Rest in Peace Gene Hackman, One Of The Greatest Actors Of Our Time

Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead at their home in Santa Fe, according to police in New Mexico.

“We do not believe foul play was a factor in their deaths however, exact cause of death has not been determined at this time,” said Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office.

This one stings bad. 

‘The French Connection’, ‘The Conversation’, ‘Mississippi Burning’, ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, ‘Superman’, ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’, ‘The Poseidon Adventure’, ‘Hoosiers’ all massive hits thanks to what Hackman was able to do as an actor. 

I think what made him a one-of-a-kind actor is that he had one of the most commanding screen presences of all time. From the second he got on screen until they cut away, you belonged to him. Doesn’t matter the character or the situation, you always payed attention to what he’s saying. To this day, I don’t think I could casually watch one of his movies with my phone in hand because of how intimidating he is. In fact, I went through this exact experience rewatching 'The Quick and the Dead' a few weeks ago as he tortured that town with an insane precision. 

And, in addition to be an incredible dramatic actor (2 Oscar wins and 5 noms), he was also funny as hell. His legendary scene in 'Young Frankenstein' always stands out. Taking the role after talking with his tennis buddy Gene Wilder about how he was dying to do comedy, he ad-libbed the ending espresso line which apparently killed the crew so bad it almost ruined the take. 

They just don't make actors like him anymore.

Actors that always come off as a real human, somebody you could meet one day. Not some "ageless" star full of roids, botox and hair dye, but a real man. My thoughts are with his friends and family, and I'm sure they know the world mourns with them. 

Some things I learned about him while writing this: 

• He joined the Marines at 16, serving 4 and a half years just after WWII. 
• He used to drive in endurance races.
• He was into architecture, designing 10 houses and being featured in architectural digest. 
• He co-wrote adventure novels.
• He liked to paint.

I never knew he was such a multihyphenate , but I guess nothing should surprise me with him. 

P.S. We talked about Hackman with Ray Romano a while back, as they both starred in what was the formers last movie. One of the funniest stories he told was how, at the first table read, Romano introduced himself and excitedly said "this is my first movie!" to which Hackman muttered under his breath "Holy shit".