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Biography
Early life
Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California to Eugene Ezra Hackman (a newspaper pressman) and Lyda Gray. His parents divorced while he was a child, and he therefore moved from one place to another until he settled finally in Danville, Illinois, where he lived with his English-born grandmother, Beatrice Gray.
At 16 he left home to join the United States Marine Corps, where he served 3 years as a field radio operator. Having finished his service, he moved to New York, where he worked in several minor jobs. He then studied television production and journalism at the University of Illinois, taking advantage of the G.I. Bill.
Career
Already over 30 years old, Hackman decided to become an actor, and joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California. It was in that school that Hackman forged a friendship with another aspiring actor named Dustin Hoffman. Already seen as outsiders by their classmates, Hackman and Hoffman were later voted "The Least Likely To Succeed", which has proven famously untrue. Determined to prove them wrong, Hackman hopped on a bus bound for New York City with his wife, with Hoffman later following. A 2004 article in Vanity Fair described how Hackman, Hoffman and Robert Duvall were all struggling actors and close friends, while living in New York City in the 1960s. As one of many odd jobs, Hackman was working as a doorman when he ran into an instructor whom he despised at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Reinforcing "The Least Likely To Succeed" vote, the man had said "See Hackman, I told you you wouldn't amount to anything." (Some reports allege that it was in fact one of his former drill instructors from the Marines who saw him there and told him this.)
Hackman began performing in several off-Broadway plays. Finally, in 1964, he had the offer to play on Broadway, which opened the doors to the movies. His first role was in Lilith, with Warren Beatty in the leading role. Another secondary role, Buck Barrow, in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. In 1971, he was again nominated for the same award, this time for I Never Sang for My Father, working alongside Melvyn Douglas and Estelle Parsons. The next year he won the Best Actor award for his memorable performance as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection.
By the end of the 1980s Hackman was a deeply respected actor (during the decade he made at least seventeen movies - see list below), and alternated between leading and supporting roles, earning another Best Actor nomination for Mississippi Burning. In 1990, he underwent heart surgery, which kept him away from work for a while. In 1992, he played the sadistic sheriff, Bill Daggett, in Unforgiven, for which role he earned a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor. After so many years of acting, Hackman wanted to try another field of creativity, and wrote his first novel, which was published in 1999, a year that was exceptional in that he did not appear in any film.
His distinctive voice can be heard in television commercials from time-to-time, notably for United Airlines, GTE, CNN, and more recently for Oppenheimer Funds and Lowe's Home Improvement.
Private life
Hackman's first wife was Fay Maltese. They had three children, but they divorced in 1986 after 30 years of marriage. In 1991, Hackman married Betsy Arakawa. They live in Beverly Hills and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Betsy is co-owner of an upscale retail home-furnishing store in Santa Fe, called Pandora's, Inc.
On July 7, 2004, Hackman gave a rare interview to Larry King, in which he announced that he had no future film projects lined up, and believes his acting career is finished.
Filmography
Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
Runaway Jury (2003)
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Heist (2001)
Heartbreakers (2001)
The Mexican (2001)
The Replacements (2000)
Under Suspicion (2000)
Enemy of the State (1998)
Twilight (1998)
Absolute Power (1997)
The Chamber (1996)
Extreme Measures (1996)
The Birdcage (1996)
Get Shorty (1995)
Crimson Tide (1995)
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Wyatt Earp (1994)
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
The Firm (1993)
Unforgiven (1992)
Company Business (1991)
Class Action (1991)
Loose Cannons (1990)
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
Narrow Margin (1990)
The Package (1988)
Bat*21 (1988)
Mississippi Burning (1988)
No Way Out (1987)
Another Woman (1987)
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)
Hoosiers (1986)
Power (1986)
Target (1985)
Twice In A Lifetime (1985)
Eureka (1984)
Misunderstood (1984)
Uncommon Valor (1983)
Under Fire (1983)
Reds (1981)
Superman II (1981)
All Night Long (1981)
Superman (1978)
The Domino Principle (1978)
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
March Or Die (1977)
French Connection II (1975)
Lucky Lady (1975)
Night Moves (1975)
The Conversation (1974)
Zandy's Bride (1974)
Bite the Bullet (1974)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Scarecrow (1973)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Prime Cut (1972)
The Hunting Party (1971)
The French Connection (1971)
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
Downhill Racer (1969)
Marooned (1969)
The Gypsy Moths (1969)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Hawaii (1966)
Lilith (1964)
Mad Dog Coll (uncredited) (1961)
