Investigation Launched Into Deaths of Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa

Police are investigating the deaths of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. After the couple were found dead in their home in New Mexico on Wednesday alongside their dog, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that “an active and ongoing investigation” is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding their deaths, NBC News reported.

According to the county sheriff’s public information officer, Denise Womack-Avila, police were called to the couple’s residence on Old Sunset Trail in Santa Fe at around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. Today reported that a neighbor called the police to carry out a welfare check. When deputies arrived at the scene, “Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased.”

Womack-Avila added that “foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time, however, the exact cause of death has not been determined.” The bodies of the actor and Arakawa, a classic pianist, were not formally identified until 12:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.

Born Eugene Allen Hackman in San Bernardino, California, in 1930, Hackman was a prolific actor who won two Oscars, and secured five nominations, throughout his 60-year career. He earned his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Buck Barrow in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, and took home his first Academy Award win for his leading role as detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s 1971 film The French Connection. He won his second Oscar for Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven in 1993. He also secured nominations for his roles in 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father, 1988’s Mississippi Burning, and 1992’s Unforgiven.

In total, Hackman won wo Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and two British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs). He’s also well-remembered for his role as Lex Luther in 1978’s Superman, as well as his starring roles in films like The Poseidon Adventure, Crimson Tide, The Birdcage, Enemy of the State, The Royal Tenenbaums, Behind Enemy Lines, and The Firm. He retired from acting in 2004 after the comedy Welcome to Mooseport.

In addition to acting, Hackman wrote multiple novels. He published his final novel, Pursuit, in 2013.

Hackman married Arakawa in 1991. He is survived by his three children who he shared with his first wife, Maltese, who died in 2017: Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Ann Hackman.