Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home, local law enforcement said Thursday, as an investigation into their deaths is ongoing.
A 1986 photo Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa, who were found dead in their New Mexico home ... [+]
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64, and their dog were found dead when police entered their home for a welfare check at about 1:45 p.m. local time Wednesday, Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Womack-Avila told Forbes.
No one else was inside the home and no foul play is suspected, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies were sent to Hackman’s home just outside of Santa Fe after a concerned neighbor called about the couple, the sheriff’s office told local TV affiliate KOB.
According to the Associated Press, Hackman and his wife lived in a gated community just outside Santa Fe after moving into the area in the 1980s.
Hackman retired from acting in the early 2000s and had mostly remained out of the public eye since then.
Hackman had three children, a son and two daughters, with his ex-wife Faye Maltese who died in 2017.
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The Sante Fe County Sherriff's Office is investigating the deaths, and details about how Hackman and Arakawa died were not disclosed. Elizabeth Jean Hackman, Hackman’s daughter, told TMZ that while law enforcement is unsure about their cause of death, she believes they likely died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
- That is the total number of Academy Awards Hackman won in his career, including “Best Actor” for his leading role in the 1971 action and crime drama “The French Connection” and “Best Supporting Actor” for his work in the 1993 western “Unforgiven.” In total, Hackman was nominated for an Oscar five times.
Director Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Hackman in the 1974 film ‘The Conversation,” paid tribute to the actor on Threads, saying: “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.” On X, Edgar Wright hailed Hackman as “The greatest…” Star Trek actor George Takei tweeted: “We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe.”
Sheriff: Gene Hackman, wife found dead in Santa Fe home; no foul play suspected (Santa Fe New Mexican)
Gene Hackman, Oscar-Winning Star of ‘The French Connection,’ Dies at 95 (The Hollywood Reporter)