Eugene Alden Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and novelist. Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California. His parents divorced while he was a child, and he moved from one place to another until he settled finally in Danville, Illinois, where he lived with his English-born grandmother. At the age of 16 he left home to join the Marines, where he served 3 years as a radio operator. Having finished his service, he moved to New York, where he worked in several minor jobs. He then studied television production and journalism at the University of Illinois.