Gene Hackman said he would have died “long ago” without the attentive care of his wife, according to his longtime friend.
The Oscar-winner, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead at their home by a maintenance worker on 26 February, along with their dog named Zinna.
On Saturday (8 March), authorities revealed that the actor died of heart disease a full week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus in their Santa Fe home.
After a week of speculation, a simple but tragic theory has emerged based on the facts: shortly after Arakawa’s death from a rare infection, Hackman died of the nation’s leading killer – heart disease – having been apparently unable to seek help after his wife died.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza proposed that Hackman – who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease – was likely unaware that Arakawa was dead.
Speaking to The New York Times in a new interview, friends and acquaintances of the late couple painted a picture of their lives at home – in which Arakawa played a crucial role in caring for the Unforgiven star in his late life.
Tom Allin, who shared over 20 years of friendship with Hackman, recalled the actor saying that he would have been dead “long ago” without his wife taking care of him.
“She just really looked after him,” said Allin, who said he once saw Arakawa mixing soda water into Hackman’s wine at a friend’s 90th birthday party in 2020 to aid his health.
According to the publication, she also policed his diet in light of the heart trouble that he had struggled with for decades, and also typed and edited the novels that he wrote by hand.
Arakawa – a classically trained pianist, born in Hawaii – appeared to take on the role of Hackman’s sole caregiver following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Allin said that she was “very protective of him”, adding that Hackman seemed happy for his wife to manage aspects of his life.
He also said that despite their two decades of friendship, he never once spoke to Hackman over the phone or by email because of the actor’s disinterest in technology, adding that he was unsure that the actor owned a mobile phone. Instead, he would always set up golf games and visits through Arakawa.
Another previous neighbour of the couple, James Everett, told The New York Times that he found it unusual that they did not have any caregivers, given Hackman’s age.
“I know when my dad was 95, 96, 97, 98, we had a live-in cook and maid for him,” he said. “I’m surprised they didn’t have them.”
Elsewhere in the piece, the touching way that Arakawa and Hackman met was revealed.
They met at a Los Angeles fitness center where Arakawa had a part-time job. Hackman had forgotten his entry card, and she refused to let him in, according to a friend Rodney Hatfield.
The couple married in 1991, and a friend told the publication that their relationship seemed natural despite the 30-year age gap.
“That part never came to mind because they seemed equal in so many ways,” said a friend, Susan Contreras. “She was a personality unto herself.”
In recent years, neighbours in their gated community said the couple retreated further into the privacy of their home, stating they had seen no sign of them except for their trash cans on the side of the road.
Hatfield said he believed the couple moved to Santa Fe because it allowed Hackman to escape his life of celebrity.
“I know that Gene did not like the role of celebrity,” he said. “It was pretty obvious.”
Another friend, Stuart Ashman, agreed, stating “People come here as a way to hide out. They certainly did.”
