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| Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, wife found dead in Santa Fe home | |
| 2025-02-27 | |
| [FoxNews] Legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home. Officials say no foul play is suspected but an investigation is ongoing. Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman was found dead alongside his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and their dog in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday afternoon. Hackman was 95 at the time of his death, and his wife 63. The office confirmed that foul play is not suspected as a factor in the deaths at this time, but the cause of death has not been determined. An investigation is ongoing. "On February 26, 2025, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park, where Gene Hackman, 95 and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased," the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office told Fox News Digital early Thursday morning. Hackman was best known for his Oscar-winning performances in "The French Connection" and "Unforgiven." He appeared as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s. Eugene Alden Hackman was born Jan. 30, 1930, in San Bernardino, California, and grew up in Danville, Illinois, where his father worked as a pressman for the Commercial-News. His parents fought repeatedly, and his father often used his fists on Gene to take out his rage, according to the Associated Press. The boy found refuge in movie houses, identifying with Errol Flynn and James Cagney as his role models. When Gene was 13, his father waved goodbye and drove off, never to return. The abandonment was a lasting injury to Gene. His mother had become an alcoholic and was constantly at odds with her mother, with whom the shattered family lived (Gene had a younger brother). At 16, he "suddenly got the itch to get out." Lying about his age, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines. An article on the Department of Defense's website said doing that "was a fairly common practice before the advent of computer records" and that Hackman served from 1947 to 1952 as a field radio operator and broadcast journalist. "In the 1940s, he was stationed in Qingdao, China, and then Shanghai. Part of his duties, he said, was destroying Japanese military equipment so that the communists couldn't obtain it," the article also reads. With a high school diploma he earned during his time as a Marine, Hackman studied journalism at the University of Illinois. He dropped out after six months to study radio announcing in New York. After working at stations in Florida and his hometown of Danville, he returned to New York to study painting at the Art Students League. Hackman switched again to enter an acting course at the Pasadena Playhouse. Back in New York, he found work as a doorman and truck driver, among other jobs, while waiting for a break as an actor. Hackman’s first starring film role came in 1970 with "I Never Sang for My Father," as a man struggling to deal with a failed relationship with his dying father, Melvyn Douglas. When not on film locations, Hackman enjoyed painting, stunt flying, stock car racing and deep sea diving. In his latter years, he wrote novels and lived on his ranch in Sante Fe, on a hilltop looking out on the Colorado Rockies.
Elizabeth Jean Hackman told TMZ that while they are not sure of the couple's cause of death, they think it could be due to inhaling toxic fumes. | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #6 |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2025-02-27 20:48 |
| #5 CO poisoning, or Viking? Seriously, what a wild life and excellent filmography. I imagine Arakawa was genuinely accomplished too. Thank you. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2025-02-27 19:45 |
| #4 Last time I saw photos of Gene, he looked like, well, a 94+ yr old man. RIP and thank you for your work |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-02-27 17:59 |
| #3 Hack, the wife and dogs in the garage ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2025-02-27 15:36 |
| #2 ...or the Salmon Mousse. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-02-27 13:55 |
| #1 Dogs dead too. Doesnt appear to be suicide murder. |
| Posted by: mossomo 2025-02-27 12:31 |