Hackman Trades Blows After Fender Bender
October 30 2001

A fender bender Monday night involving Oscar-winner Gene Hackman quickly
escalated into a free-for-all in which both the 71-year-old actor and the occupants
of the other car emerged with bruises, police say. Police quoted witnesses as
saying Hackman's car, a Volvo sedan, collided with a Volvo station wagon on a
busy street just off Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, and that after both
drivers pulled over, the driver of the station wagon, a man in his 30s, became
angry and began verbally abusing Hackman. "[Hackman] seemed to keep his
cool," a witness told police, "But then something was said, and [Hackman] just
hit him four or five times."
After the actor allegedly punched the other driver, another occupant of the station
wagon kicked the actor in the groin, wrestled him to the ground, and flipped him
onto his stomach, witnesses said.

Hackman Has 'No Recollection' of Being Kicked in the Groin Through his publicist,
Dick Guttman, Hackman said he had "no recollection" of being kicked in the groin
" No recollection? Man, he's tough, especially for a septuagenarian. A police
spokesman earlier had said the men were forcibly separated by police who arrived
on the scene, but the Los Angeles Police Department later retracted that statement.
"The men were not fighting when police arrived," Lee said. No major injuries were
reported and neither person filed charges, police spokesman Jason Lee said. "They
went on their way." Guttman said that except for a few bumps and bruises, Hackman
was fine. "His film roles to the contrary, he's not a violent person," Guttman added.
Having appeared in scores of films over the last four decades, Hackman, built a
reputation as a versatile actor, but is best known for his Westerns and action films,
including his Oscar-winning role as rule-breaking cop in The French Connection and
evil sheriff in Unforgiven. His new movie, David Mamet's Heist, opens Nov. 9.
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101412&page=1

Gene Hackman Explains His Actions In Road Rage Fracas
18 December 2001 (WENN)
Movie star Gene Hackman's road rage fracas last month could have been avoided
if the ex-Marine hadn't been threatened by the driver of the car he collided with.
Hackman, now talking about the event which created headlines in Hollywood, admits
he was at fault in the collision and got out of his car to offer his apologies to the other
driver. But when the man and his passenger started to get angry, Gene snapped and
took both of them on. Still nursing the scabs and bruises he received during the fight
that ensued, the actor says, "We had this ugly wrestling match on the ground. The
police came, but I got a couple of good shots in. The guy had me around the neck.
That's the ugly part. When you're down on the ground and you're 72-years-old. I was
as responsible as they were. I was mad. There were two of them and I felt threatened."

Gene Hackman: Not Proud Of Public Fighting
21 November 2001 (WENN)
Gene Hackman is desperately embarrassed about rolling around in the street with
another man. The veteran actor got in a fight after being involved in a car crash at a
busy Los Angeles intersection earlier this month - but Gene's not proud about beating
the younger gentleman up. He says, "It was one of those road rage things that escalated,
it got heated. It escalated because there were so many people around and because of
that no-one wanted to back down. You can forget your age and end up wrestling around
on the ground. It was kind of embarrassing."


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000432/news


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