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Inside Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa's Private Life in Santa Fe Before Their Deaths - E! Online
Oscar winner Gene Hackman, his pianist wife Betsy Arakawa and one of their dogs were found dead in their Santa Fe home Feb. 26. Learn about the couple's private life in the years before their deaths.
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Watch : Gene Hackman, Wife Betsy Arakawa and Dog Found Dead in Santa Fe Home
Even after two decades away from the spotlight, Gene Hackman’s connection to Hollywood was undeniable.
With two Oscars, 40-plus years in the industry and hundreds of roles across the screen and stage, the actor’s legacy will continue to live on following his death.
“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,” Hackman's daughters Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman and granddaughter Annie Hackman said in a statement to E! News. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
The 95-year-old, his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and one of their dogs were found dead in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Feb. 26, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to NBC News. An official cause of death has yet to be revealed.
During a Feb. 27 press conference, Sheriff Adan Mendoza said “there was no immediate sign of foul play” but that they haven’t ruled it out. An investigation remains ongoing.
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According to an affidavit for a search warrant obtained by NBC News, affiant Detective Roy Arndt, “believes that the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Per the documents, authorities received a call at around 1:43 p.m. on Feb 26 from a maintenance worker reporting two deceased individuals in the home. The affidavit states the caller was one of two workers at the house who told deputies they did routine maintenance for the homeowners and that they’d found the residence’s door ajar. It also notes deputies “did not observe any signs of forced entry into the home.”
Once inside, the affidavit continues, a deputy found a deceased woman on the floor in the bathroom and a space heater near her head, with it being suspected “the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground.” The documents also state that a deputy saw an opened prescription bottle with pills on the bathroom countertop.
Ten to 15 feet away in a bathroom closet, the documents continue, a deceased German-Shepard was found. Two living dogs were also located on the property.
In addition, the affidavit says a deceased male was found in what appeared to be the home’s mudroom—with the deputy suspecting the male had “suddenly fallen.”
The documents state the deputy "did not observe any indication the residence had been rummaged through or items were taken from inside the residence." Furthermore, the affidavit says there are "no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Though originally born in San Bernardino, Calif., Hackman had called New Mexico home for decades. After working in Santa Fe on a few movies, The French Connection star told Architectural Digest in 1990, he found the city “had a kind of magic in it,” and it became a beloved place for both him and Arakawa.
"I paint and draw, and my wife is a classical pianist," he told Charlie Rose in 1999. "It has a lot of cultural opportunities."
According to The New York Times, Hackman met Arakawa in the mid-80s while she was working at a fitness center in California. He was previously married to Faye Maltese, mom to his two daughters and his son Christopher.
Hackman and Maltese separated in 1982 and divorced four years later. But unlike his character in 1985’s Twice in a Lifetime, “I did not leave my real-life wife for a younger woman,” he once told Florida’s Sun Sentinel. "We just drifted apart."
And the Unforgiven alum admitted navigating a relationship in the limelight was no easy feat.
"We lost sight of each other," he continued. "When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love."
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Throughout his career, Hackman took on a variety of film roles—including Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection, comic book villain Lex Luthor in the Superman movies and Coach Norman Dale in Hoosiers. He also starred in several Broadway productions, including Children From Their Games, Any Wednesday and Death and the Maiden.
“When I’m actually on the set or on a stage, actually doing the work, I loved that process and I loved the creative process of trying to bring a character to life,” Hackman told Empire in 2009. “And then, when you’re actually shooting or performing, there is a kind of a feeling that comes over you, a confidence and kind of a wonderful, washed-over feeling of wellbeing, if you will. When it’s going well!”
However, the thespian—who also portrayed the patriarch in The Royal Tenenbaums as well as a president in Absolute Power—didn’t get that same feeling with other aspects of the industry.
“Whereas the business part of show business is kinda wicked,” he added. “You jump from trying to be a sponge, if you will, in terms of input from other actors and the director and everything that’s surrounding you, you jump from that to a luncheon meeting with an agent and a producer on another film, or something that’s gone on on the film that you’re doing. It’s kind of a frying pan. It was jarring and at my age and with my health, I decided I didn’t want to do that any longer.”
Watch : Gene Hackman's Daughter Elizabeth Jean Hackman Speaks Out After Death of Actor, Wife and Dog
In fact, Hackman’s health was a reason he stepped away from Hollywood after filming his final movie, the 2004 political satire comedy Welcome to Mooseport.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” the Mississippi Burning star told Empire. “The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
Still, Hackman seemed to enjoy this quieter chapter. During his free time, The Conversation actor would watch “DVDS that my wife rents,” he told Empire. “We like simple stories that some of the low-budget films manage to produce.” The outlet also noted he watched Comedy Channel marathons every Friday night—with comedian Eddie Izzard among his faves—and reveled in painting and eating fish.
And though Hackman—who at one point also participated in racing, flying and diving—was done with filmmaking, he hadn’t retired from all his professions completely. He went on to write several books with Daniel Lenihan—including Justice for None and Escape from Andersonville—as well as a few on his own, such as Pursuit and Payback at Morning Peak.
“I think it was a natural transition,” he noted to the outlet of switching from acting to writing. "One asks oneself questions as an actor like, 'where am I coming from? Where am I going? What do I want?' Those three simple things can carry you a long way as an actor. As a writer, you can start the same way."
While Hackman and Arakawa made joint public outings at award shows, premieres and sporting events in the ‘80s and ‘90s, the couple kept much more of a private profile in recent years—the last time they were photographed together was in March 2024. However, he’d expressed his content in his day-to-day in Santa Fe.
"It’s a great life," he told Rose back in 1999. “I think that I’ve been really privileged to have been given the opportunity to do some of the things that I’ve done.”
To look back at Hackman’s life in pictures, keep reading.
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Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
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Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
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Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
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