Oscar winner Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa found dead, initial autopsy shows no signs of external trauma
Gene Hackman, the legendary everyman actor who won two Oscars before stepping away from Hollywood in 2004, and Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their Santa Fe, N.M., home on Wednesday. Hackman was 95. Arakawa, whom he married in 1991, was 64.
While authorities did not suspect foul play, the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa have been ruled suspicious. A detective's affidavit stated that "an open prescription bottle scattered pills" were found on a bathroom counter near Arakawa's body. One of the couple’s dog, a German shepherd, was found dead in the bathroom closet, about 15 feet from Arakawa. Two other family dogs were found alive.
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A maintenance worker discovered the bodies on Wednesday. Arakawa was found in the bathroom near a space heater. Her body showed signs of decomposition, per the detective report. Hackman's body, in a similar state, was found in the mud room appearing as if he had "suddenly fallen." There was no sign of trauma, and no note was found.
Hackman's daughter, Leslie Ann, previously told TMZ the family believes carbon monoxide poisoning might be the cause. However, investigators said there was no sign of a gas leak or carbon monoxide leak.
According to authorities, “The circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened, deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
An initial autopsy revealed no signs of external trauma for either Hackman or Arakawa.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” Hackman’s daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, along with granddaughter Annie, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Born in San Bernadino, Calif., in 1930, Hackman was one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation. He received five Oscar nominations across four decades from the 1960s through the 1990s, winning Best Actor in 1972 for The French Connection and Best Supporting Actor in 1993 for Unforgiven. His first Oscar nomination came for 1967’s seminal classic Bonnie & Clyde, where he played the older brother of Warren Beatty’s Clyde Barrow. Other nominations came for 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father and 1988’s Mississippi Burning.
However, beyond his nominated performances, Hackman’s film résumé is one of the greatest ever. After an uncredited role in 1960’s Mad Dog Coll, Hackman received his first film credit in Robert Rossen’s Lilith with Beatty and Jean Seberg. After his breakout with Bonnie & Clyde and Oscar win for The French Connection, Hackman was a fixture in significant films of the 1970s and 1980s, including The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, Superman, Reds, and Hoosiers. His Oscar win for Unforgiven in 1993 anecdotally gave him a renewed boost in the industry and paired him with the era's top stars. Hackman followed the role with scene-stealing turns in The Firm (opposite Tom Cruise), The Quick and the Dead (opposite Sharon Stone and a young Leonardo DiCaprio as Hackman’s onscreen son), Crimson Tide (opposite Denzel Washington), The Birdcage (with Robin Williams), Get Shorty (with John Travolta), and Enemy of the State (opposite Will Smith). In the 2000s, Hackman slowed his output significantly with notable roles in Heartbreakers and Heist. His last lauded feature was his acclaimed turn as the family patriarch Royal Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson’s 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Actor for his performance but failed to receive recognition from the Academy Awards.
Hackman’s final two films were less critically acclaimed: The Runaway Jury and the political satire Welcome to Mooseport in 2004 with Ray Romano. He had said he retired on the advice of his doctor. “The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress,” Hackman told Empire in 2008.
Following his acting career, Hackman began authoring thriller novels along with cowriter Daniel Lenihan. While promoting one of those books, Hackman addressed his future in a 2008 interview with Reuters.
“I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer. I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer,” Hackman said. Then 78, Hackman said he did miss performing itself but not the stress of the business.
“The compromises that you have to make in films are just part of the beast, and it had gotten to a point where I just didn’t feel like I wanted to do it anymore,” he said.
Hackman and Arakawa met in the 1980s but married in 1991, long after Hackman had divorced his first wife, the late Faye Maltese. “We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love,” he said about his first marriage in an interview to promote the divorce drama Twice in a Lifetime in 1985. Arakawa was trained as a classical pianist and helped Hackman with his post-acting career novels. She was stepmother to his three children, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne, all of whom were born in the 1960s.
Hackman and Aarkawa lived in Sante Fe for years and the actor rarely gave interviews or made public appearances. He was last photographed in public in March 2024; it is thought his last appearance at a Hollywood event was in 2003 at the Golden Globes when Hackman was honored with the Cecille B. DeMille Award.
In an interview with GQ in 2011, Hackman said he wanted to be remembered " as a decent actor.”
He added, “As someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion. I don’t know, beyond that. I don’t think about that often, to be honest. I’m at an age where I should think about it.”
This post will be updated further with additional information as warranted.
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