Dark side of Gene Hackman – childhood betrayal, money woes and ferocious temper

Legendary actor Gene Hackman has been found dead at his home with his wife and one of his dogs.

After a career spanning six decades, which saw the star win two Oscars, two BAFTA awards, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award – but his life wasn’t always so sparkling.

Gene was found dead at the age of 95 at his Santa Fe, New Mexico, home, along with his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and their pet dog. The police were called to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park at 1:45p.m on Wednesday, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, with the forces publicly announcing the deaths just after midnight.

The Sheriff’s Office has also revealed that they’re waiting on a search warrant as part of their investigation, suggesting there could be more to unpack as the inquiries continue – after it was revealed that they first attended the Hackman home in response to a neighbour who called to request a welfare check on Gene and Betsy.

As the mysteries surrounding Gene’s death deepen, many stars and fans have taken time to remember the talented man with a very complicated past.

Turbulent childhood

Gene was born in California in 1930, and lived between various relatives after his parents divorced. Young Hackman often spent his weekends with dad Eugene, until the father split on his family when Gene was just 13.

Gene recalled his dad driving by one day as he was playing outside and giving him a wave, before the father left his family behind with no warning. “That day, he drove by and waved at me and I knew from that wave that he wasn’t coming back,” Gene said according to the New York Times.

Before Eugene left, however, he was apparently very violent in his discipline, while Gene’s mother Anna was reportedly an alcoholic. Anna went on to die in 1962 as a result of a house fire she started accidentally while smoking.

Young Gene went on to commit a series of petty crimes and getting into physical disputes as a teen, before leaving school and lying about his age to join the Marines aged just 16. Gene’s military career was also ended by a burst of violence on his end.

Fiery temper

As displayed in his childhood, Gene could often let anger let the best of him and had no issue with solving issues physically. He met fellow Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman and acting school, with Hoffman recalling his pal’s frequent tussles.

Hoffman said that Gene once announced that he had to leave and go to a bar, saying the sudden exit was because he “had to get in a fight.”

Gene’s scrappiness wasn’t just a folly of youth, as he even got into a physical altercation in 2001, when he was aged 71. The tiff took place in Hollywood during a traffic accident, and saw Gene throw the first punch in a fist fight with two other men.

“He brushed against me and I popped him. Then the other guy jumped on me. We had this ugly wrestling match on the ground. The police came … I got a couple of good shots in. The guy had me around the neck. That’s the ugly part. When you’re down on the ground and you’re nearly 72 years old,” the actor said of the jawdropping situation.

On set, Gene was nicknamed “Vesuvius” for his temper – meaning he could erupt quickly and dramatically if he wasn’t happy with his environment. The actor himself recognised his issues as an actor, saying he had “trouble with direction because I have always had trouble with authority.”

Financial fears

Gene’s split from his first wife Faye Maltese was a huge blow to his bank account, leaving him desperate for money and needing to take on any movie he could – this ended up being good-time sports movie Hoosiers. The film was a box office success but Gene said the entire experience “passed him by” as he focuses on getting out of his money pit above all else.

Speaking to GQ, he said: “I took the film at a time that I was desperate for money. I took it for all the wrong reasons, and it turned out to be one of those films that stick around. I was from that area of the country and knew of that event, strangely enough. We filmed 50 miles from where I was brought up. So it was a bizarre feeling. I never expected the film to have the kind of legs it’s had.”

In 2000, the actor revealed the shocking depth of his debts. “I used to have to borrow my daughter’s car to go to interviews in Hollywood. Just a piece-of-s*** Toyota… I was six, seven million bucks in debt; I had spent too much and I had a lot of tax shelters that didn’t work,” he shared.

“I owed the government four million dollars. I was just barely hanging in, taking pretty much anything that was offered to me and trying to make it work.”

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Source: Mirror