One Of Gene Hackman's Funniest Young Frankenstein Moments Was Completely Improvised

The late, great Gene Hackman makes a hilarious cameo appearance in Young Frankenstein — and not only that, he improvised one of the funniest lines in the Mel Brooks comedy. Hackman recently pᴀssed away at his home in Santa Fe at the age of 95. He left behind an incredible body of work that includes such classics as William Friedkin’s groundbreaking police noir The French Connection, Francis Ford Coppola’s paranoid Watergate-era thriller The Conversation, and Clint Eastwood’s seminal revisionist western Unforgiven.

Early in his career, Hackman gave an uncharacteristically silly performance as a blind hermit in Young Frankenstein. When the monster escapes and runs amok around town, the blind man invites it into his home, treats him with hospitality, and unwittingly injures him at every opportunity. He pours soup into the monster’s lap instead of his bowl, and he sets the monster’s hand on fire instead of lighting his cigar. In an interview with Yahoo! Movies, Brooks revealed that Hackman ad-libbed one of his funniest quotes in Young Frankenstein.

Hackman Was Eager To Try His Hand At Comedy

Gene Hackman feeding the monster in Young Frankenstein

According to Brooks, during the making of Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder played tennis with Hackman every weekend. Having made his name playing gritty dramatic roles like Popeye Doyle, Hackman was eager to try his hand at comedy. He asked Wilder if there was a role for him anywhere in Young Frankenstein and Wilder offered him the bit part of the blind hermit that meets the monster. Brooks recalled that Hackman was a “very eloquent [and] very soulful” performer to work with.

While they were shooting his scene, Hackman asked Brooks if he could “try a few things” and throw in some of his own ad-libs. It’s a bold move to ask comedy legends like Brooks and Wilder if you can deviate from their solid-gold material, but Hackman ended up improvising one of the funniest lines in the movie. As the monster flees from his house, the blind man says, “Where are you going? I was gonna make espresso!” This absurd anachronism gave the scene a great punchline; it’s yet another thing for the blind man to injure the monster with.

Hackman Was A Great Comedic Actor As Well As A Great Dramatic Actor

From The Birdcage To The Royal Tenenbaums, Hackman Was Adept At Comedy

Hackman gave powerful dramatic performances in The French Connection, Unforgiven, Hoosiers, Mississippi Burning, The Firm, The Conversation, and I Never Sang for My Father. But he was just as adept at delivering comedic performances as in Young Frankenstein. He could play an eccentric comic personality, like the тιтular patriarch in The Royal Tenenbaums, or he could play the stuffy, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpan voice of reason, like the conservative senator in The Birdcage. Gene Hackman was one of the great dramatic performers, but he was a hilarious comedic actor, too.