The couple was found lifeless on February 26 in the afternoon and There are no immediate indications that it was a crime, The Sheriff of Santa Fe County, Adan Mendoza, informed US media.
Together with Hackman, what He was 95 years oldalready his wife, a classic pianist of 63, was found the body of the couple’s dog, the local press reported.
Hackman won his first Oscar for his interpretation of the Irascible and brutal New York detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in “French Connection” (1971), by William Friedkin, a thriller who has become a American cinema classic.
His Second golden statuette She took her two decades later for her interpretation of the Sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in the tape “Without forgiveness” (1992) by Clint Eastwood.
In five decades of career, he acted in at least 80 films and was nominated for three times to Oscar.
“A great artist”
Hackman was born during the period of great depression in Illinois.
He came from a broken family: his father left when he was 13 years old and his mother died in a fire.
Hackman also went through a bitter service period in the United Statesto which he joined at age 16, lying on his age.
The actor would then use his turbulent personal story to give life to his characters.
“The dysfunctional families They have engendered a number of very good actors, ”Hackman admitted in an interview with The Guardian in 2002.
Francis Ford Coppola, who directed him in the film “Secret Conversation” (1974) referred to him as “A great artist”, “Inspiring” and “Magnificent in his work and complexity.”
“An actor, not a star”
Hackman debuted in the acting relatively late and only He managed to get attention with more than 30 years.
In fact, after his registration in the Pasadena Playhouse in California at the end of the 50s, a Hollywood legend reported that he and his then fellow Dustin Hoffman studies were voted as those with “less likely to achieve success.”
Later, They would come with Robert Duvall In New York, when the three were still actors with difficulties.
Without the blessing of physical attractivenessHackman used his talent and versatility, assuming a series of hard papers and offering reflexive and intelligent interpretations.
“I wanted to act, but I was convinced that the actors should be handsome. That came from the days when Errol Flynn was my idol. I got out of a theater and was scared when I looked at me in a mirror because it didn’t seem like Flynn, ”said Hackman on one occasion.
In 1964 he was hired on Broadway for the work “Any Wednesday” which would lead him to a small role in the movie “Lilith”, starring Warren Beatty.
Some years later, Beatty auditions for the film “Bonnie and Clyde” and chose Hackman as Clyde’s brother, Buck Barrow.
That historic 1967 film earned Hackman His first Oscar nomination as best cast actor, and left it firmly on the path of stardom.
“I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to interpret characters, not to deal with fame, agents, lawyers or the press, ”said Hackman.
He accumulated dozens of cinematographic credits in his career and continued to work until beyond his 70 years even if outside the reflectors, living with his second wife in Santa Fe, writing and painting.
He continued working in the 21st century, starring “The Heist” and “The Royal Tenenbaums” in 2001, the latter would deserve His third Golden Globe, Before the announcement of his retirement in 2008.
“Really, emotionally, I have a hard time seeing me on a screen“The actor said once. “I think of myself as someone very young, and then I see this old man with a gateway and tired eyes, tickets and all that.”