Gene Hackman Death: Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood Mourn “Inspiring and Magnificent” Two-Time Oscar Winner
Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Viola Davis, Mel Brooks, Antonio Banderas and Paul Feig were among those mourning two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman, who was found dead, alongside his wife, Betsy Hackman, and one of their dogs at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday.
Their deaths have been ruled “suspicious,” as of Thursday morning, amid an ongoing investigation.
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“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” said Hackman’s daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, along with granddaughter Annie, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Coppola, who directed Hackman in 1974’s The Conversation, wrote on Instagram, “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Said Eastwood in a statement: “There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”
Davis added, “Loved you in everything! The Conversation, The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, Unforgiven — tough yet vulnerable. You were one of the greats. God bless those who loved you. Rest well, sir.”
And Banderas said this was a “very sad day for the cinema’s family,” sharing his condolences for “friends, family and cinema lovers.”
Feig called the news “so awful,” adding, “Gene was such an inspiration to so many of us who love movies. So many brilliant roles. His performance in The Conversation alone changed the way I looked at acting and what actors could bring to a role. Such an amazing career. RIP Mr. Hackman.”
George Takei called Hackman “one of the true giants of the screen,” who “could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it.”
“He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe,” he added. “That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
John Cusack, who worked with Hackman on 2003’s Runaway Jury, took to X to share his condolences. “RIP Gene Hackman — an all time great. One of the most influential screen actors ever. There was nothing he couldn’t do. His work was searingly truthful and often brutally honest — he never let you off the hook. Not afraid of ambiguity — a lost quality these days. Lucky and grateful to share screen with him. RIP Gene.”
And his Unforgiven co-star Saul Rubinek shared the following statement with THR: “I was lucky enough to spend a few days acting with Gene in Unforgiven. I remember this: The huge Duck of Death jail scene with him and me and Richard Harris was an interior weather cover scene, I mean, scheduled at the last minute because of rain. And Gene’s Sheriff Little Bill had the lion’s share of the lines. And Clint liked to shoot the rehearsals. Man, when you were acting with Gene in a situation like that … and on the other side of me is the dangerous presence of the outrageous Richard Harris? I had to be there. I had to show up. Cause Gene set the bar so high, without me noticing he was doing that at all. He made it … easy. The scene you see in the movie was that filmed rehearsal — first time we did it. I’ll never forget the gift of breathing that shared air. We lost a great artist but we can visit him forever.”
In a preview clip of Drew Barrymore’s March 5 show, Bill Murray said that Hackman “made some of the greatest American movies,” and spoke about his memories working with him on Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. “He won a Golden Globe for [the movie], although he didn’t show up, but he was really good,” Murray said. “The guy was really, really good.”
Ben Stiller, who played Hackman’s son in The Royal Tenenbaums penned a column for The New York Times about his experience working with the venerable actor.
There, he wrote in part, “His movies were deeply embedded in my consciousness. … He was one of the four actors on my Mount Rushmore, with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. When Gene Hackman said something onscreen, you believed him.”
Stiller shared a link to the column along with this brief note on X, “Sending love and condolences to Gene and Betsy Hackman’s family.”
Gwyneth Paltrow, who played Hackman’s daughter in the film, shared a picture of herself and onscreen brother Luke Wilson with Hackman alongside a broken heart emoji.
Hank Azaria, who appeared alongside Hackman in The Birdcage, called his time working with the late actor “an honor and an education” and recalled how director Mike Nichols described Hackman’s character acting: “He always brought just enough of a different part of the real Gene to each role he played.”
Mel Brooks recalled working with Hackman on Young Frankenstein, revealing how the late actor’s friendship with Gene Wilder helped him land the “perfect” role.
“I was privileged to know Gene Hackman because he played tennis with another Gene—Gene Wilder. And that Gene told him about a little role called The Blind Hermit in our movie Young Frankenstein,” he wrote. “Do you think Mel would let me play it? I’ve always wanted to do a comedy.” Needless to say, I was over the moon and he was perfect.
Tom Hanks argued, “There has never been a ‘Gene Hackman Type.’ There has only been Gene Hackman.”
And Kevin Costner, who worked with his “favorite actor” multiple times, reshared a video of him talking to Rich Eisen about a moment he had with Hackman that, as Costner put it, “showed me that his generosity and vulnerability ran even deeper than his well of talent. This moment was probably small for him, but really huge for me. As an actor, a man, and even a director. My heart is with Gene, his wife, and his family today. I’m lucky to have gotten to learn from him in this life.”
Hackman and his wife were found dead, with their dog, on Wednesday afternoon at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s investigation is active and ongoing. According to the search warrant affidavit, later obtained by TMZ, the Santa Fe detective who sought the warrant wrote that he believes their deaths to be “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
Police found “the front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
The couple and one of their three dogs were found dead during a welfare check after their neighbor called concerned. No cause of death has yet been revealed.
Hackman won two Oscars and is known for his roles in films such as The French Connection, Bonnie and Clyde, I Never Sang for My Father, The Conversation, Hoosiers and Unforgiven. He retired from acting in his 70s and was last seen onscreen in the 2004 comedy Welcome to Mooseport.
Read on to see what Hollywood is saying about Hackman.
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