About Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, on January 30, 1930, and grew up in Danville, Illinois. At 16 he lied about his age to join the Marine Corps and served four and a half years. After the Marines he ended up at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he and a young Dustin Hoffman were voted the least likely to succeed. Both went to New York anyway, and with Robert Duvall they spent the late 1950s and '60s as broke young actors sharing apartments.
Warren Beatty cast him as Buck Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967, and the role brought the first of five Academy Award nominations. In 1971 he played Popeye Doyle in "The French Connection" and won the Oscar for Best Actor. Over the next three decades he was the surveillance man coming apart in "The Conversation," Lex Luthor in "Superman," an FBI agent in "Mississippi Burning," and Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven," which won him a second Oscar. He could play a hero, a villain or a failed father, and make each of them seem like a man you might have known.
After "Welcome to Mooseport" in 2004 he stepped away from acting and turned to writing novels, several of them with the underwater archaeologist Daniel Lenihan. He lived quietly in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist he married in 1991. He died at his home there in February 2025, at 95.
A Life in Time
- 1930: Born January 30 in San Bernardino, California; grows up in Danville, Illinois
- 1946: Lies about his age to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps at 16; serves four and a half years
- 1956: Marries Faye Maltese; they have three children
- Late 1950s: Studies at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he meets Dustin Hoffman, then moves to New York to act
- 1964: Appears on Broadway in "Any Wednesday" and on film in "Lilith," where Warren Beatty notices him
- 1967: Plays Buck Barrow in "Bonnie and Clyde" and earns his first Academy Award nomination
- 1970: "I Never Sang for My Father" brings a second Oscar nomination
- 1971: Plays Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in William Friedkin's "The French Connection"
- 1972: Wins the Academy Award for Best Actor; stars in "The Poseidon Adventure"
- 1974: Plays surveillance expert Harry Caul in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation"
- 1978: Plays Lex Luthor in "Superman"
- 1988: "Mississippi Burning" brings an Oscar nomination for Best Actor
- 1991: Marries Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist
- 1992: Plays Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven"
- 1993: Wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for "Unforgiven"
- 1998: Stars with Paul Newman and Susan Sarandon in "Twilight"
- 1999: Publishes his first novel, "Wake of the Perdido Star," written with Daniel Lenihan
- 2001: Plays Royal Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums," a role that wins him a Golden Globe
- 2003: Receives the Cecil B. DeMille Award; shares the screen with Dustin Hoffman for the first time in "Runaway Jury"
- 2004: "Welcome to Mooseport," his final film
- 2025: Dies at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in February, at 95
Connected lives
- Dustin Hoffman · Pasadena Playhouse · Runaway Jury
- Susan Sarandon · Co-star · Twilight
- Pasadena Playhouse · Acting school
- San Bernardino, CA · Birthplace
- Santa Fe, NM · Home · died here 2025
- Francis Ford Coppola · Director · The Conversation
- Betsy Arakawa · Wife
- Christopher Reeve · Co-star · Superman
- Paul Newman · Co-star · Twilight
- Faye Maltese · First wife
- Warren Beatty · Lilith · Bonnie and Clyde
- Kris Kristofferson · Co-star · Cisco Pike
- Danville, IL · Hometown
- Wes Anderson · Director · The Royal Tenenbaums
- William Friedkin · Director · The French Connection
- Robert Duvall · New York, early career · The Conversation
- Clint Eastwood · Director, co-star · Unforgiven