The late Gene Hackman had his share of memorable lines, but many will always remember him for one of the biggest “Roll Tide” salutes shown on the silver screen.

Oscar-winning actor Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, were found dead Wednesday afternoon in their home in New Mexico, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. Their dog also was found dead. The sheriff’s office said foul play was not suspected but an investigation was ongoing.

The scene in question comes in the suspenseful 1995 action flick “Crimson Tide,” in which Hackman plays a sub commander who has a slight difference of opinion with his executive officer (Denzel Washington) over whether it’s cool to go ahead and launch some nukes.

Before the ill-fated voyage begins, Hackman’s Capt. Franklin Ramsey addresses his crew dockside in a pouring rain. “There’s trouble in Russia,” he begins. “So they called us. And we’re going over there and bringing the most lethal killing machine ever devised.”

In the three-minute monologue, Ramsey plays to his crewmembers’ patriotism and pride; gets a laugh with a gratuitous shot at another service branch; challenges them to measure up or receive his booted foot as an incentive to do better; and even salutes the fine people of Alabama. “And what do we say?” he concludes, leading a cheer of “Go Bama! Roll Tide!”

It’s a stirring moment, and one that was played at some Crimson Tide basketball games in the years following the movie’s release.

Screenwriter Michael Schiffer told The Birmingham News in a 1995 interview that he opted to set the story aboard the Ohio-class ballistic missile sub USS Alabama because the name “just jumped off the page.” From there, he doubled down on the references. Hackman’s character has a dog named Bear.

“In one of my earlier drafts of the script, I had a picture of Bear Bryant on the wall and an Auburn pennant because the ship does represent the whole state,” Schiffer said. “I didn’t want to slight the people from Auburn.” That part was edited out, he said.

“It (Alabama) is, one would assume, a real patriotic state and filled with a lot of pride,” said Schiffer. “Therefore, a sub that would bear its name would have a heavy responsibility to live up to that state pride.”

For the record, the screenwriter is a Penn State alumnus.

“It gives me goose bumps,” Schiffer said. “You don’t have to know what it means to feel it.”

And Hackman made sure everybody felt it.