Gene Hackman has passed away.  He was 95 and reportedly found dead in his Santa Fe home, along with his wife and dog.  That’s what the authorities are saying.  They also say there’s no sign of foul play.  I’m sure there will be a lot of online speculation about what that all means.  That’s the way of the world nowadays and it’s a shame.

Gene Hackman was one of the greats.  He went into acting after a stint in the Marines and, according to most accounts and his own interviews, he never lost that grit and that expectation of professionalism from everyone he worked with.  A former roommate of Robert Duvall’s, a close friend of Dustin Hoffman’s (from the days when they were both unknown stage actors), Hackman went from doing episodic television to becoming one of our best film actors.  He was hardly a traditional leading man but his talent was undeniable.  His Popeye Doyle was the classic eccentric cop.  His Lex Luthor was a great comedic villain while his performance as Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven proved to be the perfect portrayal of the authoritarian impulse. Interestingly enough, he was reportedly set to make his directorial debut with The Silence of the Lambs but he withdrew from the project, saying he didn’t like the violence.  (Reports vary on whether he would have also played Lecter or Jack Crawford.)  Hackman was a liberal but of the old-fashioned, blue collar variety.  He once said starring in The French Connection changed his whole view of policing.  It takes courage to admit to having changed your mind on anything.  It’s not something that a lot of celebs have the guts to do anymore.

I’ve always respected that Hackman retired under his own terms.  Faced with spending the latter part of his career appearing in movies like Welcome to Mooseport, he said, “I’m done.”  Someone would have to be the once great star who humiliated himself by taking the lead role in Dirty Grandpa but it wasn’t going to be Gene Hackman.

Gene Hackman, RIP.  He had a great career and gave us many great performances and that’s all we can really ask of an actor.