Postscript: Gene Hackman 1930 - 2025

Gene Hackman, in The French Connection

I see in the Times that Gene Hackman has died. He was 95. He’s one of my favorite actors. He appeared in at least three cinematic classics – Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The French Connection (1971), and Unforgiven (1992). I first saw him in Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde, in which he played Clyde’s older brother Buck. It was only a supporting role, but Hackman was superb. Reviewing the movie, Pauline Kael said his performance was “beautifully controlled,” “the best in the movie.” Then four years later, he played the lowlife police detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s The French Connection, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. But perhaps his greatest role was as the sheriff Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s magnificent Unforgiven for which he won another Academy Award – this time for Best Supporting Actor. What I loved about Hackman’s acting is its naturalness. He seemed not just to play his roles, but to live them.