Elizabeth Hackman, Leslie Hackman, and Gene Hackman.Photo:Getty
Getty
Gene Hackmanmay have had iconic roles inThe French ConnectionandSuperman, but he retained privacy regarding his family life throughout his decades-long career until hisdeath at age 95.
The actor and his wife, classical pianistBetsy Arakawa, and one of their dogs were found dead at their home in Santa Fe Summit on Feb. 26. The following day, Hackman’s daughters Elizabeth and Leslie and granddaughter Annie released a statement to PEOPLE.
On March 7, authorities revealed thatArakawa had died from hantavirus, a flu-like illness that is linked to rodent droppings, seven days before Hackman died of severe heart disease, high blood pressure, and advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
Hackman was married to his first wife, Faye Maltese, from 1956 to 1986. The couple welcomed three children: son Christopher and daughters Elizabeth and Leslie. Five years after his split with Maltese, who died in 2017, Hackman wed Arakawa.
Over the years, Hackman remained quiet about his personal life, including about his children, in interviews. In 1989, he told film criticJohn C. Tibbettsthat audiences were drawn to him because he could be perceived as a “common man,” explaining, “I like to keep my personal life fairly common, so that in my art, one can let go and one can soar.”
Hackman, whoannounced his retirement from actingin 2004, reflected on the early days of his career onLarry King Livewhen hostLarry Kingasked how he was able to handle the transition from a sparse career to an illustrious one.
“I didn’t handle it very well, really,” Hackman said. “I took care of my family. My family’s never wanted for anything, but because I was so enamored of the Hollywood of old, the glamour of that — although I never involved myself in that — I was really so taken with that, the fact that I was part of that and that I could be anything and anyone I wanted to be.”
Gene Hackman with his kids, Leslie, Christopher, and Elizabeth.Tony Korody/Sygma/Sygma/Getty
Tony Korody/Sygma/Sygma/Getty
He also acknowledged that it was “tough” being the child of a celebrity, adding, “I couldn’t always be home with them when they were growing up and then, living in California, they’ve had my success always hanging over their heads.''
Read on to learn more about Gene Hackman’s three children: Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie.
Christopher Allen Hackman, 65
Gene Hackman with his kids, Leslie, Christopher, and Elizabeth in 1978.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Hackman and Maltese welcomed their first child, son Christopher Allen Hackman,in 1960.
The two-time Academy Award winner sat down with journalistLeta Powell Drakein February 1984 for an interview about his filmMisunderstood. When Drake asked Hackman if there was ever a day when he stopped hugging his son, then in his 20s, and opted for a handshake instead, he replied, “No, we still hug to this day, and I thank God that we are able to do that.”
He added: “I don’t think we’ll ever have a point where we have to shake hands. That was a real stretch for me in the film and one of the coldest things that one can do is not be aware and be insensitive to that need of a child to be wrapped in a father’s arms.”
Hackman also spoke about parenthood in a 2011 interview withGQ. Asked if there was any advice that he gave to his son, the actor said, “I lost touch with my son in terms of advice early on.”
He continued: “Maybe it had to do with being gone so much, doing location films when he was at an age where he needed support and guidance. It was very tough for me to be gone for three months and then come home and start bossing him around.”
While reflecting on his journey to becoming a novelist, Hackman shared his son’s early career aspirations during a January 2020 interview withEmpiremagazine.
“My son thought he wanted to be an actor at one time and was in New York and I wrote him a couple of little monologues,” he said. “I guess that’s where I started. I really enjoyed it. Ideas would just pop into my head and I would write them down.”
Elizabeth Jean Hackman, 62
Gene Hackman and Elizabeth Hackman.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Hackman and Maltese welcomed their second child, daughter Elizabeth Jean Hackman, in August 1962.
Not much is known about Elizabeth, with Hackman seldom discussing his family in interviews. Though he didn’t specify which of his two daughters he was speaking about, he once shared a candid story about a tough period of his career in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
“I used to have to borrow my daughter’s car to go to interviews in Hollywood,” he toldCigar Aficionadoin 2000. “I was just barely hanging in, taking pretty much anything that was offered to me and trying to make it work.”
As children, Elizabeth and her younger sister, Leslie, were photographed sitting on their dad’s lap while he donned a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey at a celebrity baseball game.
Elizabeth also attended several events with her father, including the December 1978 screening ofSuperman, in which he played villain Lex Luthor, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Years later, in October 1996, she was photographed at the premiere of Hackman’s movieThe Chamberin Beverly Hills, Calif., alongside her sister and her stepmother, Arakawa.
After her father’s death, Elizabeth toldTMZthat the family suspectstoxic fumes, like carbon monoxide, may be to blame.
Leslie Anne Hackman, 58
Gene Hackman and Leslie Hackman.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Hackman and Maltese welcomed their third child, daughter Leslie Anne Hackman, in October 1966.
Like her older siblings, not much is known about the youngest of Hackman’s children. In 1984, journalistBobbie Wygantspoke to Hackman about his movieMisunderstoodand asked if the movie touched him more as a father or as a son, who had a fraught relationship with his own dad.
Leslie has been photographed with her father over the years, including at several movie premieres. In January 1984, she attended the 41st Annual Golden Globe Awards with Hackman. They also went to the December 1990 premiere ofThe Godfather Part IIIand the March 1991 premiere ofClass Action.
source: people.com
