Francis Ford Coppola has paid tribute to his “The Conversation” star Gene Hackman after the Oscar-winning actor was found dead at 95 alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in their Santa Fe home 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 wrote on Instagram with a photo of the two on set. “I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Hackman starred in “The Conversation,” Coppola’s 1974 neo-noir mystery thriller, as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential murder. The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or, and received three Oscar nominations for best picture, original screenplay and sound.
Meanwhile on X, Edgar Wright simply remembered Hackman as “the greatest,” while George Takai wrote: “We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
Hackman and Arakawa were found dead Wednesday afternoon at their home in Santa Fe, N.M. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed their deaths to Variety, noting that there was no immediate indication of foul play. No immediate cause of death could be given. Hackman was 95 and Arakawa was 63.
Hackman was considered one of the greatest screen performers of the second half of the 20th century, winning Oscars for his role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s 1971 action thriller “The French Connection” and as an antagonistic sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western “Unforgiven.” He was also Oscar-nominated for his performances in “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), “I Never Sang for My Father” (1970) and “Mississippi Burning” (1988). He was also known for playing Lex Luthor in 1978’s “Superman” and the 1980 sequel “Superman II.” He retired from acting in 2004.
