Frail-Looking Gene Hackman, 93, Breaks Cover In New Mexico Two Decades After Retirement
March 7 2023, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Ailing Hollywood legend Gene Hackman came out of hiding to run errands around his neighborhood over the weekend, marking the first time the recluse actor has been spotted in years, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The Unforgiven actor, who turned 93 years old on January 30, broke cover to indulge his fast-food craving, hitting up a Santa Fe, New Mexico, Wendy's drive-thru and slowly eating a chicken sandwich in the parking lot while sitting in his truck.
Hackman made his way to a local gas station before turning his truck around and going home to work on his ranch. The two-time Oscar winner struggled with his shovel as he brandished the tool in his yard.
Hackman has been MIA for years and was last seen on the big screen in his role in the 2004 comedy Welcome to Mooseport. He quit Hollywood nearly two decades ago, opting for a quieter scene toward the end of his life.
The retired actor — whose career spanned over six decades — wore baggy jeans that barely stayed up on his frail body. He paired the look with a green pullover, a Columbian fleece vest, a baseball cap, and sneakers for his rare day out in public, as seen in the photos obtained by the New York Post.
Despite being in his nineties, Hackman didn't need a handler. He ran around town all by himself on Sunday and continued to do yard work without any help.
Hackman's heart problems and health setbacks led to his exit from the industry.
Hackman gave his last interview in 2021, highlighting his “checkered career of hits and misses" and speaking about the 50th anniversary of the 1971 film The French Connection.
He earned his first Academy Award for Best Actor playing Jimmy Doyle in the classic crime movie.
“The film certainly helped me in my career, and I am grateful for that," he said of The French Connection. Hackman revealed he hadn't watched the triller since the screening five decades before.
"[I] haven’t seen the film since the first screening in a dark, tiny viewing room in a post-production company’s facility 50 years ago,” he told the Post, showing how disconnected he had always been to Hollywood.
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Hackman moved to Santa Fe in the 1980s. Besides acting, the star had many other interests in his lifetime.
He designed more than 10 homes and began writing novels after his retirement, including the 2013 thriller Pursuit.
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