Gene Hackman death latest: Police seeking search warrant for actor's home - as tributes come in for Hollywood legend

Sky News

27-02-2025

Clint Eastwood's recent birthday message
Less than a month ago, legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood wished Gene Hackman a happy birthday.
The pair starred together in the 1997 film Absolute Power, which was also directed by Eastwood, 94.
We've had no word from the director on Hackman's death yet...
Hackman 'turned down a lot of plum roles'
Gene Hackman was an "extraordinary actor" who "honed his craft his entire life", film journalist Karen Krizanovich has told Sky's Wilfred Frost.
The journalist said Hackman was a renowned actor "who did not just take any role".
"He turned down a lot of plum roles. He was choosy but he always had a quality and sense of centre that the best actors have," Krizanovich said.
She also said Hackman was an "extraordinary actor who honed his craft his entire life".
"He seemed to have a sense of what a good role was for him. Not what the director or producer thought but what he thought he could do best at," she added.
Looking at his 1971 film The French Connection, for which he won an Oscar, Krizanovich said: "If you haven't seen it go and get it now - it is a performance that lingers in the memory.
"It affects films today, people are always referring to it when they make films today."
'His work will live on'
Fellow actor and writer George Takei has just shared this tribute to Gene Hackman...
It's just before 2am in Los Angeles - we're expecting more tributes to come in from Hollywood when the city starts to wake up.
'He sums up an era when films were both intelligent and big budget'
Entertainment journalist Caroline Frost has been speaking about Gene Hackman's legacy.
"He means something to everybody," she said.
"He sums up an era because he was the best at the time - when films were both intelligent and big budget."
Frost also said Hackman "went from strength to strength" - mainly down to his acting versatility, playing such a vast variety of roles.
"There was nothing he couldn't do."
Watch her interview with Sky News here...
Watch Gene Hackman in Superman and Superman II
Hackman starred as villain Lex Luthor in three Superman films.
The clips below show how he was willing to embrace the funny side of the role.
Such a varied career means he'll be missed by so many
By Bethany Minelle, arts and entertainment reporter
To many, he will always be Superman supervillain Lex Luthor, but with a career spanning six decades, Gene Hackman's acting career was as varied as it was long.
A former marine, his work on the screen began in 1961, and he would go on to appear in over 80 movies, as well as performances on Broadway.
Working his way up from small TV roles, to a movie leading man, his most iconic performances included playing New York City Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection and surveillance expert Harry Caul in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation.
Decorated with multiple Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes over his career, he would step away from acting in 2004.
In more recent years, Hackman had pivoted to writing, a pursuit he said suited his solitary nature, publishing three historical novels.
In pictures: Hackman through the years
The two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman appeared in more than 80 films as well as on television and the stage during a lengthy career that began in the early 1960s.
He won Academy Awards for the 1971 drug saga The French Connection and the 1992 western Unforgiven.
The actor also starred in Superman, Mississippi Burning, Behind Enemy Lines and Crimson Tide.
What have police said so far?
Investigations are ongoing into the death of Gene Hackman and his wife.
Police say they are waiting for a search warrant for their home in New Mexico.
"All I can say is that we're in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant," Santa Fe County Sheriff's spokesman Adan Mendoza was quoted as saying.
We've also Here's what else police have said so far...
Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office told Sky News: "We do not believe foul play was a factor in their deaths; however, exact cause of death has not been determined at this time."
Spokeswoman Denise Avila said deputies responded to a request to do a welfare check at the home yesterday at around 1.45pm local time and found the bodies of Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog.
'Colossal loss for cinema'
French film studio StudioCanal's UK arm has said Gene Hackman's death is a "colossal loss for cinema".
Here is their tribute to the actor...
'The finest screen actor ever'
Irish comedian Dara O Briain is among the first to pay tribute to Gene Hackman...