I saw on the news this morning that Gene Hackman died at the age of 95. His body was found in his home, also the dead bodies of his wife and dog? I think there might be more to this story...
He was one of the unlikely leading men to emerge in the 60s. He and Dustin Hoffman are often brought up together as extraordinary actors who didn't have traditional leading men good looks yet they broke through as major box office because of their talent and because the public wanted something more "authentic." You see how Paul Newman and Robert Redford are seen as more Hollywood in their looks...
He won two Oscars and made lots of amazing movies (people go on and on about The Conversation, and while I admire the craft it's a little too dull for me) but my favorite performance of his is in The Royal Tennenbaums. I need to see that again. Hopefully the Criterion Channel will do a Hackman festival.
And yikes, Michelle Trachtenberg died the other day at the age of 39. Again, there's more to that story, stay tuned. She's best known for her roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl but let's not forget she was also on Six Feet Under and my beloved The Adventures of Pete and Pete. I was in my 20s when it was on and not really the target audience for Nickelodeon but how I loved that show. Here she is in all her goofy glory. She's Nora, in the blue hat. With the lucky underpants.
Commenti