Craig Zablo

It was announced that Gene Hackman was found dead today.  No time or cause of death has been given.  Although no foul play was no suspected, an investigation is on-going.  Mr. Hackman was 95.

At the age of ten, Gene Hackman knew that he wanted to be an actor.  At sixteen he lied about his age and enlisted in the Marines.  After Mr. Hackman finished his enlistment he studied journalism and television production at the University of Illinois.  Gene Hackman left for California before graduating.  He joined the Pasadena Playhouse where he became friends with Dustin Hoffman.  Mr. Hackman moved to New York where at different times he shared an apartment with Dustin Hoffman or Robert Duvall.

Gene Hackman began to get small television roles.  During this time Mr. Hackman also appeared in several off-Broadway plays.  In 1963, he got his first Broadway role.  This opened the door to roles in feature films.  Mr. Hackman continued to work on Broadway, television guest spots and small film roles.  Gene Hackman’s breakout role came when he co-starred in Bonnie and Clyde.  This earned him his first (of five) Oscar nominations.  For the rest of his career Gene Hackman appeared in television and feature films.

Gene Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two…

• 1968 Nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Bonnie and Clyde
• 1971 Nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for I Never Sang for My Father
• 1972 Winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The French Connection
• 1989 Nominee for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Mississippi Burning
• 1993 Winner for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Unforgiven

Some of the television projects that feature Gene Hackman include: Tallahassee 7000; The United States Steel Hour (8 episodes); Naked City; The Defenders (2 episodes); Route 66; Ride with Terror; East Side/West Side; Brenner (3 episodes); The Trials of O’Brien; Hawk; The FBI; The Invaders; Iron Horse; CBS Playhouse; I Spy; and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (2 episodes).

Some of the feature films that Gene Hackman appeared in include: Mad Dog Coll; Lilith; Hawaii; A Covenant with Death; Bonnie and Clyde; The Split; Downhill Racer; Marooned; I Never Sang for My Father; The French Connection; Cisco Pike; Prime Cut; The Poseidon Adventure; Scarecrow; The Conversation; Young Frankenstein; Night Moves; Bite the Bullet; French Connection II; Lucky Lady; The Domino Principle; A Bridge Too Far; Superman; Superman II; Reds; Under Fire; Uncommon Valor; Target; Power; Hoosiers; Superman IV: The Quest for Peace; No Way Out; Bat*21; Mississippi Burning; The Package; Postcards from the Edge; Narrow Margin; Unforgiven; The Firm; Geronimo: An American Legend; Wyatt Earp; The Quick and the Dead; Crimson Tide; Get Shorty; The Birdcage; Extreme Measures; The Chamber; Absolute Power; Twilight; Antz; Enemy of the State; Under Suspicion; The Replacements; The Mexican; Heist; The Royal Tenenbaums; Behind Enemy Lines; Runaway Jury and Welcome to Mooseport.

I probably first saw Gene Hackman in Route 66 or The Invaders.  The first movie I remember seeing Mr. Hackman was in The Poseidon Adventure.  I loved him in that role!  It’s hard to pick a favorite Gene Hackman role because he was so good in so many films.  Some of favorites include Poseidon Adventure; Mississippi Burning; Unforgiven; The Quick and the Dead; Crimson Tide and Get Shorty.  What an amazing career Mr. Hackman had.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Gene Hackman’s family, friends and fans.

Peter Jason died on Thursday, February 20, 2025.  The cause of death was cancer.  Mr. Jason was 80.

Peter Jason caught the acting bug when he was cast in the lead for his senior high school play.  He attending Orange Coast College where he continued to study acting.  A role in the tv movie A Bell for Adano was his first professional credit.  Following that roles on television and feature films led to over 265 credits on his acting resume.

Some of the television projects that feature Peter Jason include: A Bell for Adano; The F.B.I.; Cimarron Strip (2 episodes); Judd for the Defense; Here Come the Brides; Daniel Boone; Land of the Giants; Hawaii 5-0; Kung Fu; Gunsmoke (3 episodes); One Day at a Time (2 episodes); Starsky and Hutch (2 episodes); BJ and the Bear; The Incredible Hulk; Hart to Hart (2 episodes); Filthy Rich; Silver Spoons; The Blue and the Gray; Cagney and Lacey; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; For Love and Honor; Mister Roberts; Cover Up; Riptide; Izzy & Moe; Amazing Stories; Remington Steele (2 episodes); The Golden Girls; Scarecrow and Mrs. King; The Betty Ford Story; The New Mike Hammer; Hard Knocks (2 episodes); Billionaire Boys Club; Webster (2 episodes); Knots Landing; Quantum Leap; Perfect Strangers; A Different World; Batman: The Animated Series; Dear John; Roseanne; Married with Children; Body Bags; Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman; Coach; Murder She Wrote (2 episodes); Kung Fu: The Legend Continues; Pinky and the Brain; Murder One; Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer (6 episodes); Mike Hammer: Private Eye (26 episodes); The New Batman Adventures (2 episodes); Batman Beyond: The Movie; Nash Bridges (3 episodes); Arli$$; Men in Black: The Series; Batman Beyond (2 episodes); Titus (2 episodes); Jag; Providence; The New Woody Woodpecker Show (4 episodes); Mister Sterling; Jackie Chan Adventures; Carnivale; Patients; Deadwood (26 episodes); Desperate Housewives (2 episodes); Dirty Sexy Money; Mad Men; Castle; Mending Fences; Raising the Bar; Cold Case; Justified; Chuck; The Fuzz; Funny or Die Presents (3 episodes); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Arrested Development (4 episodes); Scorpion; Longmire; NCIS (2 episodes); Deadwood: The Movie and Baskets (5 episodes).

Some of the feature films that Peter Jason appeared in include: Rio Lobo; The Driver; The Long Riders; Mommy Dearest; Some Kind of Hero; 48 Hrs.; Streets of Fire; The Karate Kid; Dreamscape; Oxford Blues; Brewster’s Millions;  Heartbreak Ridge; Prince of Darkness; Red Heat; Alien Nation; They Live; Johnny Handsome; The Hunt for Red October; Arachnophobia; Marked for Death; In the Mouth of Madness; Village of the Damned; Congo; Mortal Combat; Wild Bill; Escape for LA; The Glimmer Man; Dante’s Peak; Ghosts of Mars; Undisputed; Seabiscuit; Richard III; Queen City; Hail Caesar; Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Downside of Bliss.

I probably first saw Peter Jason in Here Come the Brides.  Of course it could have been Daniel Boone; Land of the Giants; Hawaii 5-0; Kung Fu or Gunsmoke.  Peter Jason was getting work in so many shows I regularly watched it’s hard to say for sure.  Mr. Jason appeared in so many television shows and movies that I loved.  He was so prolific because he was so good.  Directors knew that Mr. Jason brought something special even in the smallest performances.  What a career Peter Jason had.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Peter Jason’s family, friends and fans.