Gene
Hackman
shocked
the
world
when
he
retired
from
Hollywood.

After
a
storied
career,
that
included
over
70
film
credits
and
two
Academy
Awards,
Gene
retired
from
film
in
2004,
after
making
his
last
appearance
in

Welcome
to
Mooseport.

Five
years
after
trading
in
the
lights
of
Hollywood
for
a
quieter
life
in
Santa
Fe,
New
Mexico,
with
his
wife

Betsy
Arakawa—and
16
years

before
his
death
at
the
age
of
95—the

French
Connection
star
finally
explained
why.

“The
straw
that
broke
the
camel’s
back
was
actually
a
stress
test
that
I
took
in
New
York,”
Gene
said
in
an
interview
with


Empire
magazine
published
in
2009.
“The
doctor
advised
me
that
my
heart
wasn’t
in
the
kind
of
shape
that
I
should
be
putting
it
under
any
stress.”

At
the
time
he
revealed
his
then-new
past
time
that
allowed
him
to
bond
with
his
wife.

“Watching
DVDs
that
my
wife
rents,”
the

Royal
Tenenbaums
alum
said
about
how
he
spent
his
time
with
the
classical
pianist.
“We
like
simple
stories
that
some
of
the
little
low-budget
films
manage
to
produce.”