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Spoilers for "Andor" to follow.

Now that "Andor" is over, Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) is likely to go down as one of the show's best creations. The Rebellion Alliance may not want to remember Luthen's legacy in helping to build it, but it's a legacy "Star Wars" fans won't forget. "Star Wars" has been political from the beginning, but "Andor" threads the needle like never before. A lot of that is Luthen's presence; he's a Rebel who feels like an actual revolutionary.

There's no Death Star yet in "Andor," but the Rebels have challenges aplenty — real challenges, like factionalist infighting and compromises for greater goods. Luthen saying in "One Way Out" that "I burn my life to make a sunrise I know I'll never see" is one of the most succinct and beautiful sentiments explaining political resistance I've heard — knowing...

Wildly popular true-crime podcast Sistas Who Kill has signed a deal for exclusive selling rights with Cake Media, the New York-based podcast network and production studio. Hosted by best friends MaRah and Taz, Sistas Who Kill explores stories about Black women convicted of murder and how their journeys through the criminal justice system differ from those of white women defendants. Featured in Vogue (“50 Best True-Crime Podcasts to Listen to Now”), Cosmopolitan, and Forbes (“25 Top True Crime Podcasts to Binge”), Sistas Who Kill has developed a massive and loyal listenership, garnering over 1 million downloads each month.

The series is the latest addition to Cake Media’s roster, which includes podcasts like Fluently Forward, which explores celebrity blind items and media theory; personal development and manifestation series Habits of a Goddess; and original true-crime series Hoax: The Sherri Papini Story, which will be featured in an upcoming Investigation Discovery/Max docu-series. In...

Charles Strouse, the decorated composer behind such Broadway-turned-Hollywood hit musicals as “Annie” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” died at his home in New York City on Thursday. He was 96 years old.

The composer — known for enduring numbers like “Put on a Happy Face,” “Tomorrow” and “Those Were the Days” — is survived by his four children, Benjamin, Nicholas, Victoria and William Strouse, who announced his passing. He is further survived by his eight grandchildren: Sam and Arthur Strouse, Navah Strouse, Vivian, Weston and Ever Brush, and Owen and Theodore Strouse. He was predeceased by wife and choreographer Barbara Siman, whom he married in 1962, and passed away in 2023.

Over his seven-decade career spanning stage and screen, the entertainment industry stalwart won the coveted Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award for his work. Additional Broadway musicals he created beyond “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Annie” are the Tony-winning “Applause,” and the Tony-nominated “Golden Boy,” “Charlie & Algernon,...

One of Hollywood’s most independent and original Oscar-winning writer-directors

Cultured, modest, intelligent: not words that immediately spring to mind when describing most Hollywood moviemakers. But for the writer-director Robert Benton, who has died aged 92 they are entirely apt.

Combined with a sparse output, those qualities kept him on the periphery of mainstream cinema and its publicity treadmill – despite Oscar-winning successes including Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984), plus one of the most celebrated debuts in movie history when, at 35, he won his first Oscar nomination as co-writer of Bonnie and Clyde (1967). He was 40 when he made the Jeff Bridges western Bad Company – the first of only 11 feature film directorial credits.

Three-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Robert Benton has died. He was 92.

Per Variety, Benton, who won two Oscars for 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer died on May 11 in Manhattan. His death was confirmed by Marisa Forzano, Benton’s assistant and manager.

Born Robert Douglas Benton, in Waxahachie, Texas, the filmmaker received a Bfa from the University of Texas. He then went on to pursue a Master’s at Columbia University and aspired to be a painter. In 1954, he was drafted into the Army and painted dioramas at Fort Bliss during his time in the service. He would go on to work as an art director at Esquire magazine from 1958 to 1964.

Benton won two Oscars for Kramer vs. Kramer, the drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, one for Best Director and one for Best Writing. He won another Best Writing Oscar in 1985 for Places in the Heart, the drama that starred Sally Field,...

Robert Benton has died at the age of 92.The Oscar-winning director - who was best known for writing and directing the 1979 drama movie 'Kramer vs. Kramer' - has passed away, with Marisa Forzano, his longtime assistant, confirming the news to the New York Times newspaper.Benton was the art director at Esquire magazine in the early 60s, before he became part of the film industry with the help of acclaimed screenwriter David Newman.Benton once explained in an interview: "I had been working as an art director at Esquire and I got fired."I decided to write a screenplay. I am dyslexic. I cannot spell or punctuate. I knew a young editor at Esquire, a wonderful writer, David Newman. I sold him on the glamorous life of the Hollywood screenwriter."Benton wrote his first screenplay with Newman for 'Bonnie and Clyde', the 1967 biographical crime film that...

Three-time Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Robert Benton, who helmed the 1979 best picture Oscar winner “Kramer vs. Kramer” as well as such films as “The Late Show,” “Places in the Heart” and “Nobody’s Fool” and collaborated on the screenplay for “Bonnie and Clyde,” died Sunday in Manhattan. He was 92.

His death was confirmed to the New York Times by his assistant and manager Marisa Forzano.

Benton, who started out as an art director at Esquire magazine, was partnered early on with fellow Esquire alumnus David Newman. They penned the innovative, award-winning 1967 film “Bonnie and Clyde,” which launched both their careers. They gradually diverged as Benton expanded into directing starting with “Bad Company,” starring Jeff Bridges.

After “Kramer,” he continued to turn out dramatic films, which he often wrote as well as directed. He brought Oscar fortune to actors including Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Sally Field, John Malkovich, Jane Alexander and Paul Newman,...

Robert Benton, writer and director of the highly acclaimed “Kramer vs. Kramer,” has died, the New York Times reported Tuesday. He was 92.

Benton, who also worked on the screenplay for “Bonnie and Clyde,” died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan, the Times reported, citing longtime assistant and manager Marisa Forzano.

“Kramer vs. Kramer,” a raw look at the realities of a modern divorce, was one of the most decorated films of its time. Nominated for nine Academy Awards in 1980, it took home five: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman), Best Supporting Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Benton).

Benton also won an Oscar for “Places in the Heart,” which he wrote and directed. He got his break while working at Esquire magazine, where a colleague, David Newman, was working on a screenplay about infamous bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

Their script, directed by Arthur Penn...

Robert Benton, the much-admired screenwriter turned director who co-wrote Bonnie and Clyde and received a pair of Academy Awards for his work on the best picture winner Kramer vs. Kramer, has died. He was 92.

Benton died Sunday at his home in Manhattan, his longtime assistant and manager, Marisa Forzano, told The New York Times.

Benton captured a third Oscar for his screenplay for Places in the Heart (1984), an autobiographical saga based on his grandmother’s hard experiences during the Depression in Texas. He received yet another Oscar nomination for his direction of that drama, and he was nominated for his screenplays for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) — one of the fruits of his partnership with David Newman — The Late Show (1977) and Nobody’s Fool (1994). He helmed the last two as well.

Benton and Newman also wrote films including There Was a Crooked Man … (1970), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and the Peter Bogdanovich screwball...

Kani Releasing has picked up North American rights to Isao Fujisawa’s 1974 cult queer classic Bye Bye Love, a film once feared lost to time. Kani Releasing plans to bring the film to U.S. art house theaters in late 2025, followed by a select video-on-demand placement and home video release.

For decades, Bye Bye Love, Fujisawa’s only fictional feature, was considered lost, as the only known screening print had deteriorated to such an extent that it was no longer able to withstand projection. But the film’s original negative fortuitously resurfaced in a Tokyo film lab’s warehouse in 2018, and Japanese producer and director Akihiro Suzuki (Looking for an Angel) has been championing the film’s restoration and revival ever since.

Suzuki’s own work, along with scores of other jishu eiga (self-produced films), were deeply influenced by Bye Bye Love, as the film became one of the most...

What exactly is a punk Frankenstein supposed to look like in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new film “The Bride?” Audiences finally found out when Warner Bros. Pictures gave a first look at Gyllenhaal’s new take on the “Bride of Frankenstein” story at CinemaCon.

Starring Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz, and Peter Sarsgaard, “The Bride” is part of an ambitious slate for Warner Bros., which has a number of expensive and daring auteur projects mixed in with some franchise tentpoles. Gyllenhaal has already shared a few first looks, and Gyllenhaal’s husband Sarsgaard has touted the film’s artistic risks, calling it “punk” and “fast and really emotional,” something he believed would play for adults and teenagers alike.

As for what we officially saw in the Colosseum at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the first trailer for the film showed Buckley’s character falling down a flight of stairs...

It’s alive!

“The Bride!,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s punk rock take on Frankenstein’s monster and his betrothed, debuted a terrifying first look at CinemaCon on Tuesday as part of Warner Bros.’ presentation to theater owners. The $90 million-budgeted film stars Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s monster and Jessie Buckley as his undead love interest. Based on the footage that Gyllenhaal shared, their marriage is one that’s made in hell. After all, the movie’s newly revealed tagline is “Here comes the mother fucking bride.”

The gruesome first look, which hasn’t been made available to the public, opens with Buckley’s character falling down a staircase and breaking her bones after she lands sprawled out on the floor. She finds herself on the operating table to get patched up, but only to function as a companion for a certain stitched-up creature.

“It wasn’t any accident,” a voice says...

Actress and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal made her directorial debut with the psychological drama The Lost Daughter starring Dakota Johnson and Olivia Colman. She earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Critics and audiences have praised Maggie Gyllenhaal’s direction and storytelling.

The filmmaker is set to direct an adaptation of Frankenstein titled The Bride! And it stars Christian Bale, Jessie Buckley, Penélope Cruz, and more. The Bride! is inspired by James Whale’s movie Bride of Frankenstein, which was released in 1935. Fans who have been waiting for the movie might not be impressed with the recent update on the movie.

Dakota Johnson and Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter | Credits: Netflix Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! pushed for a 2026 release

The Bride!, by Maggie Gyllenhaal, has been one of the anticipated movies since its announcement and was initially set to release in September 2025. But THR has...

You read that right, dear viewer. Netflix is adding no less than 38 movies and shows to their rotation this week. And if you think I'm giving a detailed synopsis of every new arrival, well... in the immortal words of Ms. Kimberly Wilkins, "Ain't nobody got time for that."

Holy Hannah. After last week, I'm used to a lighter workload. Granted, most of these properties aren't new, just new to Netflix. There are certainly a lot of classic films in the group, so I'll hit the highlights. Or at least a dozen of them. Maybe even a baker's dozen, lucky you.

Netflix closes out March with three original titles, then bombards us with 27 features on April Fool's Day. Unless they're doing some weird meta-promotion, and not releasing anything on April 1st. Speaking of April Fool's - I've included one fake title in the list. Hopefully, you'll be able to discover it without too much trouble.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z should be proud of the things they’ve gone through to keep their twenty-year-long relationship intact. It’s never an easy task to keep the spark alive as trouble somehow tends to find its way to wreak havoc on anything that radiates with positivity. Unfortunately, the couple did experience a rough patch a few years ago based what on their latest hits have conveyed through their lyrics.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z in the music video of “Bonnie and Clyde” | Credits: youtube.com/@jayzslifeandtimes

Beyoncé’s Sorry was the song that first hinted at Jay-Z’s infidelity. The song blatantly spoke about a man being unfaithful to his partner, but it was the final line which said “He better call Becky with the good hair” that caused a stir and led to a lot of speculation.

However, it doesn’t seem like the Queen Bee has gotten over the incident yet.

The very private Gene Hackman will be allowed to retain some of that privacy posthumously, at least for a few more weeks.

Almost three weeks after the two-time Oscar winner and spouse Betsy Arakawa were discovered dead at their Santa Fe home, a New Mexico judge Monday granted their estate’s request to seal medical records. As well, Judge Matthew Wilson has sealed all police photos and video footage of the couple’s bodies and one of their dogs when they were found February 26.

Suffering from Alzheimer’s and heart disease, the 95-year-old Hackman is assumed to have died on or about February 18, according to New Mexico authorities. That was almost a week after 63-year-old Arakawa is said to have died as a result in part of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a disease primarily spread by rodents’ feces, as state medical officials and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adam Mendoza revealed.

Unlike...

Chicago – Oscar winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arawaka were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26th. Arawaka died of a rare lung infection, the 95-year-old Hackman succumbed to natural causes. Photographer Joe Arce captured this Exclusive Portrait of Hackman in 2000.

The mystery and circumstances surrounding the couple’s death stayed in the headlines for weeks. They both had been deceased for several days before being discovered, and at first is was speculated that carbon monoxide poisoning might have been the culprit. But as the investigation continued, it was determined that Ms. Arawaka had died first on or around February 11th of a rare lung infection, and Hackman … suffering from Alzheimer’s disease … died one week later.

Actor Gene Hackman in 2000

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Gene Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, but the family settled in Danville,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.News The Blob.While moviegoing trended downward elsewhere (though box office receipts increased), France, Great Britain, Brazil, and Turkey saw an uptick in cinema attendance last year. French theater owners and analysts point to several nationally specific contributing factors: government art subsidies, distribution laws that mandate long theatrical windows, the inability for urban apartments to accommodate big home-theater setups, and the public's strong cultural connection to the cinema.As more small-town movie theaters close because of low ticket and concession sales, local residents have begun forming nonprofit organizations to save them. In 2023, Nicki Wilson of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, successfully organized a fundraiser to save the Triplex Cinema, the town’s only moviehouse. By means of donations, grants, and volunteer labor,...

Late actor Gene Hackman is known for providing many memorable performances throughout the course of his legendary career. Every fan of Oscar winner might have their own favorites, and the first one that comes to mind for fellow Hollywood legend Robert Englund is the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde.

Englund, best known for playing Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street, shared a post on X to address the recent passing of Hackman. For his part, Englund has been a fan of the revered actor dating back to when he first saw Bonnie and Clyde, sharing that the death of Hackman's character is one that has stuck with him for all this time. Given Englund's decades spent in the horror genre, that's certainly saying a lot. He went on to name a few other personal favorite films of his that featured Hackman.

Rip Gene Hackman, a consummate film actor. Been...

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died from heart disease and complications related to Alzheimer’s, while his wife, Betsy Arakawa, succumbed to a rare respiratory illness, according to findings released by New Mexico authorities. The couple, who had lived privately in Santa Fe for decades, died about a week apart in their home before being discovered on February 26.

A forensic report from the New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner’s office detailed that Hackman, 95, passed away due to hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s as a contributing factor. His pacemaker reportedly stopped functioning on or around February 17, indicating the estimated time of his death. Autopsy results showed no signs of trauma, but evidence suggested Hackman had not eaten for several days prior to his death.

Arakawa, 65, died first, likely on February 11, after contracting Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (Hps), a severe respiratory illness linked to exposure to rodent droppings. According to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza,...

As Hollywood continues to mourn the death of acting legend Gene Hackman, one of his highest-rated films finds a new streaming home, allowing fans to catch up with some of his best work. Hackman and fellow Oscar-winner Kevin Costner's neo-noir classic, No Way Out, is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

Prime Video recently premiered No Way Out, which made its theatrical debut in 1987. The film has been available to stream on Apple TV and Tubi, with Prime subscribers becoming the latest to check out the Roger Donaldson-helmed thriller.

RelatedGene Hackman's Home Had 'Minuscule' Gas Leak, 'Not Believed to Be a Factor' in Mysterious Deaths

The New Mexico Gas Company has shared the findings of its investigation of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's home.

Orion Pictures

Based on Kenneth Fearing's 1946 novel, The Big Clock, No Way Out sees Costner play U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell,...

The Oscars paid tribute to Gene Hackman during Sunday’s ceremony, with the actor’s “Unforgiven” co-star Morgan Freeman introducing an honor for the late star. The speech preceded the ceremony’s in memoriam, honoring the industry figures who have died in the previous year.

“This week, our community lost a giant. And I lost a dear friend, Gene Hackman,” Freeman began in his speech. “I had the pleasure of working alongside gene on two films, ‘Unforgiven’ and ‘Under Suspicion.’ Like everyone who ever shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone’s work.”

“Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work,'” Freeman continued. “I think I speak for us all when I say, ‘Gene, you will be remembered for that, and so much more.

It's never easy to learn that yet another screen titan has left us. The rate at which we've been losing our legends is gutting, which is why it deeply saddened me when I found out about the great Gene Hackman passing away with his wife Betsy Arakawa in their New Mexico home.

When it comes to the actor's diverse body of work, there's almost too much to talk about. But that was how Hackman secured his legacy as one of the industry's most versatile performers for decades. Any contemporary actor alive would kill to have the resume Hackman had. He worked with greats like Arthur Penn ("Bonnie and Clyde"), Francis Ford Coppola ("The Conversation"), Richard Donner ("Superman: The Movie"), Sam Raimi ("The Quick and the Dead"), Tony Scott ("Crimson Tide"), and Wes Anderson ("The Royal Tenenbaums"), among countless others.

Hackman won his first Academy Award in 1972 for his turn as...

The late Gene Hackman will be honored at the 97th Oscars despite the timing of his shocking death, which came just days before the ceremony is scheduled to be held. A source "who works on the show and has knowledge of the plans" revealed to TheWrap that a tribute to Hackman will be included during the broadcast. However, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "declined to comment" on the situation when the publication reached out to confirm the news.

Hackman will likely be recognized during the Oscars' yearly In Memoriam tribute. The prolific actor won two Academy Awards over the course of his illustrious career. Hackman was first recognized for his incomparable portrayal of Popeye Doyle in The French Connection with a Best Actor Oscar. 21 years later, he walked away with another golden statue, but this time for Best Supporting Actor in Clint Eastwood’s classic Western, Unforgiven.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday his department is still waiting for final autopsy and toxicology reports on the deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, but has a fair idea of when the Oscar winner actually died.

An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr. Hackman pacemaker,” the Sheriff said at a short press conference today. “This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed.”

Noting that getting final autopsy and toxicology reports “could take months,” Mendoza added that initial results seem to rule out carbon monoxide poisoning as a cause of the deaths of the 95-year-old Hackman, the 63-year-old Arakawa and one of their dogs. Amidst some conflicting information over the past 48 hours, the Sheriff said “there were no apparent signs of foul play” in the Hackmans’ deaths.

Married since 1991 and notoriously private, Hackman and...

Investigators into the deaths of Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa believe Hackman may have been dead for nine days by the time the couple were found in their New Mexico home on Wednesday.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told a press conference earlier on Friday that the “last event” of Hackman’s pacemaker was on February 17. “According to the pathologist that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” said Mendoza.

The officer added that an autopsy found no external trauma to either person and no evidence of death by carbon monoxide.

Gene Hackman, the two-time ‘Oscar’-winning actor, whose career spanned five decades, has died:

Hackman was Oscar-nominated for his portrayal of ‘Buck Barrow’ in “Bonnie and Clyde” (1971)…

…followed by his first Academy Award, for his role as New York City police Detective…

…’Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle’ in 1971's "The French Connection” (reprising the character in 1975’s “French Connection II”)…

…and his second Oscar twenty years later playing corrupt ‘Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett’ in director Clint Eastwood's 1992 Western, "Unforgiven."

Hackman displayed his comedic chops as ‘Harold’, a well-meaning, blind hermit in “Young Frankenstein” (1974)….

“…followed by his most intense dramatic performance in the covert thriller “The Conversation” (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Click the images to enlarge…...

The Oscars will pay tribute to Gene Hackman on Sunday’s show, which takes place only four days after the bodies of the actor and his wife were discovered in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

An individual who works on the show and has knowledge of the plans told TheWrap that the late actor, a five-time Oscar nominee and two-time winner, will receive a tribute on the show. It is believed that he will most likely be added to the In Memoriam segment of the ceremony, although typically that film would have been locked a week or two prior to the show.

The Academy never reveals in advance who will be included in the In Memoriam, and it declined to comment when TheWrap asked if Hackman would be a last-minute addition to the show.

The legendary actor, who died at the age of 95, was nominated for Best Actor...

Acting legend Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their Santa Fe home in New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon. The Oscar-winning actor was 95 and his wife was 63 at the time of their deaths. Their cause of death has yet to be determined, although the county sheriff’s office initially rejected any foul play suspicions.

Gene Hackman as Harry R. Caul in The Conversation | Credits: Paramount Pictures

However, the detectives in the case have filed an application for a search warrant of Hackman’s home and premises. They claimed that the circumstances surrounding the death were “suspicious enough” to warrant a thorough investigation.

What makes Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s death “suspicious”? Gene Hackman in his Oscar-winning role in Unforgiven | Credits: Warner Bros.

Detective Roy Arndt with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office asked for a search warrant from a judge, stating that actor Gene...

On the Mount Rushmore of great American actors — specifically those who emerged in the late 1960s and brought a transformative, bone-deep intensity to their craft over the industry-redefining decade that followed — four faces loom large: Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman.

The eldest of that contingent, Hackman is less familiar to younger audiences than the others, having withdrawn from acting more than 20 years ago, to write and paint in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over a four-decade screen career, the stage-trained star gravitated to complex movies for grown-up audiences (the only significant exception being his iconic turn as Lex Luthor in the “Superman” franchise), and might have been entirely forgotten by Gen Z if not for his performance as the gruff patriarch in Wes Anderson’s cult favorite “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

Hackman’s unexpected and unusual death (he was discovered alongside his wife and dog) offers a chance...

No cause of death has been determined so far for Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, but New Mexico police say the situation “remains an open investigation.”

With affidavits, search warrants and statements calling the death of the two-time Oscar winner, his wife and their dog late Wednesday “suspicious enough in nature,” the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office is reiterating Thursday that “there were no apparent signs of foul play.”

In a just released statement from the Sheriff Adan Mendoza-led department, the cops are making early findings public, with a lot still left to be determined.

“In the early hours of Thursday, February 27, 2025, Hackman and Arakawa were transported to the Office of the Medical Investigator,” the sheriff’s office said this afternoon, after the bodies were discovered in the early afternoon Wednesday Santa Fe time.

Related: Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Francis Ford Coppola, ‘Superman’ Costar Valerie Perrine And More Pay...

Gene Hackman's tragic death at 95 on February 26, 2025 has shocked the world, while also reminding many movie aficionados that he was one of the best actors in his generation. In fact, an argument could be made that Hackman was the best actor ever, and his two Academy Award wins for "The French Connection" (1971) and "Unforgiven" (1991) -- among with his three other nominations for "Bonnie and Clyde" (1968), "I Never Sang For My Father" (1970), and "Mississippi Burning" (1988) -- certainly back up that kind of talk. But what did Hackman himself think of his work, and what did he consider his favorite role? The answer might not be what you think.

In a 1988 interview with Film Comment, Hackman was asked what his favorite movie from his own work is. Based on the strength of his own performance, the actor's choice was curious: Jerry Schatzberg's "Scarecrow" (1973), a road movie where Hackman and Al Pacino play Max and Lion,...

The news of Gene Hackman’s passing was an undeniable tragedy.

This was, after all, a man who had contributed so much to the world of cinema through performances that seemed both challenging and extremely comfortable. While he had not performed in a movie since 2004’s “Welcome to Mooseport,” an inglorious final role if there ever was one, there was always the idea that he could come back – would come back – if the character was too good to pass up.

These are 11 performances that immediately sprang to mind when we heard of Hackman’s death. We could make it twice as long – maybe three times as long – without breaking a sweat. The list of sterling performances from the master goes on and on. This is just a sample. Use it as a guide or maybe a starting point. The worlds of Hackman are infinite.

Warner Bros. “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)

Gene...

Gene Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman, and his granddaughter Annie said they are “devastated” after the two-time Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday. He was 95 and she was 64.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” the family told TheWrap in a Thursday statement. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”

As TheWrap previously reported, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office insists Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths are not suspicious despite multiple media reports regarding search warrants suggesting the contrary. The department states no foul play is suspected in the case, though the investigation in ongoing.

Gene Hackman was a legend where I grew up. Granted, he was a legend practically everywhere, but in Pasadena, California, to theater kids and movie geeks, he was hope incarnate.

Pasadena is the home to the historic (and aptly titled) Pasadena Playhouse, a venerable theatrical institution and a college with a list of alumni that boggles the mind: David Niven, Tyrone Power, Martha Graham, Lee J. Cobb, Leonard Nimoy, Angela Bassett, Ernest Borgnine, Jean Arthur, William Holden, Ariana Grande, Dustin Hoffman — and of course Gene Hackman. But Hackman had something none of those other famous actors ever had: the lowest scores of any actor, by that point, in the Pasadena Playhouse’s history.

In fact, Hackman and his friend and contemporary Hoffman were voted “Least Likely to Succeed,” which is a pretty crappy category, if we’re being honest. It’s like dropping the Razzie for Worst Picture in the middle of the Oscars telecast.

The news that actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead at their home in Santa Fe has shocked the industry and led to widespread tributes for one of the true greats of cinema.

Clint Eastwood, who directed and starred with Hackman in 1992’s Unforgiven, said in a statement to Deadline: “There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”

Writer-director Mel Brooks reminisced about working with Hackman on his Academy Award-nominated 1974 comedy classic Young Frankenstein.

“I was privileged to know Gene Hackman because he played tennis with another Gene—Gene Wilder. And that Gene told him about a little role called The Blind Hermit in our movie Young Frankenstein,” wrote Brooks on X. “He said, ‘Do you think Mel would let me play it? I’ve always wanted to do a comedy.

Gene Hackman’s death has raised enough suspicion among the Santa Fe police that they have obtained a search warrant for the Oscar winner’s home after the nonagenarian, his wife Betsy Arakawa and one of their dogs were found dead last night.

“At this time; the manner and cause of death pertaining to Eugene ‘Gene’ Allen Hackman and Betsy Arakawa passing is unknown,” said Santa Fe Sheriff’s department Det. Roy Arndt late Wednesday night in an affidavit submitted to a state judge just hours after the bodies were discovered in the couple’s longtime New Mexico home.

“Affiant believes that the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another...

Two-time Oscar winner, Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95. The iconic actor was found dead at their Santa Fe, N.M. home alongside his 63-year-old classical pianist wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog.

Whilst not deemed suspicious, their deaths are currently being investigated.

Former Marine turned actor Hackman, who won two Oscars for his roles in 1971’s ‘The French Connection’ and 1992’s ‘Unforgiven’ made his mark in Hollywood with his role as Clyde Barrow’s explosive older brother in the 1967 film ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ which brought him his first Oscar nomination in supporting actor. He also found himself with Oscar nominations for this roles as FBI Special Agent Rupert Anderson in ‘Mississippi Burning,’ Gene Garrison in Gil Cates’ ‘I Never Sang for My Father,’

Also in news – ‘Pink Floyd at Pompeii – McMlxxii’ to return to cinemas this spring

Having appeared in over 80 films his career spanned from the...

Gene Hackman, the actor known for such roles as Lex Luthor and in The French Connection, has been found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Hackman, and one of their dogs at their home in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

The star, 95, was one of the industry’s most celebrated creatives with two Oscars under his belt. At the end of his life, Hackman was seldom seen out in public, and little was known about his health. He was last photographed with Betsy, 64, on March 28 as they held hands outside a restaurant in Santa Fe.

Hackman’s prolific career — including performances in Unforgiven (1992), Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and I Never Sang for My Father (1970) — ended in 2004 after he starred opposite Ray Romano in Welcome to Mooseport. He was 74 at the time.

He reflected on his quiet retirement while promoting a book in 2008, telling Reuters: “I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement,...

Gene Hackman was one of the most versatile and accomplished character actors on film. He was appreciated by critics and audiences alike for his clean, no-nonsense style of acting. In his film work, Hackman was famed for the every-man quality that audiences of all types could identify with, which he demonstrated in the more than 80 films in which he appeared.

Hackman's subtle work was showered with honors throughout his film career, which lasted over half a century. He won two Academy Awards (for 1971's "The French Connection" with William Friedkin and 1992's "Unforgiven" with Clint Eastwood) from five nominations. He was an honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient at the Golden Globes and won three competitive Globes from eight nominations. He is also a Screen Actors Guild Award winner from his two nominations.

After appearing in 2004's "Welcome to Mooseport," Hackman stepped away from screen acting and began writing thriller novels.

Hollywood has lost one of its great screen legends.

Gene Hackman was found dead in his Santa Fe, N.M. home on Feb. 26, 2025, at the age of 95. Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa, also died in the couple's house, as did their dog. Authorities have not yet released a cause of death but said foul play was not suspected.

Before his death, Hackman spent the last 21 years retired from acting. However, even after two decades away from the screen, he was remembered as one the most versatile and accomplished character actors on film -- appreciated by critics and audiences for his clean, no-nonsense acting style.  In his film work, Hackman was famed for the every-man quality of his work, with which audiences of all types could identify, which he demonstrated in the more than 80 films in which he appeared.

SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History

Hackman's subtle work...

Francis Ford Coppola, Viola Davis, Antonio Banderas and Paul Feig were among those mourning two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman, who was found dead, alongside his wife and dog, at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday.

“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,” Coppola, who directed Hackman in 1974’s The Conversation, wrote on Instagram. “I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”

Davis added, “Loved you in everything! The Conversation, The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, Unforgiven—tough yet vulnerable. You were one of the greats. God bless those who loved you. Rest well, sir.”

And Banderas said this was a “very sad day for the cinema’s family,” sharing his condolences for “friends, family and cinema lovers.”

Feig called the news “so awful,” adding, “Gene was...

Gene Hackman’s life and legacy are being remembered by fellow Hollywood icons.

The two-time Oscar winner Hackman was found dead at age 95. His 63-year-old wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were deceased as well inside their Santa Fe, New Mexico home. While reports claimed there was “no immediate indication of foul play,” a cause of death was not provided at print.

Hackman’s breakout role was in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde.” He later went on to star in 1971’s “The French Connection” and Clint Eastwood’s 1992 feature “Unforgiven,” winning Academy Awards for both performances. Hackman led Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film “The Conversation,” with other iconic turns in “Hoosiers,” “Mississippi Burning,” “The Firm,” “The Birdcage,” “Postcards from the Edge,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” and more. Read his full obituary here.

Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Hackman in “The Conversation,” remembered the late actor on Instagram.

“The loss of a great artist,...

After Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday, his celebrity peers began honoring the two-time Oscar-winning actor’s life with touching tributes early Thursday morning.

Viola Davis wrote, “Loved you in everything! ‘The Conversation,’ ‘The French Connection,’ ‘The Poseidon Adventure,’ ‘Unforgiven’ — tough yet vulnerable. You were one of the greats. God bless those who loved you. Rest well, sir.”

Francis Ford Coppola wrote, “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. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”

Edgar Wright wrote, “The greatest…”

Josh Brolin wrote, “I am crushed by the sudden deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa (and their dog). Crushed. He was always one of my favorites. Not many who beat to...

Update 4:54 Pm Et: Gene Hackman, whose authenticity and authority onscreen gave him the stature of a leading man in a career he built as a character actor, is dead at age 95. Hackman along with his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa (age 63), were found dead inside their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office, as was a dog.

Officials did a safety check on the scene due to the “unusual circumstances” of Hackman and Arakawa’s death, but it was deemed safe and a search warrant was issued. The Sheriff’s office said there were “no apparent signs of foul play” and have yet to determine a cause of death. Autopsy and toxicology reports are pending, no external trauma was noticed initially on either individual. It remains an open investigation.

Any effort to count our greatest film actors...

Gene Hackman, the Academy Award-winning actor who starred in films including The French Connection, Crimson Tide and Superman, died Wednesday. He was 95.

Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, 63, were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, N.M., our sister site Variety reports.

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The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department has not provided a cause of death.

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed. A cause of death for the Oscar-winning actor, 95, and his wife, 64, was not revealed but Mendoza said no foul play was suspected.

An investigation into their deaths is ongoing. According to Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Womack-Avila, the couple was found dead at around 1:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday after a neighbor called in a welfare check, per Albuquerque’s KOB4.

Hackman and Arakawa, a classical pianist, married in 1991. Their dog was also found deceased.

An acting giant, Hackman was born in San Bernadino, California, and enlisted in the military at age 16, lying about his age to get in. He served over four years as a field operator in the Marines before pursuing acting in 1956 at the San Bernadino...

According to reports, two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman passed away, along with his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa and dog, in their home.

A statement from Sante Fe, New Mexico’s sheriff’s office notes that the legendary actor, aged 95, and his wife, aged 64, died on Wednesday, February 26 at 1:45 p.m.

The sheriff’s office has ruled out foul play as a factor in these deaths at this time, but the exact cause of the deaths has yet to be determined.

The statement goes on to say that an ongoing and active investigation into this by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is still underway.

Gene Hackman’s Legacy

The actor was a former Marine and had a legendary career that spanned over six decades. He worked on over 80 movies, as well as television and stage productions. Hackman’s career began in the early ‘60s.

Gene scored his first...

Unfortunately, we have to get the day started with some sad news today, as it has been reported that we’ve lost one of the great legends of cinema, Gene Hackman, at the age of 95. Hackman, his retired pianist wife, 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were all found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon. Yahoo reports that New Mexico police have said that the causes of death are under investigation, “but they do not believe foul play is a factor at this time.” Of course, there’s a lot of speculation going around that the cause of death may be carbon monoxide poisoning, but nothing has been confirmed as of right now.

Born on January 30, 1930 in San Bernadino, California, Eugene Allen Hackman did a lot of moving around in his younger years, but had already decided that he wanted to be an actor...

As /Film's Jeremy Smith has argued before, Gene Hackman was the best actor ever. With Hackman's death at 95 on February 26, the world is busy remembering the man and his best movies, all of which feature great Hackman roles that are so defined by the actor's presence that it would be very difficult to envision anyone else playing his characters.

If you asked Hackman himself, however, he wasn't always the best fit for the roles he's remembered by. In fact, the actor went as far as thinking that his arguably most famous role, Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in "The French Connection" (1971), was not a very good fit for him. Here's how he described this somewhat surprising view in an interview with Cigar Aficionado:

"When we first started, I was pretty unsure of myself, because [Doyle] had to be pretty ruthless. In the early parts of the filming, I just wasn't up to it.