Gene Hackman: Morgan Freeman honors him at the Oscars

Gene Hackman (1930-2025) is to be honored in the 97th Academy Awards in the night from Sunday to Monday in a very special way. His former co-star Morgan Freeman (87) is said to pay tribute to the recently deceased two-time winners at the award. This reports and relies on the family of the late actor.

The special homage is said to be an expansion of the traditional in-memoria mam. There is no more detailed information yet. The family of the late drama star should not be present at the ceremony.

Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman stood in front of the camera in 1992 for the Clint-Eeastwood film “Merciless”. Hackman received his second Oscar for the film in 1993 after winning “French Connection – Brooklyn” in 1972. In total, he was nominated for the gold boys for three more times – 1968 for “Bonnie and Clyde”, 1971 for “No song for my father” and 1989 for “Mississippi Burning – The root of hate”.

In 2000, Hackman and Freeman worked together again for the thriller “Under SuSpicion – Murderous Game”. It was one of Hackman’s last film projects before he retired out of the public in 2004.

Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa (1961-2025) and one of their three dogs were found dead in their house in Santa Fe in the US state of New Mexico on February 26. The circumstances of death have so far been unclear. What is certain is that they have been in the property for a long time. The corpses are said to have already shown signs of mummification on hands and feet. There are no traces of external violence, but the investigators classified the case as “suspicious”. According to media reports, data from Hackman’s pacemaker could make up February 17 as a date of death – around nine days before the corpses were discovered.