Gene Hackman was born on January 30, 1930 and passed away on February 18, 2025.

Gene moved around a lot growing up, but mostly settled in Illinois. Gene knew he wanted to be an actor at the age of 10, but left home at age 16, lied about his age, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He served 4.5 years as a field radio operator stationed in China as part of Operation Beleaguer. He later explained that part of his role was destroying Japanese military equipment. After his discharge in 1951, he moved to New York City. In 1962, he moved back to Illinois to study journalism and television production under the G.I. Bill, but left without graduating and moved to California.

In 1956, Gene began pursuing a career in acting, joining the Pasadena Playhouse, where he and Dustin Hoffman became friends. The pair were voted least likely to succeed by their classmates. With a new spite-fueled desire to prove them wrong, he moved to New York to continue pursing roles.

Between jobs, he worked at Howard Johnson's restaurant, but he began performing in several off-Broadway productions. Eventually, he made it to the main stage, and over the years he was featured in plays including Children From Their Games, A Rainy Day in Newark, Poor Richard, and The Natural Look. At this point, he had a number of television roles as well, like The Trials of O'Brien, Hawk, The FBI, and The Invaders. Television turned into film, and he appeared in films like Hawaii and Bonnie and Clyde, in which his role as Buck Barrow earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

It wasn't until 1970, though, that he really became a star. He was nominated for another Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in I Never Sang for My Father, and starred in Doctors' Wives and The Hunting Party. He won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection.

After that big win, he starred in ten films over the next three years. At this point, he's a household name, and is acting alongside big names like Barbara Streisand, Robin Williams, Hugh Grant, Will Smith, and John Travolta. He was directed by huge names like Woody Allen, Alan Parker, and Clint Eastwood.

In the early 2000s, Gene started to slow down. He co-starred with Morgan Freeman in Under Suspicion, Keanu Reeves in The Replacements, and Owen Wilson in Behind Enemy Lines. He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in The Royal Tenenbaums.

In 2004, Hackman announced he believed his acting career was over. He wrote three historical fiction novels instead, and appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, which was his very last televised appearance.

Gene was married to Faye Maltese from 1956 - 1986 and the pair had one son and two daughters. In 1991, Gene married Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist, and they shared a home in Santa Fe, NM that was featured in Architectural Digest.

Tragically, Gene and his wife Betsy died a shocking death, the pair were discovered dead in their homes by maintenance workers. After much investigation, it was found that Betsy died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe respiratory disease that's spread by rodents, on or around Februrary 12th. Authorities believe that Gene didn't seek help because he couldn't comprehend her death—he had Alzheimer's disease. Gene died around February 18 of sever heart disease. Their bodies weren't discovered until February 26th.

Gene's legacy lives on in the film world. After his death, his was paid tribute by stars such as Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Glenn Close, Tom Hanks, Viola Davis, Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Barbara Streisand, Nthan Lane, Josh Brolin, John Cusack, Ben Stiller, and so many more people, all who recall Gene as an incredible actor and friend.