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Two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman had already moved across the country and embarked on other career paths before he finally decided to move back to Southern California to give his aspirations of acting a chance at the esteemed Pasadena Playhouse.
It was a timely decision that led to a lifelong friendship and a Hollywood career that spanned five decades and included memorable roles in hits like “The French Connection,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Superman,” “Crimson Tide,” “Unforgiven” and many more.
Hackman’s time at the esteemed Playhouse in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles coincided with that of another young actor named Dustin Hoffman, with whom he developed an enduring friendship. According to legend, the two were voted “least likely to succeed.”
In a 2001 interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, Hackman — who was found dead at age 95 Wednesday afternoon with his wife and dog inside the family’s New Mexico home — talked about his leap into the acting world.
“I always had it in my head that I wanted to be an actor, but when I was in high school, I was too shy to do anything about it,” Hackman said. “Pasadena was the first time I had the courage to actually get up there on stage and see if I liked it or if it was just some dumb idea.”
“Pasadena was the first time I had the courage to actually get up there on stage and see if I liked it or if it was just some dumb idea.”
Gene Hackman, via the LA Daily News (2001)
The Pasadena Playhouse is the official State Theater of California. Founded in 1917, it is considered one of the most prolific theaters in the United States. The School for Theater Arts became a training ground for actors who went on to stardom.
Hackman’s roles spanned the spectrum from bad guy to comic maestro. In 1988, Hackman, who joined the Marines at 16, told The Los Angeles Times, “If you have some kind of disturbed childhood, you go into acting to exorcise that, to point out who you are. When I’m given a role that has a lot of darkness in it, it appeals to me.”
Hackman was born in San Bernardino and grew up in Danville, Illinois. His parents divorced when he was 13.
After he was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1952, Hackman studied journalism at the University of Illinois, then tried television production in New York before heading to Southern California.
Hackman returned to New York in the late 1950s to continue his acting studies.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department said Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found during a welfare check following a call from a neighbor.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time. However, (the) exact cause of death has not been determined,” the sheriff’s office shared in a statement.
Hackman appeared in nearly 80 films over 40 years. His final role was in the 2004 political satire “Welcome to Mooseport.”
In 1972, he won the Oscar for his role as Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection. He won his second Oscar two decades later for his wole of Little Bill Daggett in “Unforgiven.”
He received five Academy Award nominations as well as two BAFTA Awards out of five career nominations.
Hackman was nominated for eight Golden Globe awards and won three, in addition to being presented with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2003 for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”
“Star Trek” actor George Takei posted on social media that “we have lost one of the true giants of the screen.”
“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it,” he wrote. “He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
Valerie Perrine, who played Hackman’s on-screen girlfriend in the “Superman” films, wrote, “His performances are legendary. His talent will be missed. Goodbye my sweet Lex. Till we meet again.”
Hackman was married twice, the first time for 30 years to Faye Maltese, with whom he had three children. They divorced in 1986. He married Arakawa, a classical pianist 30 years his junior, in 1991. He is survived by his son and two daughters.
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