Born in January 1930 in San Bernardino, Gene Hackman and his brother moved with their mother to Iowa in 1945 after their parents' divorce, according to a March 2021 article in the Storm Lake Times Pilot.

Hackman and his family lived on Otsego Street in Storm Lake, according to the Storm Lake Times Pilot. He dropped out of high school at 16 and lied about his age to enlist in the Marines, in which he served as a field radio operator for over four years.

After the Marines, he briefly studied journalism at the University of Illinois before dropping out and eventually heading to Los Angeles in the mid-1950s to pursue a career in acting.

In January, the city of Storm Lake wished Hackman a happy birthday on its Facebook account after the actor turned 95 on January 30th, according to the Des Moines Register.

Story Date: March 17, 2025