Morgan Freeman Set to Honor Gene Hackman at Oscars

Ahead of the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday night, a relative of Gene Hackman has told TMZ that Morgan Freeman, Hackman’s co-star in 1992’s Unforgiven and 2000’s Under Suspicion, will pay tribute to the late actor in an extension of the show’s “In Memoriam” segment. TMZ also reports that Hackman’s family will not be in attendance.

Freeman posted a tribute to Hackman on X following the news of the deaths of Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and one of their dogs, writing, “One of the personal highlights of my career was bringing the French film Garde à vue (Under Suspicion) to life with the incredibly gifted Gene Hackman. And of course… Unforgiven. Rest in peace, my friend.”

The pair first worked together on Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, for which Hackman won Best Supporting Actor, his second Academy Award. Eight years later, they reunited for Under Suspicion, a film directed by Stephen Hopkins and based on the 1981 French film Garde à vue.

Under Suspicion was one of Hackman’s last acting credits before he retired in 2004. Hackman married Betsy Arakawa in 1991, and the couple lived in Santa Fe together, where they were found dead on Feb. 27. One of the couple’s dogs was also dead, while two others were found alive elsewhere on the property.

An investigation into their deaths is ongoing; authorities have revealed that Hackman’s last recorded pacemaker event was on Feb. 17, leading them to believe that was when he died. Both Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide, but further toxicology results are pending.