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The legendary actor Gene Hackman–a two-time Oscar winner who’s varied career has spanned a whole swathe of cinematic classics–has been found dead at his Santa Fe home, along with his wife, the pianist Betsy Arakawa, at the age of 95.
In a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican, County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed that Hackman and Arakawa had been found dead Wednesday, with the Press Association further confirming there is an active investigation into the deaths–although as of writing, Mendoza added that there are no immediate suspicions of foul play, and no cause of death has been publicly released.
Starting his career in the early 1960s with uncredited TV roles, Hackman would shoot to Hollywood stardom with his breakout performance in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, earning him his first nod at the Oscars. But it would be another five years before he won an Academy Award, for his turn as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, the detective at the heart of The French Connection, following it up 20 years later with a Best Supporting Actor win in 1992 as Sheriff Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. Hackman married Arakawa, 63, in 1991, and would eventually retire from acting in 2004 to pursue an interest in writing. His final novel, the police thriller Pursuit, released in 2013.
But Hackman would become beloved among pop culture fans for his role as Lex Luthor in the 1978 Superman movie, starring alongside Christopher Reeve. Playing the man of steel’s genius nemesis more against type from his comic book counterpart, Hackman’s Luthor amplified a more comedic spin on the villain, a slimy, campy salesman unabashed in his greed and villainy. Hackman went on to reprise the role in Superman II–although he exited the film when director Richard Donner was fired, with a body double impersonating Hackman used to finish his scenes–as well as the fourth movie in the franchise, The Quest For Peace.
Hackman is survived by three children from his first marriage to Faye Maltese, Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Hackman.
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