The Crane Pool Forum

Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his wife. Not a lot of details yet. Foul play not suspected.

Marshmallowmilkshake wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 5:30 am Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his wife. Not a lot of details yet. Foul play not suspected.

Carbon monoxide? Very tragic

Marshmallowmilkshake wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 5:30 am Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his wife. Not a lot of details yet. Foul play not suspected.

Both of them and their dog all found dead but no foul play? Seems like an odd contradiction to me.

He was brilliant, really, in so many things, but my favorite role of his was the sheriff in Unforgiven (for which he rightfully won an Oscar).

Yeah, he was in his '90s so you can understand a possible suicide due to poor health or whatever. But she was only in her '60s so her being in on it seems unlikely.
You'd hate to think that he offed her and the dog first before killing himself but I don't have a lot of other answers other than something like gas leak.

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 6:33 am Yeah, he was in his '90s so you can understand a possible suicide due to poor health or whatever. But she was only in her '60s so her being in on it seems unlikely.
You'd hate to think that he offed her and the dog first before killing himself but I don't have a lot of other answers other than something like gas leak.

Right, but in that same context a murder/suicide to me would fall into the general "foul play" category. So, yeah, gas leak seems most likely I guess. Unless, you know, aliens

Fman99 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 6:58 am Unless, you know, aliens

Well they are in New Mexico, so ...

Aside from Hoosiers, my favorite role of his was in the often overlooked Class Action.
Years ago I read articles by film critics that rated him the best American actor of his generation.
RIP

Later

THE CONVERSATION might be my underground* Hackman favorite.
HOOSIERS was a good movie though more than a bit over-hyped by hoops junkies who confuse the phrase 'Based on a true story' with 'This was the actual true story'.
The movie was about 97% fiction, which is fine as long as folks understand that and stop treating the flick like it was a documentary.





* if you can hang the term 'underground' onto a movie nominated for Best Picture.
But it's a quiet little flick that wasn't a box office giant and F. F. Coppola wound up losing the Oscar to ... himself and GODFATHER PART II

Also voting for THE CONVERSATION as a special Hackman flick. It also featured Michael Higgins whose wife was one of my mother's best friends when I was very little.

One of the few actors that IMO instantly made a movie better if he was in it. RIP

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 10:08 am HOOSIERS was a good movie though more than a bit over-hyped by hoops junkies who confuse the phrase 'Based on a true story' with 'This was the actual true story'.
The movie was about 97% fiction, which is fine as long as folks understand that and stop treating the flick like it was a documentary.

I just had that discussion with my wife. She said she doesn't like sports movies. I told her that to me it was a movie about redemption.
Also- I have read that Oscar Robinson, who was on the actual losing team portrayed in the movie, has never seen Hoosiers.

Later

We may need a Gene Hackman spinoff thread.

The first movie I thought of, for whatever reason, was Bonnie and Clyde.

The only good Willy Wonka.

Being treated as suspicious now , but not foul play

Yeah, this story's getting some odd, yet still unexplained, twists.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 11:52 am We may need a Gene Hackman spinoff thread.

The first movie I thought of, for whatever reason, was Bonnie and Clyde.

I'm trying to think of whether there was ever a piece of crap the guy was featured in. I even enjoyed French Connection 2 even though the last 10 minutes were him wheezing.

His very last film — Welcome to Moosewood — seemed like something to avoid, but as I have so far successfully avoided it, I can't say.

"Pouring two Head shots. One in sorrow. One in celebration. For the loss and for the life and career of the great Gene Hackman. Made a D grade picture with Gene and Dom DeLuise. We laughed together through the whole fiasco. Gene told me he only needed four instructions from directors. Louder. Softer. Faster. Slower."

　　— Dan Akyroyd

A quick DuckDuckGo search points to:

a) never heard of it
b) Dan Akroyd was probably my fave of the original SNL crew
c) he then went on to make a whole lotta really bad comedies. This looks like one of them.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... estigation

Preliminary autopsy details

metsmarathon wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 8:03 pm BHMC, the movie

One-line film reviews are the best.

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2025 7:38 pm

I'm trying to think of whether there was ever a piece of crap the guy was featured in. I even enjoyed French Connection 2 even though the last 10 minutes were him wheezing.

He was tremendous in FC 2. He was tremendous in just abut everything. He's one of my all-time favorite actors, like top two or three territory. Maybe even my #1 favorite.

And no love here for The French Connection? What? Too obvious a choice?

It is a little too obvious. (Is that the one where he played Willie Wonka? I don't know what Cowtipper was referring to.)

In the popcorn movie category, there's Superman and The Poseidon Adventure. He seemed to be having fun playing in both of those films.

He rarely did comedy, but the occasional times he did (like his Lex Luthor), he was dead funny. Poignantly so, in films like The Royal Tennebaums, which he should have been too old for, but was actually perfect.

In the middle of Absolute Power, a Clint Eastwood film with the usual gritty and unsettling tones that Eastwood painted with, he and Judy Davis have a conversation during a ballroom dance and for five minutes the film inexplicably but delightfully becomes an hilarious comedy of manners.