As a retired Hollywood star, Gene Hackman was plenty generous, as one of his friends and former business partners remembers.
Doug Lanham owned Jinja Bar & Bistro in Santa Fe, New Mexico when he first met Hackman. The two struck up a friendship and Hackman eventually became co-owner of the restaurant, which specializes in the “cultures and cuisine of the Pacific Islands and East Asia,” according to its website.
Though Hackman sold his stake in the bistro about seven years ago, Lanham told TMZ, the late actor, whose death was announced earlier this week, would still come in on occasion for a meal and to pay the tabs of a few lucky patrons.
Lanham also recalled that Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, kept her husband on a strict diet, so he would often order the halibut or rice-paper salmon. Hackman could only sneak a cheat meal when he was out golfing, Lanham added.
Hackman and Arakaway’s bodies were found in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday, February 26. He was 95 and she was 64. A cause of death has not been determined. Authorities have called the circumstances of their death “suspicious,” but do not suspect foul play.
As the investigation into their deaths continues, Lanham remembered his friend for his humor, sharing some of his practical jokes, like when Hackman would put a finger into Lanham’s back and tell him to “reach for the stars.”
Since news of Hackman’s death broke on Thursday, more of his colleagues have come forward with their memories of the Oscar-winning actor.
“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman, a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,” Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Hackman in 1974’s The Conversation, wrote via Instagram. “I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Dustin Hoffman, who had known Hackman for decades, called him “a giant among actors.”
“I met Gene in acting school, at the Pasadena Playhouse, when he was 27 and I was 19. We used to play congas together on the roof, trying to be like our hero Marlon Brando,” he added in a statement to Deadline. “And Gene was like Brando, in that he brought something unprecedented to our craft, something people didn’t immediately understand as genius.”
Star Trek actor George Takei shared his thoughts as well, via X.
“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it,” he wrote. “He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
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