Gene Hackman | 1/30/1930 | 91

Gene Hackman was one of the most versatile and well-respected performers in American cinema history. His career spanned six decades and included outstanding credits on stage and in feature films.

Hackman rose from a competent actor on stage to become an unlikely counterculture star with a bombastic turn in Bonnie and Clyde. He earned an Oscar for Best Actor for his tough-guy performance as the legendary Popeye Doyle in The French Connection just a few years later. Hackman once again delivered the goods, this time as the delightfully crazy Lex Luther in Superman: The Movie. Hackman came to the forefront in Reds and entered what proved to be the busiest period of his career, culminating in an Academy Award nomination for Mississippi Burning and Unforgiven. Hackman wandered off into an unofficial retirement, allowing him to cultivate his writing career while leaving behind a tremendous legacy. Gene’s spending the rest of his days in a home he owns in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he often rides his e-bike around town.