I was surprised to see that yesterday was the 81st birthday of Gene Hackman, one of the greatest American actors in recent history. I guess this is because he always looked older, going back to his big break in the classic Bonnie & Clyde (1967) playing Clyde’s brother Buck. In a short 4 years, he would go on to win the Oscar for Best Actor for his acclaimed portrayal of ‘Popeye’ Doyle in the great crime drama The French Connection (1971), which helped solidify his position in Hollywood as a new kind of leading man. He didn’t possess the central-casting looks of the other major actors of the day, but his talent took him to great heights in the acting world in all genres: drama, comedy, political thriller and westerns. I always appreciated his easygoing style and effective skill set, honed at the Pasadena Playhouse with another outsider: Dustin Hoffman. The two were voted “Least Likely To Succeed”, and when Hackman moved to New York to do theater, he bumped into a former Pasadena instructor he couldn’t stand. The man said to him, “See, Hackman, I told you you wouldn’t amount to anything.” Wonder what happened to that guy. While there are too many to list, here’s a look at some of my personal favorites of many great performances:

Hoosiers (1986): Voted by the AFI as the 4th greatest sports movie of all time, this David and Goliath tale of the little Indiana school that won a state championship was carried by Hackman’s understated performance as Coach Norman Dale, a determined leader with a troubled past who sticks to his principles in spite of his flaws and wins at all levels. This is more than a sports movie, and Gene Hackman puts on a clinic in doing a lot with a little. He is most effective in the quiet, personal moments of the film- off the court. Very few can do this so well.

Mississippi Burning (1988): One of the best civil rights dramas ever made, Alan Parker’s historical retelling of the murder of three college students puts Hackman as an FBI agent and former sheriff fighting racism, officially and unofficially, while investigating the murder with Willem Dafoe as his younger partner. Hackman pulls out all the stops in a riveting display of morality and force. Once again, he hits all the right notes, whatever the situation calls for. This is one of the hallmarks of Gene Hackman: never a one-note character.

The Birdcage (1996): I’m not a fan of Nathan Lane, so I didn’t watch this movie until years after it came out. And I must admit I’d never think Gene Hackman wearing a dress would work, but he was hysterical in this movie. Not in a slapstick way, but the dialogue and comic timing he uses in this film is really something to see. The comedy of errors is well done on many fronts, but Hackman again is one of the bright spots. Especially in his back and forth with Lane. As versatile as ever. After seeing this, I remembered his first comic turn 20 years previous: the blind man in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.

Crimson Tide (1995): Not since Das Boot has a submarine movie been this watchable. A great pairing against Denzel Washington gives Gene Hackman new material to work with, and the result is great. They both give great performances, but Hackman’s less likable Captain Frank Ramsey allows him the authority he commands on the screen in his character. It’s hard to make an unlikable role respectable, but he pulls it off with ease. Gene Hackman has the gift of chewing scenery without being an over-the-top egomaniac. He stays likable, in spite of his character’s dark side. Only some of his other peers from the 70’s crop (DeNiro, Nicholson, Pacino) have the same ability. Not a bad class to be in.

Sadly, Gene Hackman retired in 2004. Here is an example of what he brought to his films. In the 1983 movie Uncommon Valor, Hackman played a man whose son was MIA in Vietnam. He arranges to put together a team to go get him out. Sounds bad, right? But Gene Hackman makes the film respectable, and real. It could have been a farce, but he still brings his best and it makes the film worth seeing. He is a genuine example of substance over style, lost among many of today’s actors. He has earned a place in film history as an everyman doing extraordinary work. I’ll miss his presence on screen, but there’s plenty of great work he did I can still enjoy. Happy Birthday, Mr. Hackman.

source: imdb.com