Gene Hackman (1930-2025)

[dx23]

Reluctant to post this (details are a little gruesome), but it does not appear to be suicide.

Nor carbon monoxide poisoning

And likely to have been dead for some time. Medication was found around his wife's body though.

Seems that they may have been dead for almost 2 weeks but two other dogs were found alive, so there's a lot of suspicious things afoot.

[Roger Ryan]

Nor carbon monoxide poisoning

And likely to have been dead for some time. Medication was found around his wife's body though.

Seems that they may have been dead for almost 2 weeks but two other dogs were found alive, so there's a lot of suspicious things afoot.

I'm thinking the dog near the wife may have eaten some of the medication causing its death.

[therewillbeblus]

Same, the most logical explanation

[beamish14]

Vanity Fair article from 2013 regarding his salad days with Robert Duvall and Dustin Hoffman

I’ve always admired how he and Cary Grant walked away from Hollywood with their dignity intact and refused to compromise

[ando]

Not much to add. Just wanted to show my respect. Glad to see that Tubi has about 10 titles (a few I've never seen) which feature the late actor, probably the largest free sampling of his work. And The Conversation is on TCC. For me he was one of the most intriguing actors to watch, whether he had the lead or a supporting role in any film in which he appeared. R.I.P.

[tolbs1010]

That picture is from Zandy's Bride. An overlooked great film in his body of work and a personal favorite. Like many here, The Conversation will always be my favorite performance and film of his.

For sports fans of a certain generation, Hackman will likely be remembered for Hoosiers, which remains one of the great sports films of all time. Hackman's unsentimental yet still sensitive performance grounds the film and allows Hopper to shine in the flashier role.

He had effortless credibility in nearly everything he played.

[Beloved Aunt]

Hackman is really a very unique thesp. He had so many facets, was so seemingly an all-purpose actor, yet he was hardly a conventional star and part of his onscreen identity was rather saintly, and also kind of cipher-like, if you ask me, actually--I don't know if others would agree but I assume they might. I can't think of anyone else who's really all that like him.

[lacritfan]

Diners Drive-Ins and Dives went to a restaurant in Santa Fe and Gene Hackman was there. Might be one of the few (only?) times to see him in retirement. If you just want to skip to the parts he's in - 1:10, 1:45 and 5:40.

https://youtu.be/bme-O5oEsXo?si=IH6qDn5XCx8HNGyc

[Monterey Jack]

I'm thinking the dog near the wife may have eaten some of the medication causing its death.

That's literally a scene from Magnolia.

[Finch]

Rewatched Unforgiven in memory of Hackman and he's the best reason to watch the film which felt a bit precious to me. Munny and the film keep reminding us how reformed and out of shape he is that by his third monologue about how Claudia made and kept him straight or he fails to mount the horse, I started to wish that the film had a bit more faith in its audience. Jaimz Woolvett is terrible as the Schofield Kid and his character being both cocky and a wet blanket doesn't help. Hackman though makes every scene he is in great. The grin he flashes after Bill has beaten the crap out of Munny reminded me of a skeleton skull grin and in that instant Hackman is more terrifying than many slasher villains manage to be across one entire movie. The way he calmly challenges Harris's English Bob, bloodied and beaten in his cell, to take the gun from the reporter and dares him to shoot him only for Bob to realize that he got tricked into thinking the gun wasn't loaded - Hackman communicates his character's steely nerve with so little and the relish he takes in humiliating Bob even further. Would that the entire film was like that. I hadn't seen the film in 4K before and the nighttime scenes, particularly the low light setting of Skinny's bar, were all the more immersive. The Studio Canal 4K of The Conversation is on its way to me and I can't wait. My favorite film of Hackman's and Coppola's. RIP Harry Caul.

[MichaelB]

A lovely tribute from Mel Brooks (via his Facebook page):

I was privileged to know Gene Hackman because he played tennis with another Gene—Gene Wilder. And that Gene told him about a little role called The Blind Hermit in our movie YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. He said, “Do you think Mel would let me play it? I’ve always wanted to do a comedy.” Needless to say, I was over the moon and he was perfect.

[bearcuborg]

David Thomson offers a hell of a chest grabber…

[domino harvey]

Real hardness is voting for Trump is where I bailed, let me know if I or my dog missed anything of value

[swo17]

I thought he was saying hardness is what's happening to the people that voted for him. Then there's a big anti-Trump disclaimer at the end

[hearthesilence]

Walter Murch's tribute

[domino harvey]

I thought he was saying hardness is what's happening to the people that voted for him. Then there's a big anti-Trump disclaimer at the end

Sorry I got distracted by a dog

[ianthemovie]

David Thompson offers a hell of a chest grabber…

Just to clarify, that piece is by David Thomson, not (fellow British film writer) David Thompson.

[The Curious Sofa]

While I think Hackman, as a character actor turned movie star, did indeed lack vanity and made for great villains (though I miss mentions of his chilling turn in Prime Cut, a personal favorite, in the obituaries I've read), he's not the only one. I've always admired Michael Douglas, who had the looks of a movie star but wasn't afraid to take on unsympathetic and unflattering roles, though he may not pass hardness or dog checks.

This article is bizarre even by the Guardian's wonky standards of movie writing, what was this David Thomson on?

[Fred Holywell]

Gene Hackman 1930 - 2025 | TCM Remembers

[hearthesilence]

This was recorded for SAG-AFTRA in 2014, but it's a bittersweet story about Gene Hackman from Kevin Costner. It's mostly about Costner (about an argument he had regarding a scene in No Way Out), but it sets up what Hackman says at the very end.

[domino harvey]

Update: Cause of death for Hackman was heart disease exacerbated by advanced Alzheimer’s. His wife died of Hantavirus days before he did

[hearthesilence]

More details. A bizarre and gruesome end.

[Big Ben]

That's really odd. Hantavirus comes from the droppings of deer mice and it's an incredibly rare virus for human beings to catch. We occasionally get cases in Montana where I live and it's extremely dangerous. It's absolutely necessary to take precautions when doing things like cleaning homes and cabins here due to it's lethality. To be blunt as I possibly can about this about you straight up die from Hantavirus. You can present no symptoms in the morning when you wake up and be dead by the evening due to Pulmonary Edema. How utterly,utterly bizarre.

[Matt]

The dog was found in a closet? This has got to be one of the oddest all-time celebrity deaths from natural causes.

[dadaistnun]

That week long gap between Arakawa‘s death and Hackman’s, with Hackman suffering from Alzheimer’s….christ, just monumentally sad.