Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman[1] (born January 30, 1930) is a retired American actor and novelist.
Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. His major subsequent films include The French Connection (1971), in which he played Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle; The Poseidon Adventure (1972); The Conversation (1974); Superman (1978), in which he played arch-villain Lex Luthor; Hoosiers (1986); Mississippi Burning (1987); Unforgiven (1992); The Firm (1993); Crimson Tide (1995); Get Shorty (1995); The Birdcage (1996); Enemy of the State (1998); and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).
Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Lyda (née Gray) and Eugene Ezra Hackman.[2] He has a brother, Richard. His family moved frequently, finally settling in Danville, Illinois, where they lived in the house of his English-born maternal grandmother, Beatrice.[3] Hackman's father operated the printing press for the Commercial-News, a local paper.[4] Hackman's parents divorced in 1943 and his father subsequently left the family.[3][4]
Gene lived briefly in Storm Lake, Iowa and his sophomore home room photograph is in the 1945 Storm Lake High School "Breeze" year-book. At sixteen years, Hackman left home to join the United States Marine Corps, where he served four-and-a-half years as a field radio operator.[5] After his discharge, he moved to New York, working in several minor jobs.[5] His mother died in 1962 as a result of a fire she accidentally set while smoking.[6]
In 1956, Hackman began pursuing an acting career; he joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California.[5] It was there that he forged a friendship with another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman.[5] Already seen as outsiders by their classmates, Hackman and Hoffman were later voted "The Least Likely To Succeed."[5] Determined to prove them wrong, Hackman hopped on a bus bound for New York City. 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 1960s. Hackman was working as a doorman when he ran into an instructor whom he had despised at the Pasadena Playhouse. Reinforcing "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. In 1964, he had an offer to co-star in the play[7] Any Wednesday with actress Sandy Dennis. This opened the door to film work. His first role was in Lilith, with Warren Beatty in the leading role. In 1967, Hackman appeared in an episode of the television series The Invaders entitled The Spores. Another supporting role, Buck Barrow in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde,[5] earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. In 1968, he appeared in an episode of "I Spy", in the role of "Hunter", in the episode "Happy Birthday...Everybody".[7] In 1969, he played a ski coach in Downhill Racer and an astronaut in Marooned. Also in that year, he played the role of a member of a barnstorming skydiving team that entertained mostly at county fairs: The Gypsy Moths. He nearly accepted the role of Mike Brady for the upcoming TV series, The Brady Bunch, but was advised by his agent to decline in exchange for a more promising role, which he did.
In 1971, he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award again, this time for 1970's I Never Sang for My Father, working alongside Melvyn Douglas and Estelle Parsons. The next year, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as New York City Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection, marking his graduation to leading man status.[5]
He followed this with leading roles in the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974), which was nominated for several Oscars.[5] That same year, Hackman appeared in what became one of his most famous comedic roles as the blind hermit in Young Frankenstein.
He later appeared as one of Teddy Roosevelt's former Rough Riders in the Western horse-race saga Bite the Bullet (1975), as well as in that year's sequel French Connection II and the star-studded war film A Bridge Too Far (1977), as Polish General Stanislaw Sosabowski. Hackman showed a talent for both comedy and the "slow burn" as criminal mastermind Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie (1978), as he would in its 1980 and 1987 sequels.
By the end of the 1980s, Hackman alternated between leading and supporting roles, earning another Best Actor nomination for Mississippi Burning. He had a memorable part as a Secretary of Defense trying to cover up a homicide in 1987's No Way Out opposite Kevin Costner.
During this decade Hackman also could be seen in Reds, Under Fire, Hoosiers, Power, Uncommon Valor and Bat*21. A 2008 American Film Institute poll voted Hoosiers the fourth-greatest film of all time in the sports genre.
In 1990, the actor underwent an angioplasty, which kept him from work for a while, although he found time for Narrow Margin—a remake of The Narrow Margin (1952). In 1992, he played the sadistic sheriff "Little" Bill Daggett in the western Unforgiven directed by Clint Eastwood and written by David Webb Peoples which earned him a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor. The film won Best Picture.[5]
Hackman co-starred with Tom Cruise as a corrupt lawyer in The Firm (1993) and appeared in a second John Grisham story in 1996, playing a convict on death row in The Chamber.
In 1995, Hackman played an inept Hollywood producer in Get Shorty and the villainous fast-draw champion John Herrod in The Quick and the Dead opposite Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, as well as submarine Captain Frank Ramsey in the film Crimson Tide with Denzel Washington.
In 1996, he took a comedic turn as ultra-conservative Senator Kevin Keeley in The Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. He also co-starred with Will Smith in the 1998 film Enemy of the State, where his character was reminiscent of the one from The Conversation.
He played a President of the United States who commits a murder in 1997's Absolute Power, re-teaming with director-star Clint Eastwood.
Hackman starred in the David Mamet crime film Heist, as an aging professional thief of considerable skill who is forced into one final job and the comedy Heartbreakers alongside Sigourney Weaver, Ray Liotta and Jennifer Love Hewitt. He also had a leading role as the head of an eccentric family in the ensemble cast film The Royal Tenenbaums and in yet another Grisham legal drama, Runaway Jury, at long last getting to make a picture with his longtime friend Dustin Hoffman.
In 2003 at the Golden Globes, Hackman was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field."[8]
Hackman at a book signing in June 2008
Together with undersea archaeologist Daniel Lenihan, Hackman has written three historical fiction novels: Wake of the Perdido Star (1999), a sea adventure of the 19th century, Justice for None (2004), a Depression-era tale of murder, and Escape from Andersonville (2008) about a prison escape during the Civil War. Payback at Morning Peak (2011) is his first solo effort, a story of love and revenge set in the Old West.
On July 7, 2004, Hackman gave a rare interview to Larry King, in which Hackman announced that he had no future film projects lined up and believes his acting career is over. In 2008, while promoting his third novel, Hackman confirmed that he had retired from acting.[9] In 2011, Hackman appeared on the Fox Sports radio show, the Loose Cannons, where he discussed his career and novels with Pat O'Brien, Steve Hartman and Vic "the Brick" Jacobs. His final film to date was Welcome to Mooseport (2004), a comedy with Ray Romano in which Hackman portrayed a former President of the United States.
Hackman's first wife was Faye Maltese. They had three children, Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne.[citation needed] The couple divorced in 1986 after three decades of marriage. In 1991, Hackman married Betsy Arakawa. They live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Betsy is co-owner of an upscale retail home furnishings store in Santa Fe called Pandora's, Inc.
Hackman competed in Sports Car Club of America races driving an open wheeled Formula Ford in the late seventies. In 1983, Hackman drove a Dan Gurney Team Toyota in the 24 Hours of Daytona Endurance Race. He also won the Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race.
Hackman is an avid fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and regularly attended Jaguars games as a guest of then head coach Jack Del Rio. Hackman is friends with Del Rio from Del Rio's playing days at the University of Southern California.[10]
On January 13, 2012, Gene Hackman was struck by a car while riding a bicycle in Islamorada, Florida. He sustained minor injuries and was transported to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, Florida.[11]
Film
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1961 |
Mad Dog Coll |
Policeman |
uncredited |
| 1964 |
Lilith |
Norman |
|
| 1966 |
Hawaii |
Dr. John Whipple |
|
| 1967 |
Banning |
Tommy Del Gaddo |
|
| 1967 |
Community Shelter Planning |
Donald Ross—Regional Civil Defense Officer |
|
| 1967 |
Covenant with Death, AA Covenant with Death |
Harmsworth |
|
| 1967 |
First to Fight |
Sgt. Tweed |
|
| 1967 |
Bonnie & Clyde |
Buck Barrow |
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1968 |
Split, TheThe Split |
Detective Lt. Walter Brill |
|
| 1969 |
Riot |
Red Fraker |
|
| 1969 |
Gypsy Moths, TheThe Gypsy Moths |
Joe Browdy |
|
| 1969 |
Downhill Racer |
Eugene Claire |
|
| 1969 |
Marooned |
Buzz Lloyd |
|
| 1970 |
I Never Sang for My Father |
Gene Garrison |
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1971 |
Doctors' Wives |
Dr. Dave Randolph |
|
| 1971 |
Hunting Party, TheThe Hunting Party |
Brandt Ruger |
|
| 1971 |
French Connection, TheThe French Connection |
NYPD Det. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle |
Academy Award for Best Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor |
| 1972 |
Prime Cut |
Mary Ann |
|
| 1972 |
Poseidon Adventure, TheThe Poseidon Adventure |
Reverend Frank Scott |
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 1972 |
Cisco Pike |
Sergeant Leo Holland |
|
| 1973 |
Scarecrow |
Max Millan |
|
| 1974 |
Conversation, TheThe Conversation |
Harry Caul |
National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actor |
| 1974 |
Young Frankenstein |
The Blindman (Harold) |
|
| 1974 |
Zandy's Bride |
Zandy Allan |
|
| 1975 |
French Connection II |
NYPD Det. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle |
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1975 |
Lucky Lady |
Kibby Womack |
|
| 1975 |
Night Moves |
Harry Moseby |
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 1975 |
Bite the Bullet |
Sam Clayton |
|
| 1977 |
Domino Principle, TheThe Domino Principle |
Roy Tucker |
|
| 1977 |
Bridge Too Far, AA Bridge Too Far |
Maj Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski |
|
| 1977 |
March or Die |
Maj. William Sherman Foster |
|
| 1978 |
Superman |
Lex Luthor |
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
| 1980 |
Superman II |
Lex Luthor |
|
| 1981 |
All Night Long |
George Dupler |
|
| 1981 |
Reds |
Pete Van Wherry |
|
| 1983 |
Under Fire |
Alex Grazier |
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
| 1983 |
Two of a Kind |
God |
uncredited voice role |
| 1983 |
Uncommon Valor |
Col. Jason Rhodes, USMC (ret) |
|
| 1984 |
Eureka |
Jack McCann |
|
| 1984 |
Misunderstood |
Ned Rawley |
|
| 1985 |
Twice in a Lifetime |
Harry MacKenzie |
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1985 |
Target |
Walter Lloyd/Duncan (Duke) Potter |
|
| 1986 |
Power |
Wilfred Buckley |
|
| 1986 |
Hoosiers |
Coach Norman Dale |
|
| 1987 |
No Way Out |
Defense Secretary David Brice |
|
| 1987 |
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace |
Lex Luthor / voice of Nuclear Man |
|
| 1988 |
Bat*21 |
Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton, USAF |
|
| 1988 |
Mississippi Burning |
FBI Special Agent Rupert Anderson |
National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival[12]
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1988 |
Another Woman |
Larry Lewis |
|
| 1988 |
Full Moon in Blue Water |
Floyd |
|
| 1988 |
Split Decisions |
Dan McGuinn |
|
| 1989 |
Package, TheThe Package |
Sgt. Johnny Gallagher |
|
| 1990 |
Loose Cannons |
MacArthur Stern |
|
| 1990 |
Postcards from the Edge |
Lowell Kolchek |
|
| 1990 |
Narrow Margin |
Robert Caulfield |
|
| 1991 |
Class Action |
Jedediah Tucker Ward |
|
| 1991 |
Company Business |
Sam Boyd |
|
| 1992 |
Unforgiven |
Little Bill Daggett |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1993 |
Firm, TheThe Firm |
Avery Tolar |
|
| 1993 |
Geronimo: An American Legend |
Brig. Gen. George Crook |
|
| 1994 |
Wyatt Earp |
Nicholas Earp |
|
| 1995 |
Quick and the Dead, TheThe Quick and the Dead |
John Herod |
|
| 1995 |
Crimson Tide |
Capt. Frank Ramsey |
|
| 1995 |
Get Shorty |
Harry Zimm |
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1996 |
Birdcage, TheThe Birdcage |
Senator Kevin Keeley |
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1996 |
Extreme Measures |
Dr. Lawrence Myrick |
|
| 1996 |
Chamber, TheThe Chamber |
Sam Cayhall |
|
| 1997 |
Absolute Power |
President Allen Richmond |
|
| 1998 |
Twilight |
Jack Ames |
|
| 1998 |
Enemy of the State |
Edward 'Brill' Lyle |
|
| 1998 |
Antz |
General Mandible |
Voice only |
| 1999 |
Black and the White, TheThe Black and the White |
Grant Ritchie |
|
| 2000 |
Under Suspicion |
Henry Hearst |
Executive Producer |
| 2000 |
Replacements, TheThe Replacements |
Jimmy McGinty |
|
| 2001 |
Heartbreakers |
William B. Tensy |
|
| 2001 |
Heist |
Joe Moore |
|
| 2001 |
Mexican, TheThe Mexican |
Arnold Margolese (uncredited) |
|
| 2001 |
Royal Tenenbaums, TheThe Royal Tenenbaums |
Royal Tenenbaum |
AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 2001 |
Behind Enemy Lines |
Admiral Leslie McMahon Reigart |
|
| 2003 |
Runaway Jury |
Rankin Fitch |
|
| 2004 |
Welcome to Mooseport |
Monroe Cole |
|
| 2006 |
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut |
Lex Luthor |
|
- ^ His middle name is "Allen", according to the California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
- ^ "Gene Hackman Biography (1930–)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/90/Gene-Hackman.html. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ a b Norman, Michael (1989-03-19). "HOLLYWOOD'S UNCOMMON EVERYMAN". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/19/magazine/hollywood-s-uncommon-everyman.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
- ^ a b Leman, Kevin (2007). What Your Childhood Memories Say about You: And What You Can Do about It. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. p. 154. ISBN 1-4143-1186-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2001
- ^ "Gene Hackman profile". Eonline.com. http://www.eonline.com/celebrities/profile/index.jsp?uuid=c0858f3a-5eb8-43b9-a2ef-58ff21dbf25c. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0609447/plotsummary
- ^ "Business Wire, November 14, 2002. Hollywood. 'Gene Hackman to Receive HFPA'S Cecil B. DeMille Award At 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards to be Telecast Live on NBC on Sunday, January 19, 2003'". Findarticles.com. 2002-11-14. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_Nov_14/ai_94221542. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ Blair, Iain (2008-06-05). "Just a Minute With: Gene Hackman on his retirement". Reuters. http://in.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idINN0429553020080605. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
- ^ By BART HUBBUCHThe Times-Union (2005-11-29). "JAGUARS NOTEBOOK: Chatter angers Cardinals". Jacksonville.com. http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/112905/jag_20422934.shtml. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
- ^ "Will Oscar reward the Golden Globes winners?". CNN. 2003-01-23. http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-13/entertainment/showbiz_hackman-accident_1_highway-patrol-gene-hackman-bike?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1989 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/03_preistr_ger_1989/03_Preistraeger_1989.html. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
|
Awards for Gene Hackman
|
|
|
|
|
- The Full Monty (1997) : Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Robert Carlyle, Deirdre Costello, Steve Huison, Bruce Jones, Lesley Sharp, William Snape, Hugo Speer, Tom Wilkinson, Emily Woof
- Shakespeare in Love (1998) : Ben Affleck, Simon Callow, Jim Carter, Martin Clunes, Judi Dench, Joseph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Antony Sher, Imelda Staunton
- Traffic (2000) : Steven Bauer, Benjamin Bratt, James Brolin, Don Cheadle, Erika Christensen, Clifton Collins, Jr., Benicio del Toro, Michael Douglas, Miguel Ferrer, Albert Finney, Topher Grace, Luis Guzmán, Amy Irving, Tomás Milián, D. W. Moffett, Dennis Quaid, Peter Riegert, Jacob Vargas, Catherine Zeta-Jones
|
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|
|
|
|
|
| Persondata |
| Name |
Hackman, Gene |
| Alternative names |
Hackman, Eugene Allen |
| Short description |
actor |
| Date of birth |
January 1, 1930 |
| Place of birth |
San Bernardino, California, U.S. |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
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