One of the best to ever do it, Gene Hackman is retired and 94 years old, but thankfully still with us. In the late 1950s, Hackman began studying acting. He appeared in plays and various bit roles in films. His big movie break almost came in 1967 when he was cast as Mr. Robinson in “The Graduate.” However, he was fired by director Mike Nichols for being too young for the part. Finally, Hackman broke out in the movies in a big way when he earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for playing Buck Barrow in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde.” He would go on to find even bigger stardom in the 1970s, and it was “The French Connection” that truly launched him to stardom — he took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his work as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle. Hackman continued acting through the decades, appearing in titles such as “The Conversation” (1974), “Night Movies” (1975), “Reds” (1981), “Hoosiers” (1986), “Crimson Tide” (1995), “The Birdcage” (1996), and many more. He won his second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance as brutal lawman “Little” Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven,” released in 1992. His last on-screen performance was in 2004’s “Welcome to Mooseport,” but if you want to go ahead and pretend it was in 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums,” a more fitting send-off to a great career, we won’t blame you.