Screen Icon Gene Hackman Dies

The Oscar winner officially retired from acting in 2008.

Gene Hackman, the two-time Academy Award winner, was found dead along with his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, on Wednesday. He was 95; she was 63.

No cause of death was given, but local law enforcement said there was no indication of foul play.

Hackman’s roles varied widely throughout his decades-long career. He played everyone from politicians to cops and military leaders to the one and only Royal Tenenbaum, bringing his unique touch and indisputable talent to each and every role.

He was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1930, but his family settled in Danville, Illinois, where they lived with his maternal grandmother.

When he was 13, Hackman’s father abandoned the family, waving goodbye to Hackman while he was playing in the street. “I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean,” he later said of the moment. “Maybe that’s why I became an actor.”