This Maine-Set Movie Marked the End of Gene Hackman’s Career

One of the greatest actors of all time has sadly passed away.

Gene Hackman was found dead in his home at the age of 95. Hackman was discovered alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and one of their three dogs. While details remain unclear at the time of writing this, what is certain is the legacy Hackman leaves behind.

Gene Hackman had one of the Greatest Acting Careers Ever

The two-time Academy Award winner enjoyed tremendous success throughout his career and played some of the most iconic roles of his era—such as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, Coach Norman Dale in Hoosiers, and Sheriff Bill Daggett in Unforgiven. I could name 20 or so more, but I think you get the point.

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Hackman was also one of the very few who successfully retired from acting, doing so in 2004. However, before his retirement, Hackman starred in one final movie—a film that connected him right here to Maine.

Gene Hackman's Final Film Was Set in Maine

The film was called Welcome to Mooseport (boy, those producers certainly made that sound very "Maine-y"), a movie set in a fictitious Maine town. Along with Hackman, it starred Ray Romano, Marcia Gay Harden, and Maura Tierney.

The plot of the film is that Hackman plays a former United States president who is retiring to a small Maine town. Romano and Hackman end up running against each other for the town's mayorship, and of course, hilarity ensues.

While not his finest work, it's always fun to see Maine depicted on the big screen. What I really mean is, I'm always interested to see how many Maine stereotypes get absolutely blown out of proportion.

Having seen this movie, I can honestly say it's not too bad. It's a very light film, where the small town could basically be set in either the Northeast or Northwest. There are goofy characters and way too many odes to moose. But overall, it's fine.

What's not fine is that it was NOT filmed in Maine. According to the film's Wikipedia page, Welcome to Mooseport was shot at two different locations in Ontario. That's just straight-up lame. But I guess we can let it slide.

So long to one of the best we will ever see do it. Thanks for all the wonderful memories, Gene. Your legacy will live on forever.