The ‘In Memoriam’ segment at this year’s Academy Awards both started and ended with Gene Hackman. Morgan Freeman opened the segment with a tribute to his friend and colleague.
“The world lost a giant. And I lost a dear friend,” said Freeman, who once worked with Hackman in Unforgiven and Under Suspicion.
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Freeman noted that Hackman won an Oscar while starring in Unforgiven with him, and earlier on for his role in William Friedkin’s iconic thriller The French Connection.
“Gene always said ‘I don’t think about legacy, I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work,’” Freeman says. “I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you’ll be remembered for that, and for so much more. Rest in peace, my friend.”
Later on in the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, director David Lynch and Hackman were the two final honorees.
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead last Wednesday in the early afternoon. There is still no cause of death determined yet, but it seems that there was “no external trauma.” On Wednesday night, a carbon monoxide test in the couple’s residence was performed, and the scene was deemed safe.
The scene “remains an open investigation,” Deadline reports. While the deaths of the couple and their dog are “suspicious enough in nature,” the Santa Fe police say “there were no apparent signs of foul play.”
Hackman retired from acting in 2004, and is survived by his three children.
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