Gene Hackman, the legendary Hollywood actor, passed away at the age of 95 in his Santa Fe home this week, alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 64. Hackman, best known for his iconic role as Buck in Bonnie and Clyde, had been with Arakawa since 1991, enjoying a peaceful life with the Hawaiian classical pianist. However, his first marriage to Faye Maltese, a bank clerk, was reportedly more challenging, shaped by Hackman’s intense rise to fame. Together, they had three children: Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Hackman.
Hackman’s first marriage ruined by Hollywood?
Hackman had a busy schedule while he struggled to make his big break which meant he was “gone so much” while trying to make his mark that it put a strain on his relations. He got divorced from Maltese in 1986. Hackman and Maltese first met in 1955, when Gene was only 25 and nowhere near success.
According to New York Times Magazine in 1989, the couple initially crossed paths at a Y.M.C.A. dance in the Big Apple, where Hackman met the “pretty and dark-haired” secretary at Rockefeller Center. Their early years as a young family were marked by struggle, as they lived in a “cold water walk up”—meaning there was no hot water supply available—in the city, as reported by DailyMail.
However, the actor confessed to the outlet that as he gained success in theatre, broadway and the screen, he became “selfish.” He shared, “You spend so many years wanting desperately to be recognized as having the talent and then when you’re starting to be offered these parts, it’s very tough to turn anything down.” Hackman added, “Even though I had a family, I took jobs that would separate us for three or four months at a time. The temptations in that, the money and recognition, it was too much for the poor boy in me. I wasn’t able to handle that.”
Also Read: Who was Betsy Arakawa? All about Gene Hackman’s wife
Hackman lost touch with his children
During an interview with GQ in 2011, he also admitted that his dreams of achieving the grandeur drew a line between him and his children when he was asked about what advice he would like to pass on to them. He said, “I lost touch with my son in terms of advice early on. Maybe it had to do with being gone so much, doing location films when he was at an age where he needed support and guidance. It was very tough for me to be gone for three months and then come home and start bossing him around.”
