Two-time Oscar winner and renowned actor Gene Hackman, whose eclectic career includes a wide range of cinematic classics, was discovered dead at his Santa Fe home at the age of 95, together with his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa.
County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths Wednesday in a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican. The Press Association also confirmed that an investigation is underway into the deaths, though as of this writing, Mendoza added that no cause of death has been made public and there are no immediate suspicions of foul play. The cause of death has not been released but the investigation is still ongoing.
He was so successful as an actor because he never faked it and could consistently give outstanding performances, even in films that may not have been the best overall. He brought a certain level of commitment and passion to almost every character he portrayed.
What about the following films? All of them showcase Hackman’s acting performances in over his extraordinary acting career. Very few actors can say that they have performed well in so many films, in nearly every genre. The following films all showcase Hackman’s unmatched acting abilities in science fiction.
5. Marooned (1969)
Directed By John Sturges
Marooned is a futuristic sci-fi about three astronauts who are stranded in space due to equipment malfunction. NASA is unsure of how to save them before they run out of oxygen.
The space drama, primarily aimed at showcasing the acting talents of the four leads, Hackman, Richard Crenna, and James Franciscus, is overlong and overly repetitive, with some scenes feeling stodgy. The special effects are dated and laughable, but the film has a timeliness that adds significance to the production.
The actors, particularly Crenna as a compassionate family man, Hackman as a tough guy slowly going mad, and Franciscus as an underrated character, are the main reasons to watch. Gregory Peck also delivers a strong performance.
4. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)
Directed By Sidney J. Furie
In this film, Superman decides to eliminate all nuclear weapons since the world is in danger of a nuclear war. But Lex Luthor develops Nuclear Man, a powerful force capable of defeating Superman.
Superman IV is the worst movie of the Christopher Reeve series. Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman refused to return for the third film in protest of Richard Donner’s treatment on Superman II. But this was a passion project for Reeves so Kidder and Hackman agreed to come back for the fourth film.
The budget was slashed and even Reeves knew it was terrible. But Hackman gave the performance everything he had. Even though Luthor’s plan is the goofiest plan in the history of goofy plans he played it straight. The film is the worst, but Hackman was always a true professional.
3. Shadow on the Land (1968)
Directed By Richard C. Sarafian
Shadow on the Land is a 1960s TV movie that explores the rise of a fascist, totalitarian dystopia in America. The film follows the United States as a dictatorship for forty years, with the leader exploiting a national emergency to seize control and declare martial law. The people give the leader a blank check, and discipline replaces freedom as an ideal. Dissenters, part of an organized resistance group called “Society of Man,” are sent to detention camps, where they are beaten and tortured.
The film is uninteresting and disorganized, like a confused TV pilot that never made it to series. With Vietnam in the news every night and the year of the Chicago DNC riot, I’m not sure how anyone could have predicted that a military dystopian book would be so popular.
Gene Hackman’s outstanding performance, which is far superior to that of the other actors in the cast, plus a few strong action scenes keep the film begrudgingly afloat despite its poor performances.
3. Young Frankenstein
Directed by Mel Brooks
Throughout his career, Hackman likely performed as much humor as serious drama, which belies his commanding and self-assured personality. He subverted his patrician appearance in many of these parts, such as in Mike Nichols’s The Birdcage.
However, the single best sequence in Mel Brooks’s hilarious Young Frankenstein is his cameo as Harold, the blind man. Hackman’s indeterminately accented hermit, who is nearly unrecognizable due to his massive fake beard and heavy makeup, tortures Peter Boyle’s monster, including setting his finger on fire, with a cheerful blitheness that adds to the humor of the various humiliations he inflicts on Boyle.
2. Superman II (1981)
Directed By Richard Lester
A lot of time is devoted to the romance between Clark and Lois in Superman II (1981), which pits our hero against three super-foes from Krypton (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, and Jack O’Halloran). Stamp is obviously having a great time playing the most heinous of the villains (“Kneel before Zod!”), and that Phantom Zone image, which was first seen in Superman, is still surreal.
Hackman is sidelined in the sequel from being the main villain for Zod. But his sycophantic attempts to maintain power in the face of a (physically) superior foe helps to show Luthor’s mental superiority. He masterfully manipulates the Kryptonian prisoner into turning his attention to Superman.
It’s a wonderful performance and helps elevate the slapstick comedy by Lester.
1. Superman: The Movie (1978)
Directed By Richard Donner
Although the public was convinced that a man could fly by Richard Donner’s incredibly important superhero movie, a worried studio insisted that he cast A-list actors to support the then-unknown Christopher Reeve.
One of these, starring Marlon Brando as Superman’s father Jor-El, was a costly failure, while the other, starring Hackman as the evil Lex Luthor, was a brilliant idea. Luthor, played by Hackman, is a Bond-style camp villain who is prone to megalomaniacal fantasies and is always brought down by his own pettiness, not to mention his wig-wearing vanity.
Although the performance is hilarious, the actor’s sardonic demeanor subverts the humor, ensuring that Luthor remains a legitimate villain rather than merely a representation of comic relief.
Hackman is survived by three children from his first marriage to Faye Maltese, Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Hackman.
Which is your favorite role from Gene Hackman? Let us know in the comments below!
