Gene Hackman & Wife Betsy Arakawa’s Death Being Treated as ‘Suspicious’

Gene Hackman was found dead with his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday, February 26. The two-time Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in films including The French Connection and Unforgiven, was 95.

Deputies responded to a welfare check request at the home around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday and found Hackman, Arakawa and a dog deceased, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Womack-Avila told CNN.

More details are now emerging of what authorities found at the home of the couple, who had been married for 30 years.

“This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office,” the Sheriff’s office said.

While police at first seemingly ruled out foul play, they later detailed “suspicious” findings at the property, including a knocked-over space heater, an open pill bottle, and two other healthy dogs running around the home, which warranted a “thorough investigation,” according to Variety.

Hackman was found in a side room near the kitchen while his 63-year-old wife’s body was reportedly discovered in a bathroom. They had seemingly been dead for some time. The fire department detected no indication of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning, according to the search warrant.

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola was among those paying tribute to Hackman, hailing him as “inspiring in his work.”

 

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The legendary actor was born Eugene Allen Hackman on Jan. 30, 1930. His parents moved from city to city, before settling in Danville, Illinois. Hackman told GQ in 2011 that his father walked out when he was 13 years old.

“I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I became an actor.”

At the age of 16, Hackman joined the Marines, serving four and a half years in China, Japan and Hawaii, before studying journalism and television production at the University of Illinois. He quit studies to pursue an acting career, enrolling at 27 in the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he met a young Dustin Hoffman, who was to become a lifetime friend, along with Robert Duvall.

Hackman is best known for his roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven, both of which he won Oscars for. Additionally, Hackman’s known for his work across films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, Mississippi Burning, and Crimson Tide.

He also memorably starred opposite Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in 1996’s The Birdcage, and was a part of other iconic titles including The Poseidon Adventure, Hoosiers, Wyatt Earp, Get Shorty, and The Firm. But, apart from his more acclaimed roles, Hackman was known as Superman villain Lex Luthor in the series of films led by Christopher Reeve.

Hackman appeared in three Superman films including Superman, Superman II (including The Richard Donner Cut), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Apart from his Oscar-winning performances, Hackman also received nominations for his work in Mississippi Burning, I Never Sang for My Father, and 1968’s Bonnie and Clyde.

Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in ‘Superman’

In addition to his prolific film career, Hackman’s television credits include roles in The Defenders, Brenner, I Spy, The Invaders, and many more. Hackman’s death comes more than 20 years after his retirement from entertainment as the actor’s last official credit was 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport in which he starred alongside Everybody Loves Raymond’s Ray Romano.

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Other projects from the later years of Hackman’s career also include Behind Enemy Lines, Runaway Jury, Heist, Heartbreakers, The Mexican, Enemy of the State, The Replacements, Antz, The Chamber, and Extreme Measures.

Along with being an accomplished actor, Hackman was also an established author, having penned three historical fiction novels – Wake of the Perdido Star, Justice for None, and Escape from Andersonville – with Daniel Lenihan as well as two solo novels, Payback at Morning Peak and Pursuit.

Hackman retired at 74 and lived in Santa Fe in recent decades with Arakawa, largely staying out of the public eye. He is survived by three children, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, whom he shared with his ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.

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