EXCLUSIVE: Gene Hackman Talks Iraq, Gitmo, and Celebs Who Talk Politics

Quietly, with dignity and without fanfare, The Mighty Gene Hackman retired from acting in 2004 to live with his wife in New Mexico and tap out the occasional novel, his latest being “Escape From Andersonville,” a piece of historical fiction he co-wrote with Daniel Lenihan.

Though there were no announcements I’m aware of, almost immediately I knew he had retired … because almost immediately there was a disturbance in the force. Sometime during the early eighties, Hackman replaced John Wayne as my favorite working actor and rarely did a year pass without a new Gene Hackman movie — and sometimes there were as many as two or three. So when the movies stopped coming, something just felt off.

Has there ever been anything like the “Hackman Chuckle?” He’s such a marvelous actor and could so easily slip his unique persona into any kind of character he wanted — from Popeye Doyle to Lex Luthor to Little Bill to God Himself — but always the “Hackman Chuckle” came along for the ride; that quiet, understated laugh that could convey anything, from awkwardness to pure evil. I miss it … and I miss Gene Hackman.

This exclusive clip from an interview set to air tomorrow on The Washington Times Radio Show with Melanie Morgan and John McCaslin only increased my admiration for the former United States Marine and two-time Oscar winner:

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Obviously, there’s much to disagree with here, but how refreshing to hear an actor state those positions like a mature adult. No ranting, no insulting rhetoric… And during a five-decade career, I don’t ever remember him saying anything that disappointed. Better yet, you would never know from Hackman’s work what his politics are. From “Reds” to “Uncommon Valor,” from noble military men to crusading left-wing lawyers…

Unless it’s releasing a confessed child rapist on the land, no one cares how movies stars vote or what their personal politics are. How they express those beliefs is what matters, and if they’re not insulting me and mine, attempting to undermine my country during a time of war, hugging mass murderers like Fidel Castro or qualifying forced sodomy as “not rape-rape,” go with God, or that red string around your wrist, or whatever…

Like Paul Newman and James Garner, Hackman has something that transcends politics, something too many of his current counterparts do not, and that something is called class.

Top Ten Gene Hackman Movies:

1. The French Connection (1971)
2. Unforgiven (1992)
3. Superman (1978)
4. Hoosiers (1986)
5. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
6. The Conversation (1974)
7. Scarecrow (1973)
8. Mississippi Burning (1988)
9. Crimson Tide (1995)
10. Night Moves (1975)

Top Ten Twelve Underrated Hackman Movies You Should Rent Now:

1. Twice in a Lifetime (1985)
2. Full Moon in Blue Water (1988)
3. Class Action (1991)
4. The Package (1989)
5. Bite the Bullet (1975)
6. Bat 21 (1988)
7. Another Woman (1988)
8. Narrow Margin (1990)
9. Heartbreakers (2001)
10. The Replacements (2000)
11. The Quick and the Dead (1995)
12. Target (1985)