On February 26, Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, was found dead in his Santa Fe home, alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, and their dog. He died only four days before this year’s Oscars ceremony on Sunday, March 2, which commemorated his life during its in memoriam segment.
Morgan Freeman, who co-starred in Unforgiven and Under Suspicion with Hackman, delivered special remarks about his friendship with the fellow actor during an introductory speech, celebrating his roles in renowned films such as Bonnie & Clyde, The French Connection, and The Royal Tenenbaums.
“This week, our community lost a giant. And I lost a dear friend, Gene Hackman,” Freeman began. “Like everyone who ever shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone’s work.”
He added: “Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work.’ I think I speak for us all when I say, ‘Gene, you will be remembered for that, and so much more.’ Rest in peace, my friend.”
Freeman is only one of many celebrities that have paid tribute to Hackman since his passing a week ago. Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Viola Davis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Hanks, Pedro Pascal, and George Takei, among countless others, have all posted touching notes related to his sudden death.
“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration,” Coppola wrote in an Instagram post, which featured a photograph of the pair on the set of the director’s 1974 film The Conversation. “Gene Hackman: a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it,” Takei wrote on X. “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 world will live on forever.”
Authorities have yet to determine the cause and manner of death for Hackman and Arakawa, both of whom were deemed to be in good health prior to passing away. Police, however, have deemed carbon monoxide poisoning unlikely following negative test results, nor do they suspect death through falling as neither appeared to have suffered external trauma or physical injuries.
Freeman’s full speech can be viewed below, and more Oscars-related news can be found on the Academy Awards website.
During this year’s Oscars ceremony, Morgan Freeman delivered a speech honoring his friend and late actor Gene Hackman.
The 95-year-old Hackman was found dead in his home in Santa Fe, NM, on February 26, just four days before the Oscars.
Newspaper interview photo of Gene Hackman, 1972. (Photo: Chicago Daily News, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
The Academy Award-winning actor has played roles in iconic movies such as The French Connection, Unforgiven, and The Royal Tenenbaums, with countless celebrities paying tribute to him on social media.
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Sources: Oscars 2025: Watch Morgan Freeman deliver the In Memoriam; Oscars 2025: Morgan Freeman Honors Gene Hackman Days After Actor, Wife Found Dead
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