Gene Hackman

Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is a retired American actor and novelist. In a career that spanned nearly five decades, Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning Best Actor in The French Connection and Best Supporting Actor in Unforgiven. He won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde, in which he gained his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His major subsequent films include: I Never Sang for My Father (1970), in which he gained his second Best Supporting Actor nomination; The French Connection (1971) and French Connection II (1975), in which he played Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle; The Poseidon Adventure (1972); The Conversation (1974); Superman: The Movie (1978), in which he played arch-villain Lex Luthor; Hoosiers (1986); and Mississippi Burning (1988), in which he gained his second Best Actor nomination. His film roles during the 1990s featured: Unforgiven (1992); The Firm (1993); Crimson Tide (1995); Get Shorty (1995); The Birdcage (1996); and Enemy of the State (1998) Later roles included: Behind Enemy Lines (2001); and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Hackman's final film appearance to date was the romantic comedy Welcome to Mooseport in 2004, co-starring comedian Ray Romano. 2Early life and education Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Eugene Ezra Hackman and Anna Lyda Elizabeth (née Gray). He has one brother, Richard. He has Pennsylvania Dutch (German), English, and Scottish ancestry; his mother was born in Lambton, Ontari