Gene Hackman is a tremendous, multiple Oscar winning actor who has been in some of the best movies ever made. Of all that great work, the movie that means the most to me is HOOSIERS (1986). If you don’t believe me, just go ahead and follow me on X. I’m easy to find. My handle is @Hoosiers1986. I’ve shared before that my dad was a high school basketball coach at small schools here in Arkansas that weren’t much different from the one in Hickory, IN depicted in the film. Growing up in the Crain household, basketball was my life and my dad and HOOSIERS have always been such inspirations to me.
On his 95th birthday, I wanted to share this video I found of Hackman discussing his role as Coach Norman Dale in HOOSIERS, which includes clips from behind the scenes and of the film itself. I had never seen this material before so I found it especially interesting. He tells a really special story about a lady he met while on location. It was quite touching. Happy Birthday, Mr. Hackman! Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 
A great day of celebration indeed….I also shared a look at his career, and “Hoosiers” is a powerful, intimate and emotional film to be sure – great post!
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Thanks for the share, Bradley, this is great! Appreciate your personal sentiments and story. I really enjoyed Dick Van Dyke’s recent memoir, in which he kindly mentions Hackman, and he is also from Danville, IL. A small town, jazz legend Bobby Short was a classmate of Hackman’s and Van Dyke’s. Of course, Jerry Van Dyke is also from Danville. Donald O’Connor is from Danville, and so is LiveNation CEO and superstar manager (Eagles, Sammy Hagar, etc.) Irving Azoff. So, I appreciate learning Hackman’s philosophy of why so many accomplished people come from middle America!:-)
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Such great info as usual, John C. A couple of interesting connections to your post. For years, Jerry Van Dyke lived here in Benton, Arkansas where I live. He bought a local theater called The Royal Theater. It’s an amazing place that still puts on great performances to this day thanks to Jerry. Also, my fellow partner at my tax firm loves Sammy Hagar. We ate at Sammy’s restaurant in Las Vegas when we vacationed together there last October. It was a wonderful time. Your post brought both of those great memories back to me and I really do appreciate that.
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