American actor, versatile with a force of personality, a bottled-up quality that springs from deep personal reserve. He ascended into stardom while playing character parts, not just conventional heroes in the course of his more than 60 movies. Those who know him say that he is a champion lover, hell-bent on not keeping in touch. “Gene is the kind of guy who thinks a ten-minute conversation is too long,” says his publicist.
A former barroom brawler, Hackman has a reputation for being difficult, for having run-ins with directors. His authority problem dates back to his troubled youth with an alcoholic mother and a father who deserted them in 1943, living with his maternal grandmother. A lonely kid caught in an unhappy household in a dead-end Depression town, he lied about his age to join the Marines at 16 but missed action when he broke both his legs in a motorcycle accident.
He bounced around the country on the GI Bill, trying his hand at various jobs. He began his study of radio technique at the University of Illinois, doing odd jobs in TV studios and learning acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. Acting was a positive way to channel his anger and restlessness into art. He began his professional career off-Broadway in 1964, which led to a small movie part in “Lilith.” He won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor through “Bonnie and Clyde.” Later, he was nominated again for “I Never Sang for my Father.” Finally, in 1971, he won the Best Actor Oscar for “The French Connection.”
As a successful actor, Hackman took up expensive, risky hobbies, racing cars, flying airplanes. Once he took a two-year hiatus, moving to Monterey and painting in earnest. In 1972 he was impacted by the death of his mom in a fire, set accidentally by her in an alcoholic stupor. When his dad came to the set of “Zandy’s Bride,” Hackman never came out of his trailer to see him.
In 1987, Hackman returned to the stage after a ten year absence. He won another Oscar as Best Supporting Actor on 3/29/1993 for “Unforgiven,” which was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood.
After some 30 years of marriage, he divorced his wife and tried out the role of playboy, living with a Japanese girlfriend in the age range of his three kids, Betsy Arakawa, a former classical pianist. They married in 1993, settling in his modest two-bedroom adobe in Santa Fe, NM he restored himself.
Link to Wikipedia biography