Gene Hackman

Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor and author.

Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Lyda and Eugene Ezra Hackman.

He has a brother, Richard. Hackman's family moved from one place to another until finally settling in Danville, Illinois, where they lived in the house of his maternal grandmother, Beatrice, and where Hackman's father operated the printing press for the Commercial-News, a local paper.

Hackman's parents divorced in 1943. His mother died in 1962, as a result of a fire she accidentally set while smoking.

At sixteen, Hackman left home to join the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served 3 years as a field radio operator. Having finished his service, he moved to New York, working in several minor jobs before moving to study television production and journalism at the University of Illinois under the G.I. Bill. At 26 years old, Hackman decided to become an actor, and joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California. It was there that he forged a friendship with another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman. Already seen as outsiders by their classmates, Hackman and Hoffman were later voted "The Least Likely To Succeed". Determined to prove them wrong, Hackman hopped on a bus bound for New York City.

Hackman began performing in several off-Broadway plays. Finally, in 1964, he had an offer to co-star in the play Any Wednesday with actress Sandy Dennis. This opened the door to film work. His first role was in Lilith, with Warren Beatty in the leading role. Another supporting role, Buck Barrow in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. In 1969 he played a ski coach in Downhill Racer, and an astronaut in Marooned. In 1970, he was again nominated for the same award, this time for I Never Sang for My Father, working alongside Melvyn Douglas and Estelle Parsons. The next year he won the Best Actor award for his memorable performance as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, marking his graduation to leading man status. In 1992, he played the violent sheriff 'Little' Bill Daggett in the western Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood and written by David Webb Peoples which earned him a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor, the film itself won Best Picture. In 2003, at the Golden Globe Awards, Hackman was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field."

Together with undersea archaeologist Daniel Lenihan, Hackman has written three novels: Wake of the Perdido Star (1999), Justice for None (2004), and Escape from Andersonville (2008).

On July 7, 2004, Hackman gave a rare interview to Larry King, in which he announced that he had no future film projects lined up, and believes his acting career is over. In 2008, while promoting his third novel, Hackman confirmed that he has retired from acting. His final film to date was the box office bomb Welcome to Mooseport.

Hackman does voice-overs on advertisements for United Airlines, GTE, CNN, and more recently for Oppenheimer Funds and Lowe's Home Improvement.

Hackman also has a non-alcoholic beverage named after him that is gaining popularity in the Midwest. A "Gene Hackman" consists of Diet Coke mixed with Grenadine.

Hackman's first wife was Faye Maltese. They had three children, Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne, but the couple divorced in 1986 after 30 years of marriage.

In 1991, Hackman married Betsy Arakawa. They live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Betsy is co-owner of an upscale retail home-furnishing store in Santa Fe, called Pandora's, Inc.