Gene Hackman

Hackman married Faye Maltese in 1956. They had three children - Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne. The couple divorced in 1986 after three decades of marriage.

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

Eugene Allen Hackman, or Gene Hackman as he is known, was born to Lyda Gray Hackman and Eugene Ezra Hackman on January 30, 1930 at San Bernardino, California. He has a brother, Richard.

His family moved frequently and finally settled in Danville, Illinois, where they lived in his English-born maternal grandmother Beatrice’s house. Hackman’s father operated the printing press for a local paper - the Commercial News.

Hackman’s parents divorced in 1943, and his father subsequently left the family. Gene lived briefly in Storm Lake, Iowa, and studied at the Storm Lake High School.

When he was sixteen-years-old, he left home to join the United States Marine Corps. He served for four-and-a-half years as a field radio operator. After his discharge, he moved to New York, and took several minor jobs.

Hackman began pursuing an acting career in 1956. He joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California where he forged a friendship with aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman. They were later voted “The Least Likely To Succeed”.

He moved to New York City, and began performing in Off-Broadway plays. In 1964, he bagged a role in “Any Wednesday” with actress Sandy Dennis. Film roles followed, and he debuted in “Lilith”.

In 1967, Hackman appeared in the television series “The Invaders” in an episode called “The Spores”. He appeared in an episode of “I Spy” as “Hunter”, in the episode “Happy Birthday...Everybody”.

In 1969, he played a ski coach in “Downhill Racer” and an astronaut in “Marooned”. He played the role of a member of a barnstorming skydiving team, The Gypsy Moths.

In 1970, his supporting role in “I Never Sang for My Father” won an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor. He began receiving leading roles, like in the movie “The Poseidon Adventure”.

Hackman appeared in the supporting role of Buck Barrow in the movie “Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967. It earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor.

In 1974, he won the lead role in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation”, which was nominated for several Oscars. He also appeared in the comic role of the blind hermit in “Young Frankenstein”.

In 1975, he appeared in the Western horse-race saga “Bite the Bullet”, and in “French Connection II”. He also appeared in the highly acclaimed film “Night Moves”, receiving a BAFTA nomination for lead actor.