Gene Hackman

Last week, a post came across my feed stating that Gene Hackman had been found dead in his home in New Mexico.  At first, I thought it was just click bait, but once I read the same news on multiple sites, I was shocked to find out that it was true.  Gene Hackman was a family favorite actor who had starred in too many movies for us to count.  Doug instantly asked everyone what their top five Hackman movies were, but it was soon easy to see that there were a lot more than five that topped our lists.  I first remembered him as the reverend who sacrificed his life for the safety of those stranded in the Poseidon Adventure.  His role in Hoosiers endured him to me forever, but his role in Enemy of the State was one of my favorites of all time.  Doug's top five included French Connection and Unforgiven, two movies that solidified his standing as one of the best actors of his generation.

Once everyone got over the initial shock of his death, we all started asking questions about how it happened.  The news had reported at first that they didn't expect foul play but changed that soon after to a "suspicious death."  It did seem strange that both he, his wife and his dog had been dead in the house for ten days before anyone found them, and that two of their dogs were still alive when police arrived.  Carbon Monoxide and a gas leak were ruled out as cause and the information collected from his pacemaker showed that he had been dead for quite some time.  There was also a spilled bottle of pills beside his wife.  

Cal and I did some speculation on what had actually happened.  The loudest conspiracy theory had them murdered by one of his children.  The most plausible one was that his wife had found him dead on the floor and then committed suicide.  In the end, we decided that the biggest news wasn't how he died, but that he had made it ninety-five years only to come to his demise in such a mysterious way. Either way, it didn't really matter.  Gene Hackman was a generational talent and one that will be remembered for many years to come because of his great acting skills.  The press about his death would soon fade away, but his films would live on forever.