This week, Gene Hackman, the famous actor known for his role as Buck in the movie Bonnie and Clyde, passed away at the age of 95 in his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64, at the time. Hackman had been happily married to Betsy since 1991. Before Betsy, he was married to Faye Maltese, and their life together was difficult because of Hackman’s rise to fame. They had three children: Christopher, Elizabeth, and Leslie.
Despite his success, Hackman’s first marriage struggled because he was often away working on movies. This led to his divorce from Faye in 1986. Gene and Faye met in 1955 when he was just starting out as an actor. They lived in a small apartment without hot water while trying to build their family.
In a past interview, Gene explained that as he became more successful, he became selfish and took on many acting jobs, often leaving his family for months at a time. “I wanted to be recognized for my talent, and the offers were hard to resist,” he said. He realized later that this hurt his family and made it hard for him to connect with his kids. In a 2011 interview, he confessed that being away often made it difficult to give his son the support he needed.
Gene Hackman’s life reminds us that fame and success can come with heavy personal costs.
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