Celebrities and followers paid tribute to Hollywood nice Gene Hackman early Thursday morning after the enduring actor — alongside along with his spouse, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa — was discovered lifeless at his New Mexico residence a day earlier.
He was 95, and Arakawa was 65.
Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner, held down a decades-long movie profession that noticed him in traditional photos reminiscent of “The French Connection,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “I Never Sang for My Father,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Hoosiers,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and director Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation.”
Coppola, in a social media put up, paid tribute to the late actor alongside an image of the 2 from the set of 1974 thriller, which took residence the Palme d’Or at that 12 months’s Cannes Movie Pageant.
“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,” the legendary director wrote.
“I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
George Takei additionally mirrored on the lack of “one of the true giants of the screen.”
“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it,” wrote the enduring “Star Trek” actor in a social media put up.
“He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
Edgar Wright, the director behind movies reminiscent of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Baby Driver,” shared a quick tribute to the actor, writing, “The greatest….”
Tom Strickland / Related Press File
Others remarked on the breadth of Hackman’s filmography, together with his efficiency in “Crimson Tide,” director Tony Scott’s 1995 thriller co-starring Denzel Washington.
“Hackman is immortalized through many incredible performances probably more iconic than CRIMSON TIDE, but nobody could’ve brought the same shit-eating bravado to a role with such richly delivered relish,” wrote X consumer @metaplexmovies.
“His was always big screen acting. Rest in peace to a forever legend.”
One other X consumer requested if Hackman was “maybe the greatest actor we’ve ever had” as he shared a clip of him “being the best” in David Mamet’s 2001 movie “Heist.”
Hackman “didn’t look like your typical Hollywood star,” in response to one social media consumer, however he “owned every scene he was in and nailed almost all the roles.”
“He’s undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever grace the medium. The World will miss him. As Arthur Penn rightly put it, ‘American movies have always had certain kinds of self-styled actors who shouldn’t be stars but are and Gene Hackman is in the company of Bogart, Tracy, and Cagney,’” wrote the consumer, who included a clip of the actor from Clint Eastwood’s 1992 movie, “Unforgiven.”
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CORRECTION: A earlier model of this story incorrectly said Betsy Arakawa’s age. She was 65.
