Mel Brooks pays tribute to Gene Hackman by remembering his performance in Young Frankenstein

The news of the passing of Gene Hackman and his wife and his dog has left peers and fans alike stunned. Yesterday, after the news broke, the iconic French Connection star was paid tribute to by a number of his former collaborators and a great number of his fans. Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola worked with Hackman on the spy classic The Conversation and took to social media to say, “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”

Deadline now reports that comedy maestro Mel Brooks has also paid tribute to Hackman by remembering working with him on his film Young Frankenstein. Brooks recalled on his social media, “I was privileged to know Gene Hackman because he played tennis with another Gene—Gene Wilder. And that Gene told him about a little role called The Blind Hermit in our movie YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. He said, ‘Do you think Mel would let me play it? I’ve always wanted to do a comedy.’ Needless to say, I was over the moon and he was perfect.”

It was reported earlier that at the age of 95, Hackman, his retired pianist wife, 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were all found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon. New Mexico police have said that the causes of death are under investigation, “but they do not believe foul play is a factor at this time.”

As the world mourns this tragedy, fans are likely to remember the talent of Hackman by revisiting his classic film contributions. Many movie fans will have the popular go-to films, such as Unforgiven, The French Connection, The Royal Tenenbaums, and many more. Yesterday, our own Chris Bumbray would recommend a Top Five list of the best lesser-known Hackman projects. Among them are the overlooked sequel The French Connection II, the Authur Penn movie Night Moves, the war film Uncommon Valor, the sports classic Hoosiers and another action movie, The Package, which was directed by The Fugitive‘s Andrew Davis.

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