Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95. According to reports, the veteran actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home in New Mexico’s Santa Fe on Thursday.
Gene Hackman had been retired from acting for two decades and lived in New Mexico with his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, who was a classical pianist.
Gene Hackman was an intense character actor who won Academy Awards for the violent 1971 drug saga The French Connection and the 1992 western Unforgiven. One of the rare Hollywood stars to get critical acclaim in independent films and appear in blockbusters, to a generation, he was also known for playing Lex Luthor in the original Superman films starring Christopher Reeve.
The former Marine appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage, during a lengthy career that started in the early 1960s. Apart from his two Oscars, he also won two BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globes. He retired from acting in 2004 with Welcome to Mooseport being his final screen appearance
Gene Hackman was married twice and had three children. His first marriage to Faye Maltese lasted 30 years from 1956 to 86. Hackman married Arakawa in 1991. Before his film career, he had served in the United States Marine Corps for four years from 1947-51.
