Fans were shocked when news broke that Gene Hackman had been found dead in his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico aged 95, alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their pet dog.
No foul play is suspected but a cause of the couple’s death is yet to be determined, with police set to hold a press conference when further details are known.
Hackman and Arakawa had been married since 1991 and reportedly began dating in the mid-Eighties after The French Connection star separated from his first wife, Faye Maltese in 1986.
The actor met Arakawa, who was reportedly born in Hawaii in the early Sixties, at a gym in California, where she was working part time while pursuing a career in classical music, per The New York Times.
By 1990, Hackman and Arakawa were living together in Santa Fe. In the same year, the Oscar winner underwent angioplasty after suffering congestive heart failure, which convinced him to retire from acting.
"I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer," he told Reuters in 2008. "I really don’t want to do it any longer."
The Royal Tenenbaums star instead pivoted to writing, having published his first book, Wake of the Perdido Star, in 1999. Four other novels, including Payback at Morning Peak, followed.
In 2014, Hackman told the podcast Writer’s Bone that Arakawa helped refine his writing ability. “If in fact, I have a style, it came from repeated edits, friends’ suggestions, and my wife’s unwavering specific read-throughs,” he said.
Arakawa had a successful career in her own right and was trained as a classical pianist. Alongside her musical talents, Hackman’s wife also helped design their Santa Fe home, which was featured in Architectural Digest in April 1990.
While Hackman was busy filming, Arakawa procured furniture from boutiques around the world, including in New York, California and Germany. She would send him photos of each development, with Hackman determining the floor plan, paint colours and soft furnishings.
Arakawa and Hackman opted for an open plan design using colonial New Mexico and Spanish Baroque styles.
By the time the project was complete, the abandoned 1950s block building was “light and soaring”, having previously been described by the architect Stephen Samuelson as “horrible”.
Hackman’s wife had no social media presence and never gave interviews. “Where we live, in Santa Fe, you can lead your own life and not be bothered by the latest gossip,” the actor told the Irish Independent.
However, the actor offered fans a slight glimpse into his home life in 2020 when he told Empire he and his wife regularly watched DVDs that Arakawa rented.
“We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce,” he said. “Friday night is set aside for a Comedy Channel marathon, with particular attention paid to Eddie Izzard… The speed of thought is amazing.”
Arakawa and Hackman were found dead at their home in Santa Fe alongside their pet dog. The couple was previously reported to own multiple German shepherds.
While Hackman was filming The Replacements in Baltimore in 2000, two strays wandered onto the set. The actor took them to a local shelter, which named the dogs Gene and Keanu after his co-stars. The couple adopted the one named Gene, per The Baltimore Sun.
“We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday,” the Santa Fe New Mexican County Sheriff, Adan Mendoza said in a statement on Thursday.
“We do not believe foul play was a factor in their deaths; however, [the] exact cause of death has not been determined at this time.”
