A child of a broken home, Gene Hackman left home at 16 for a 3-year hitch with the Marines. Moving to New York after being discharged, he worked in a number of menial jobs before s...more >>tudying journalism and television production on the G.I. Bill at the University of Illinois. Hackman would be over 30 years old when he finally decided to take his chance at acting by enrolling at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. Legend says that Hackman and Dustin Hoffman were voted least likely to succeed. Hackman next moved back to New York, where he worked in summer stock and off-Broadway.<< collapse