Hackman, Gene

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    Morgan Freeman Honors Gene Hackman at Oscars

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    Morgan Freeman honored Gene Hackman at the Academy Awards on Sunday, opening the telecast’s in memoriam segment by saying that the film community had “lost a giant.”Last week, Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in their home in New Mexico. In recent days, the question of how they died has consumed Hollywood and bewildered the community of Santa Fe.Freeman appeared with Hackman in the 1992 western “Unforgiven,” which won Hackman his second Oscar, and the 2000 thriller “Under Suspicion.”“Like everyone who ever shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone’s work,” Freeman said.Calling Hackman a “dear friend,” Freeman noted that the actor often said that he did not think about his legacy but hoped that people would remember him “as someone who tried to do good work.”“So I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you’ll be remembered for that, and for so much more,” Freeman said.The producers of the telecast had only a few days to decide how they would honor one of the giants of acting. On Wednesday, law enforcement found Mr. Hackman’s body in the mud room of his home outside Santa Fe, next to his cane and sunglasses. Ms. Arakawa’s body was discovered in a bathroom, near an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the countertop.An examination of Mr. Hackman’s pacemaker indicated that the actor had died on Feb. 17, the Santa Fe County sheriff said. A detective wrote in an affidavit that Ms. Arakawa’s body had shown signs of decomposition and that Mr. Hackman showed signs of death “similar and consistent” with his wife.It could take weeks or longer for investigators to piece together a timeline as they interview the couple’s contacts and wait for toxicology results and autopsy reports. More

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      Gene Hackman’s Gritty, Grouchy, Old-School Style

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      Between the idols of Hollywood’s golden age and the media-savvy stars of today, he had an appeal all his own.In the decades separating the suave Cary Grant from the willowy Timothée Chalamet, there was a leading man with a rougher kind of charm.Even in his box-office heyday, Gene Hackman had a receding hairline and a paunch. He could pass for 50 when he was 30. He described himself as a “big lummox kind of person.”His first noteworthy role came alongside Jean Seberg in the 1964 film “Lillith.” Ms. Seberg said she found Mr. Hackman handsome because his face had so much character to it — but she didn’t believe he would go very far in an industry that favored Warren Beatty and other more conventionally attractive men.But changing attitudes demanded a new kind of star, and Mr. Hackman arrived when the sharp-focus cinema of the midcentury years gave way to the grainier palette of the 1970s, a time when the line between hero and antihero was blurring.He was 40 when he had his first leading role, in the drama “I Never Sang for My Father.” The next year he put on a porkpie hat to play the vicious cop Popeye Doyle in “The French Connection,” a performance that won him the first of his two Oscars.Mr. Hackman put on a porkpie hat to play Popeye Doyle in “The French Connection,” a performance that won him the first of his two Oscars.20th Century Fox, via Getty ImagesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      “The Royal Tenenbaums” Introduced Gene Hackman to a New Generation

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      His performance in Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” introduced Hackman to a new generation, and his presence helped define the film.When the director Wes Anderson and the actors Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray and Gwyneth Paltrow took the stage in 2011 for a panel celebrating the 10th anniversary of Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums,” there was no need for small talk before addressing the elephant in the room.“So, no Gene Hackman?” began the director Noah Baumbach, the panel’s co-moderator, introducing an apparently genuine nervousness into the discussion.Hackman, who was found dead on Wednesday afternoon with his wife at their home in Santa Fe, N.M., at the age of 95, loomed over “The Royal Tenenbaums” in every possible sense.Within the film, of course, he is the paterfamilias — he is Royal Tenenbaum, “the displaced patriarch,” as Hackman put it in an on-set interview — of the remarkable, scattered family at the center of Anderson’s third film, the one that took him from art houses to the mainstream.That 2011 panel dived into Hackman’s presence, particularly an off-camera gruffness, that distinguished him from the whimsy typical of Anderson’s work. Here was the avatar of 1970s grit and paranoia — who had won an Oscar playing the bad-boy narcotics detective Popeye Doyle in “The French Connection” — dropped into a very different type of cinematic vision, from a very different generation.The tone throughout the panel, particularly from Anderson, was respectful and appreciative. But it was clear that Hackman stood out on set. At the time of filming “The Royal Tenenbaums,” Hackman was already considering a retirement that just a few years later he announced and stuck to, Anderson said. None of the panelists had been in touch with Hackman during the intervening years, they said. And they all remembered him being terse with Anderson.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      For Gene Hackman, a Jarring End to a Quiet, Art-Filled Life in Santa Fe

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      Mr. Hackman, who was found dead with his wife and one of their dogs, had written novels and painted since leaving Hollywood behind for retirement in New Mexico.Years after Gene Hackman retired from acting, he was at dinner with a friend in New Mexico who wanted to know how actors were able to cry on cue.“He put his head down at the table for about 30 seconds and raised his head up and there are tears coming down,” the friend, Doug Lanham, recalled. “He looked at me and goes, ‘How do you like that?’”After a long career in movies that won him two Oscars and the admiration of generations of film lovers, Mr. Hackman left Hollywood behind for Santa Fe, where he spent his final decades enjoying its striking scenery, trying his hand at painting and writing novels while living what appeared to be a quiet but full life with his wife, Betsy Arakawa.He played an active role in the city’s civic and social life during his early years there before slowing down and growing a bit more reclusive as he entered his late 80s and then his 90s, friends said. Some had been expecting to get word of his death from Ms. Arakawa one of these days.So it was shocking for them to learn this week that Mr. Hackman, 95, had been found dead in the mud room of his home in Santa Fe and that Ms. Arakawa, 65, had been found dead in a bathroom near an open prescription bottle and scattered pills. One of the couple’s dogs, a German shepherd, was found dead in a nearby closet.The caller described seeing a body on the floor and urged emergency services to quickly send help.Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Search Warrant Affidavit in Gene Hackman Death Inquiry

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      other image(s) documented on any media, photography and/or videography
      equipment, photography and/or videography accessories and/or devises apparently
      used to facilitate photography and/or videography.
      7. Clothing belonging or worn by Eugene “Gene” Allen Hackman or Betsy Arakawa.
      8. Photographs of the residence, including the interior and exterior.
      9. Latent and/or visible print(s), including but not limited to fingerprint(s) and
      footwear impression(s).
      10. Material(s) apparently used and/or intended for use in administering aid and/or
      assistance to injured people.
      11. Any weapon(s), tool(s) and/or instrument(s) capable of causing sharp force trauma
      to the human body. Document(s) that establish or tend to establish ownership,
      possession, use, transfer and/or the right to ownership, possession, use and/or
      transfer of the herein-described item(s), to be seized.
      12. Any weapon(s), tool(s) and/or instrument(s) capable of causing blunt force trauma
      to the human body. Document(s) that establish or tend to establish ownership,
      possession, use, transfer and/or the right to ownership, possession, use and/or
      transfer of the herein-described item(s), to be seized.
      13. Any item(s) and/or material(s) that have what appear to be impression(s), mark(s),
      and/or defect(s) on said item(s) and/or material(s).
      14. Any record documented in any media, which appears to be a password, personal
      identification number, item(s) and/or information used to access and/or facilitate
      access of said item(s), to be searched.
      15. Biological fluids, to include DNA, blood, or trace evidence.
      16. Telephones and/or cellular telephones.
      17. In order to ensure that a complete and thorough investigation, investigators may be required
      to examine the entire, above-mentioned premises, including, but not limited to, the
      examination of furniture, walls, plumbing equipment, or gas lines in or around the
      residence.
      AND THAT THE FACTS TENDING TO ESTABLISH THE FOREGOING GROUNDS
      FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A SEARCH WARRANT ARE AS FOLLOWS:
      Affiant, Detective Roy Arndt, is a full-time, certified peace officer in the State of New
      Mexico who has attended the Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. He is currently
      commissioned and salaried by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, where he serves as a
      Detective in the Criminal Investigations Division. Affiant has conducted numerous
      criminal investigations that led to the arrest and conviction of person(s) and currently has
      over 15 years of law enforcement experience.
      The facts set forth in this affidavit are based upon Affiant’s personal observations,
      training and experience, and information obtained from other law enforcement officers
      and civilian witnesses. This affidavit is made for the sole purpose of demonstrating
      probable cause for the issuance of the requested warrant and does not purport to set forth
      all Affiant’s knowledge of, or investigation into, this matter. All times depicted in this
      writing are approximate.
      STATEMENT OF FACTS KNOWN TO AFFIANT:
      At approximately 1:43 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26th, 2025, Santa Fe Regional Emergency
      Communications Center (RECC) received a call for service regarding a reporting party (RP)
      locating two (2) deceased individuals inside the residence of 1425 Old Sunset Trail, Santa Fe,
      New Mexico 87501.
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      Scattered Pills Found Near Body of Gene Hackman’s Wife as Inquiry Continues

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      The sheriff’s office in Santa Fe County, N.M., is investigating after the actor Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their dogs were found dead inside their home.The actor Gene Hackman was found dead in a mud room in his New Mexico home and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead on the floor of a bathroom on Wednesday, according to a search warrant affidavit. An open prescription bottle and scattered pills were discovered near her body on a counter in the bathroom.A dead German shepherd was found between 10 and 15 feet away from Ms. Arakawa in a closet of the bathroom, the affidavit said. There were no obvious signs of a gas leak in the home, it said, and the Fire Department did not find signs of a carbon monoxide leak. The maintenance workers who found them said they had not been in contact with the couple for two weeks.The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that “there were no apparent signs of foul play.”Autopsies on Mr. Hackman and Ms. Arakawa were performed on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said. There was no initial sign of external trauma to either of them. Carbon monoxide tests and toxicology tests were requested for both of them, it said, but the results were still pending and the causes of their deaths had not been determined.“This remains an open investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.Detective Roy Arndt wrote in the search warrant affidavit that Ms. Arakawa was found lying on her side on the bathroom floor with a space heater near her head, the affidavit said. The deputy who found her said he suspected that the heater could have fallen with Ms. Arakawa, the filing said.Ms. Arakawa’s body showed signs of decomposition, the affidavit said, as well as “mummification in both hands and feet.” The dead dog was found near her in a closet, and two other dogs were found alive on the property. Mr. Hackman’s body was then found, and showed signs of death “similar and consistent” with his wife’s body.Read the Search Warrant Affidavit in the Gene Hackman Death InquiryAn affidavit from a Santa Fe County detective described how deputies found the bodies of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, on Wednesday.Read DocumentWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Gene Hackman’s Smile Could Give You Shivers

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      In “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Unforgiven,” the actor used his charm to great disarming effect, flashing a smile before abruptly shifting to a sneer.When Clint Eastwood needed a performer who could persuasively go boot-toe to boot-toe with him in his brutal 1992 western “Unforgiven,” he needed an actor who was his towering equal onscreen. Eastwood needed a performer with strange charisma, one who could at once effortlessly draw the audience to his character and repulse it without skipping a beat. This actor didn’t need the audience’s love, and would never ask for it. He instead needed to go deep and dark, playing a villain of such depravity that he inspired the viewer’s own blood lust. Eastwood needed a legend who could send shivers up spines. He needed Gene Hackman.Hackman, whose death at 95 was announced on Thursday, was one of the defining actors of New Hollywood, that roughly decadelong, feverish period of artistic ferment that began with films like “Bonnie and Clyde,” Arthur Penn’s 1967 gangster drama. The era was famously defined by directors who helped rejuvenate the industry but was also known for male stars who didn’t conform to old studio ideals. With their unfixed noses and rough edges, these were men who once would have been largely confined to character roles. The glamorous-looking Warren Beatty played the male lead in “Bonnie and Clyde,” but it was Hackman’s striking supporting turn as Clyde’s brother, Buck, that heralded something new.Hackman holds your gaze the moment that Buck jumps out of a jalopy in “Bonnie and Clyde” into his brother’s arms; Buck is soon in Clyde’s gang, too. Buck is an outsized character, given to flailing and whooping, and Hackman delivers a suitably full-bodied, demonstrative performance that instantly gives you a sense of the character without once edging into scene stealing. His slight whine thickened with a deep-fried accent, Hackman also smiles a great deal as Buck, which humanizes the character so wholly that it lulls you into brief complacency, leaving you unprepared — almost — for the violence that rapidly engulfs him.Hackman, left, and Warren Beatty as thieving brothers in “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967). Screen Archives/Getty ImagesHackman’s smiles were one of his signature moves, and he used them to great disarming effect, deploying them to put other characters (and you) at ease before he abruptly shifted gears. It’s one reason he was such an effective villain. (His restraint as a surveillance expert in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 thriller, “The Conversation,” is one reason the film is so unnerving.) Hackman used smiles to charm and seduce, but also to obfuscate. Some actors let you see the rage boiling in their characters, the throbbing veins of hate. If you made a study of Hackman’s work, you might note that when one of his characters draws you to him with an upward curve of his mouth, something bad might happen soon. You would also divine that, thanks to his superb control, you could never predict when that false front would drop.There’s something sublimely fitting then in the fact that Hackman is dressed as Santa when he appears in his star-making role in William Friedkin’s “The French Connection,” the 1971 thriller that earned him a best actor Oscar. Hackman plays Popeye Doyle, a New York detective helping to bring down a heroin-smuggling outfit. Popeye is undercover in the opener, watching a suspect while ringing Santa’s bell and charming some kids with his patter, a smile peeping out from under his ill-fitting white beard. All of a sudden, Popeye and another cop (Roy Scheider) are chasing the suspect through the city’s derelict, litter-strewn streets. As soon as the detectives tackle the runaway in an empty lot, Popeye begins hitting the guy savagely. “I wanna bust him,” he says repeatedly, blood smeared on his Santa sleeve.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Gene Hackman, Hollywood’s Consummate Everyman, Dies at 95

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      Gene Hackman, who never fit the mold of a Hollywood movie star but became one all the same, playing seemingly ordinary characters with deceptive subtlety, intensity and often charm in some of the most noted films of the 1970s and ’80s, has died, the authorities in New Mexico said on Thursday. He was 95.Mr. Hackman and his wife were found dead on Wednesday afternoon at the home in Santa Fe., N.M., where they had been living, according to a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department. The cause of death was unclear and under investigation. Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies of Mr. Hackman; his wife, Betsy Arakawa; and a dog, according to the statement, which said that foul play was not suspected.Mr. Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two during a 40-year career in which he appeared in films seen and remembered by millions, among them “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The French Connection,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Unforgiven,” “Superman,” “Hoosiers” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”The familiar characterization of Mr. Hackman was that he was Hollywood’s perfect Everyman. But perhaps that was too easy. His characters — convict, sheriff, Klansman, steelworker, spy, minister, war hero, grieving widower, submarine commander, basketball coach, president — defied pigeonholing, as did his shaded portrayals of them.Still, he did not deny that he had a regular-Joe image, nor did he mind it. He once joked that he looked like “your everyday mine worker.” And he did seem to have been born middle-aged: slightly balding, with strong but unremarkable features neither plain nor handsome, a tall man (6-foot-2) more likely to melt into a crowd than stand out in one.It was Mr. Hackman’s gift to be able to peel back the layers from characters who carried the weight of middle age.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Gene Hackman, a Life in Pictures

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      Gene Hackman, a celebrated actor whose death at 95 was announced on Thursday, stood out in Hollywood for his ability not to stand out.Not until he was 42 did he make his star turn, winning the Oscar for best actor for playing a gruff narcotics detective in “The French Connection.” But at that point he already had more than 30 television and film credits and a reputation for charming intensity that would stay with him throughout his career.A tall man with thinning hair and a deep voice that was befitting a former Marine, he is easily remembered for distinctive mustaches and tweed jackets. Yet he was equally convincing in roles as a paranoid communications expert, an archnemesis of a superhero, a big-hearted basketball coach, a sinister sheriff and an eccentric patriarch of a family of troubled geniuses.And if he seemed to some to have appeared out of nowhere in the 1970s as a fully formed star, he disappeared just as abruptly, doing one final film in 2004 and then walking away without any formal declaration that he had retired. He spent his remaining years in Santa Fe, N.M., painting and sculpting and staying out of the spotlight.He was Hollywood’s Everyman, but had a career — and a life — that few could even attempt to recreate.Everett CollectionMr. Hackman made an impression on Warren Beatty in 1964 despite a small part in the film “Lilith.” Mr. Beatty subsequently brought Mr. Hackman along for “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), in which he managed to thrive in a cast that included, from left, Estelle Parsons, Mr. Beatty, Faye Dunaway and Michael J. Pollard. The performance earned Mr. Hackman an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More