Eugene Ezra Hackman: Who Was Gene Hackman’s Father?

Eugene Ezra Hackman is the father of retired actor Eugene Allen Hackman commonly known as Gene Hackman. Eugene Ezra Hackman’s son Gene played the role of Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection (1971), “Little” Bill Daggett in Unforgiven (1992), Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Gene Garrison in I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and FBI Agent Rupert Anderson in Mississippi Burning (1988).

Eugene Ezra Hackman: Bio Summary

Who Was Gene Hackman’s Father, Eugene Ezra Hackman?

Eugene Ezra Hackman was born on 24 May 1903, in Rossville, Vermilion County, Illinois, USA to his parents William Henry Hackman and Julia Ann Hackman. He was the brother of Zella Hackman, William Orin Hackman, and Robert Hackman. He may have had other siblings as well. Most details of his early life are not publicly available. He operated a newspaper printing press.

Eugene Ezra Hackman was the operator of the printing press for the Commercial News, a local paper. He met and eventually got married to Anna Lyda Elizabeth (née Gray; died December 30, 1962), who was a Canadian. He and his wife had two children, Eugene Allen Hackman (Gene Hackman) and Richard Hackman. The family was often on the move.

Eugene and his family settled in Danville, Illinois. There, they lived in the house of his wife’s mother Beatrice. For unknown reasons, Eugene and his wife Lydia Hackman decided to end their marriage. They got divorced at the time their children were still young. Eugene left the family. He is said to have reunited with his family in 1970. He married Anna Veronica “Vera” Carlsson Hackman. He stayed away from the spotlight.

Eugene’s son Gene Hackman found an interest in acting and wanted to be an actor at age ten. “Acting was something I wanted to do since I was 10 and saw my first movie, I was so captured by the action guys. Jimmy Cagney was my favorite. Without realizing it, I could see he had tremendous timing and vitality,” Gene once revealed. Before his acting career started, Gene enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

Gene Hackman served four and a half years as a field radio operator. He did several jobs after he was discharged and briefly studied journalism and television production at the University of Illinois. He soon began his acting career. In the early stage of his career, he got various small roles, in the film Mad Dog Coll and on the TV series Tallahassee 7000, The United States Steel Hour, Route 66, and Naked City.

ALSO, READ: Lydia Hackman: How Did Gene Hackman’s Mother Die?

Gene also appeared in the TV series The Defenders, The Dupont Show of the Week, East Side/West Side, and Brenner. He performed in several Off-Broadway plays, starting with The Saintliness of Margery Kempe in 1959 and including Come to the Palace of Sin in 1963. He made his Broadway debut in Children From Their Games. He landed his first credited film role in Lilith.

For his portrayal of Gene Garrison in I Never Sang for My Father, he was nominated for a second Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. He appeared in Doctors’ Wives, The Hunting Party, and The French Connection. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The French Connection. He appeared in the films Cisco Pike, Prime Cut, and The Poseidon Adventure.

Gene played Blindman in Young Frankenstein, Harry Moseby in Night Moves, and Sam Clayton in Bite the Bullet. He reprised his role as Doyle in the sequel French Connection II. He also played roles in Lucky Lady, The Domino Principle, A Bridge Too Far, and March or Die. He appeared as Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie (1978), a role he would reprise in its 1980 and 1987 sequels.

Gene Hackman retired from acting in 2004. He has revealed that he wants to be remembered “as a decent actor. As someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion. I don’t know, beyond that. I don’t think about that often, to be honest. I’m at an age where I should think about it.”

ALSO, READ: Gene Hackman Children: Who Are The Children Of Gene Hackman?

Where Is Gene Hackman’s Father Now?

Eugene Ezra Hackman died on 9 July 1973, at age 70, in Perris, Riverside County, California, USA. The cause of his death is unknown. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Cypress, Orange County, California, USA. His ex-wife Lydia Hackman died in 1962 as a result of a fire she accidentally started while smoking.