Gene Hackman’s award-winning, star-studded career in Hollywood came to an abrupt end when the legendary actor heeded a warning from a New York doctor.
The two-time Oscar winner’s career was thrust back into the spotlight following his death inside his New Mexico home alongside his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and their dog on Wednesday
The 95-year-old actor had been off the big screen for over two decades after he retired from acting because his heart was not in a condition to continue the lifestyle.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” Hackman told Empire in a 2009 interview.
“The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress,” he added.
Hackman’s last role was in the 2004 film “Welcome to Mooseport” where he played a former US president who retired to Maine and ran for mayor in the small fictional town opposite Ray Romano.
He alluded to his retirement with Larry King in a July 2004 appearance on the host’s talk show, but didn’t make it official until 2008.
“I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer. I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer,” Hackman told Reuters at the time.
He maintained his love for acting and missed it but the business had become too stressful for him.
Despite the dreadful news being the final nail in his acting career, Hackman didn’t stop doing things he wanted.
The “French Connection” star grew his writing, publishing three novels alongside his neighbor Daniel Lenihan between 1999 when he was still acting and 2008.
Hackman also wrote two novels by himself, with the last one, titled “Pursuit,” being released in 2013.
He said writing relaxed him as he found a way to maintain his entertainment persona without a large production a movie would need.
“I don’t picture myself as a great writer, but I really enjoy the process, especially on this book. We had to do a great deal of research on it to get some of the facts right,” he told the outlet about his novel, “Escape from Andersonville.”
“It is stressful to some degree, but it’s a different kind of stress. It’s one you can kind of manage, because you’re sitting there by yourself, as opposed to having ninety people sitting around waiting for you to entertain them!” he added.
Hackman found comfort in spending time with Arakawa watching DVD’s she would rent, as the couple enjoyed “simple stories.”
True to form, he kept comedy as a key figure in his life, telling Empire he had a weekly tradition of watching comedy sets on Comedy Central.
