Gene Hackman, prolific actor and 'Hoosiers' star, dies at 95 - ESPN

Gene Hackman, the prolific Oscar-winning actor whose roles ranged from reluctant heroes to conniving villains and included what is considered one of the greatest sports movies of all time in «Hoosiers,» has died at the age of 95.

Hackman was found dead with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog when deputies performed a welfare check at their New Mexico home around 1:45 p.m. Thursday, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Denise Avila said.

Foul play was not suspected, but authorities did not release circumstances of their deaths and said an investigation was ongoing.

Loosely based on an Indiana high school basketball team in the 1950s, the 1986 film «Hoosiers» features Hackman starring as coach Norman Dale, a man who was given a second chance at coaching after his first one ended for striking one of his players years earlier. Hackman leads the small-school Hickory Huskers on an unlikely run through the Indiana high school basketball tournament, winning the title over big-city South Bend Central on a buzzer-beater by Jimmy Chitwood.

Hackman famously thought the movie would end his career, but the film instead was widely lauded. It was voted as the best sports movie of all time by The Associated Press in 2020 and is the No. 4 sports film according to the American Film Institute.

Hackman was a frequent and versatile presence on screen from the 1960s until his retirement. His dozens of films included Academy Award favorites «The French Connection» and «Unforgiven,» a breakout performance in «Bonnie and Clyde,» a classic bit of farce in «Young Frankenstein,» a turn as the comic book villain Lex Luthor in «Superman,» and the title character in Wes Anderson's 2001 «The Royal Tenenbaums.»

He was a five-time Oscar