An investigation is underway after Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, his wife and one of their dogs were found dead inside their New Mexico home Wednesday, according to authorities, with detectives calling the circumstances surrounding the deaths “suspicious.”
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” a statement from Hackman’s family said. “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.”
According to the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office foul play is not believed to be a factor in the deaths, but an exact cause has not been determined. New Mexico Gas Company, which provides natural gas service at the home, said it was also assisting the office in its investigation.
Deputies were called at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday to their Santa Fe home on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park, “where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64 and a dog were found deceased,” the county sheriff’s public information officer, Denise Womack Avila, said in a statement.
According to a search warrant, a maintenance worker had placed the call to police after finding the pair dead inside the home. The sheriff’s office originally said a neighbor had called to report a welfare check on the couple.
The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were not formally identified until the overnight hours Thursday, with investigators saying they had apparently been dead for some time.
Later Thursday, an affidavit released from the sheriff’s office described the deaths as “suspicious enough” in nature to require a thorough investigation.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon, although the conference was pre-planned and is on an unrelated topic, authorities said.
As the investigation continues, here’s what we know right now.
Hackman and his wife found in different rooms
According to the warrant, detectives found the front door to the home was “opened/ajar.” No signs of forced entry were observed, and nothing in the home appeared to be out of place.
As detectives walked through the home, they discovered Hackman and Arakawa in separate rooms, along with one dog.
Hackman was found dead in a mudroom, the affidavit said, and Arakawa was found dead in a bathroom next to a space heater, which appeared to have been moved. According to detectives, Arakawa’s body showed “obvious signs of death,” including mummification in both her hands and feet.
There was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop near Arakawa, detectives wrote. One of their dogs, a German Shepherd, was found in the bathroom closet, detectives said.
Two other dogs, both healthy, were located on the property, detectives wrote. One was located outside the residence, the warrant said, while the other was observed near Arakawa’s body in the bathroom.
The detectives noted in the warrant that their training and experience led them to suspect that both Hackman and Arakawa had suddenly fallen.
The warrant also stated that the Santa Fe City Fire Department had responded to the scene to conduct testing to determine if there was a possible carbon monoxide leak or poisoning. No obvious signs of a leak or poisoning were seen, detectives wrote.
The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were not formally identified until the overnight hours Thursday.
Hackman’s life in Santa Fe
Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. The two soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had bought their home in Santa Fe.
Their Southwestern-style ranch on Old Sunset Trail sits on a hill in a gated community with views of the Rocky Mountains.
The 2,300 square-foot home on one acre (0.4 hectares) was built in 2000 and had an estimated market value of a little over $1 million, according to Santa Fe County property tax records. It is modest compared to the sprawling estate next door, which was valued at $7.9 million.
Hackman co-wrote three novels, starting with the swashbuckler, “Wake of the Perdido Star,” with Daniel Lenihan in 1999, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. He then penned two by himself, concluding with “Pursuit” in 2013, about a female police officer on the tail of a predator.
In his first couple decades in New Mexico, Hackman was often seen around the historic state capital, which known as an artist enclave, tourism destination and retreat for celebrities.
He served as a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the 1990s, according to the local paper, The New Mexican.
In recent years, he was far less visible, though even the most mundane outings caught the attention of the press. The Independent wrote about him attending a show at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in 2018. The New York Post reported on him pumping gas, doing yard work and getting a chicken sandwich at Wendy’s in 2023.
Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired from acting about 20 years ago. His was the rare Hollywood retirement that actually lasted.
Hackman had three children from a previous marriage, but he and Arakawa had no children together. They were known for having German shepherds.
Hackman told the film magazine Empire in 2020 that he and Arakawa liked to watch DVDs she rented.
“We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce,” he said.
Who was Gene Hackman?
The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for “The French Connection” in 1972 and “Unforgiven” two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.
Hackman was born in 1930 in San Bernardino, California, but moved to Danville, Illinois, a town in central Illinois along the Indiana border “as a young boy,” a post from the Danville Public Library stated.
The post went on to say that Hackman returned to Danville following military service, working as a TV cameraman at WDAN in Vermillion County before heading back to California to pursue acting.
What movies was Gene Hackman in?
One of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Hackman’s career spanned more than 40 years and a variety of roles, from tough-guy parts to comedic turns, playing heroes, villains and one iconic sports coach in ways that captivated audiences.
Here’s a list of notable Hackman films:
1961 — “Mad Dog Coll” (debut)
1964 — “Lilith”
1966 — “Hawaii”
1967 —”Bonnie and Clyde” (Academy Award nomination, supporting actor)
1969 — “The Gypsy Moths,” “Downhill Racer,” “I Never Sang for My Father” (Academy nomination, supporting actor)
1971 — “The French Connection” (as “Popeye” Doyle, best actor Academy Award win)
1972 — “Prime Cut,” “Cisco Pike,” “The Poseidon Adventure”
1974 — “The Conversation,” “Young Frankenstein” (cameo)
1975 — “The French Connection II,” “Lucky Lady”
1978 — “Superman” (as Lex Luthor)
1980 — “Superman II”
1981 — “Reds”
1983 — “Superman III”
1986 — “Hoosiers”
1987 — “No Way Out,” “Superman IV”
1988 — “Mississippi Burning” (best actor Academy Award nomination)
1992 — “Unforgiven” (Academy Award win for supporting actor)
1993 — “The Firm”
1995 — “Crimson Tide,” “Get Shorty”
1996 — “The Birdcage,” “The Chamber,” “Extreme Measures”
1997 — “Absolute Power”
1998 — “Twilight,” “Enemy of the State”
2000 — “Under Suspicion,” “The Replacements”
2001 — “The Mexican,” “Heist,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Behind Enemy Lines”
2003 — “Runaway Jury”
2004 — “Welcome to Mooseport”