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Feb. 28, 2025 - Lionel Nation
10:16
Gene Hackman's Death and How His Movie Gave Me My Name
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I'm not doing auto mourn.
I'm not pretending that Gene Hackman's loss or death means more to me than it does to you.
But I love this guy.
And I'll tell you why in particular.
It's one of those things where somebody dies that you know, somebody that you're familiar with, and you feel like you've lost almost a friend.
Well, Gene Hackman, you've heard the terms, he's a towering figure in American cinema, was one of the greatest and most natural actors, a la Spencer Tracy.
He died at the age of 95 alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog in their Santa Fe home.
Hackman's career spanned over six decades, during which he delivered a multitude of incredible performances that left an indelible mark on film history.
That is not an exaggeration.
One of the films is the 1973 film Scarecrow.
Where I got my name, Lionel.
I'll explain that in a moment.
But it was a project that, despite its initial commercial struggles, has, to this day, garnered incredible acclaim and a dedicated following.
Let me see if I can explain this, because I love this movie.
This was after The Godfather, okay?
So, this was directed by Jerry Schatzberg.
Scarecrow was with Gene Hackman and Al Pacino as two Drifters.
Max Millen.
It was all called Maxie.
I never really even heard his name.
And Al Pacino as Francis Lionel Del Bucchi.
And they formed this friendship while they were hitchhiking across America.
And Gene Hackman played Max, who is a gruff ex-convict with dreams of opening a car wash in Pittsburgh, and he runs into Lion, or Lionel, in this kind of a jovial, affable, innocent ex-sailor, trying to reconcile with his estranged family in Detroit, and their hitchhiking and their journey delves deep into themes of friendship and redemption.
I mean, it's really good.
The term, or the title, scarecrow, is somewhat emblematic of Lionel's philosophy that scarecrows don't frighten crows, but rather amuse them, suggesting that laughter and kindness can deter negativity.
Now, this is coming off of The Godfather.
I mean, this is one of Pacino's best roles.
He's not yelling, he's screaming, it's excellent.
And the metaphor underscores, You know, the relationship and the dynamic between the two actors and the protagonists.
I can give you this artistic literary stuff.
But it shows how contrasting personalities and influence and this incredible interplay as they make their way through this cross-country odyssey.
And there were some great lines.
One of them was, you know what's happening, right?
With Frenchie and, oh my!
God, I...
Gene Hackman is so terrific.
He's got that smile.
And, of course, there was tremendous commercial challenges.
You don't want to hear the story about Scarecrow, but let me just tell you why it's important.
When I was calling talk radios at the time, this was in 80, early 80s, this is, what, 45 years ago, when I was just calling as a hobby.
Where I was in Florida, we didn't have names.
You didn't have a name.
You were from, you know, your town.
You know, Pinellas Park or St. Peter, Tampa, whatever.
You didn't have a name.
And I thought, that was the most stupid thing in the world.
I'm not Tampa.
So I had watched that movie.
And I said, you know what?
I said, from now on, my name is Lionel.
Because I had this Francis Lionel Delbuki, and it was over and over.
I was just thinking about this, and just out of happenstance, I said, my name is Lionel.
Okay.
The next time I called up, I had forgotten that completely.
And when the board operator or the screener answered the phone, he said, oh, is this Lionel?
My voice is...
Rather unique.
He said, is this Lionel?
I said, what?
I said, oh yeah, right, yeah, Lionel, sure.
And that was it.
That was it.
It snuck.
One name like God.
Which was a line from an Indian cab driver.
Imagine that.
And we used to have Indian cab drivers.
Now we don't.
We have Ubers.
But in New York, this one guy says, oh, you're Lionel.
He goes, Lionel what?
I said, well, Lionel, you know, like, you know...
Cher Liberace, a bad example.
Elvis, he goes, oh, like God.
I said, that's it!
I thought it was funny.
He didn't get it.
Anyway, so Lionel, mononymous, one name like God.
Now, the concept of this death is really interesting to find out what happens and what are the theories behind Gene Hackman's death.
We don't know.
It's very interesting.
In the context of passing, there are theories and frameworks to discuss this.
It might be, as Dr. Bodden and others have suggested, it might be carbon monoxide, either from a boiler, they could have left a car running, and in a garage which was adjacent.
I feel sorry for, we don't know anything!
We don't know anything, just like the child, the girl actress.
We don't know anything.
We're not there.
But it seems like the fact that the dog, that the dog is there, because he is his wife, and he was rather reclusive, that that certainly may have been a part of it.
And we don't know.
We don't know.
And I'm not going to pretend it, to tell you.
And I love the way they have, Fox has on this, This medical examiner, who doesn't know anything?
Medical examiners and forensic pathologists are asked, what do you think?
And he says, I don't know.
You got any information?
Nope.
What do you think?
Well, can I look at the body?
Nope.
What do you think?
So anyway, they're just trying to spread the mourning.
Look, as I said to you, I'm not trying to tell you that my sense of Gene Hackman...
It's more than yours or your loss.
He had a great life, I would imagine.
It was interesting.
The French Connection, when he did Billy Friedkin with the French...
I call him Billy.
Billy Friedkin in What Was This?
That was a movie.
You have to hear what happened in the background.
Gene Hackman hated Popeye Doyle.
Hated him because he's a rather liberal.
And he had to get dark.
I don't know.
I just think you should just be an actor.
Gene Hackman's father also left him.
One day Gene was playing as a kid and his father drove away and kind of waved at him and just never saw him again.
Remember the scene when the frog won?
When the French by the way his name was he was actually a Spanish whatever his name is.
Remember the story?
I'm not going to go through that, but remember the scene in the subway when he drives by, any kind of way?
I always wondered, and I don't know if you made that clear, was Gene Hackman reminiscent of his father who, when he left, as he was playing, his father drove off as a kid and never saw him again.
So, in any event, I loved that guy.
I loved his smile.
I know it sounds kind of goofy, but I loved...
His smile.
And I just wanted to share that with you.
So I am Lionel because of that movie, because of Al Pacino, and because of Gene Hackman.
And there you have it, my friend.
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