967) .... Harmsworth
First to Fight (1967) .... Sgt. Tweed
Hawaii (1966) .... Rev. John Whipple
Lilith (1964) .... Norman
Ride with Terror (1963) (TV)
Mad Dog Coll (1961) (uncredited) .... Cop