Two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman ("The French Connection" and "The Unforgiven") last appeared on screen in the films “Runaway Jury” (2003) and “Welcome to Mooseport” (2004). He retired from Hollywood to his retreat in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife of 34 years, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa. Hackman became a co-author with Daniel Lenihan of period fiction, penning three novels: "Wake of the Perdido Star," "Justice for None," and "Escape from Andersonville."

Hackman and Arakawa were part of the fabric of the Santa Fe community and rarely ventured from their retreat save for choosing to support artist friends. This 2022 Instagram post is from the account of actor, writer, and radio host Seth Rudetsky. 

 

This photo, reportedly taken in 2024, shows a frail but still active Hackman out with Arakawa.

🚨 This is the last photo alive of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, spotted in March 2024 in Santa Fe

At 94, Gene appeared frail, yet still able to walk 🖤 pic.twitter.com/n4n7LjzNtq

— Mambo Italiano (@mamboitaliano__) February 27, 2025

Sadly, on Wednesday, Hackman popped back on the radar due to his death, possibly under tragic circumstances. 

From the local Santa Fe New Mexican: 

Legendary actor, two-time Oscar winner and author Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday afternoon in their home in the Santa Fe Summit community northeast of the city.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed just after midnight Thursday the couple had died, along with their dog.

Mendoza said in an interview Wednesday evening there was no immediate indication of foul play. He did not provide a cause of death or say when the couple might have died.

But the Daily Mail added this additional bit of information:

Santa Fe sheriff Adan Mendoza added that officials are 'in the middle of a preliminary death investigation' which is 'active and ongoing'. The tragic fate of their dog could be key in the mystery surrounding their deaths and help detectives piece together the couple's final moments.

For now, it will remain a befuddling and tragic mystery. Journalist and commentator Piers Morgan posted a tribute on X.

BREAKING NEWS:
Acting legend Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy, 63, found dead in their Santa Fe home, along with their pet dog. Police say early reports do not suggest foul play. What an incredibly sad end to a remarkable life. RIP. pic.twitter.com/oDzh3Gozue

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 27, 2025

Hackman and Arakawa were married in 1991, and Hackman had lived in the Santa Fe community since the 1980s. It is still unclear from reports whether the police were asked to do a wellness check on the couple or if there were other activities surrounding the discovery of the couple's bodies. As Santa Fe County Sheriff Mendoza said above, it is an active investigation.

But the world has lost another cinematic and cultural figure.

Eugene Allen Hackman was born on January 30, 1930, in San Bernardino, California, to a Canadian mother and a Pennsylvania Dutch father. The family were nomads for a time, finally settling in Danville, Illinois. Hackman's father left the family when Hackman was 14 years old. Two years later, at the age of 16, Hackman joined the U.S. Marines (Hackman fudged his age), where he served from 1947 to 1952 as a field radio operator and broadcast journalist. Beyond his innate abilities as an actor, this experience could be why he was so believable in roles such as Navy Capt. Frank Ramsey in "Crimson Tide" (1995).

Once discharged, Hackman moved to New York, where he worked a number of menial and odd jobs. Hackman decided to return to school, using his G.I. Bill benefits to study journalism and television production at the University of Illinois. In 1956, Hackman returned to California to begin acting studies at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he met his now notable peers: Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. But it would be a long and winding road to Hollywood stardom and even more demeaning work. Hackman and Hoffman were allegedly voted "least likely to succeed" by their Playhouse colleagues. They both dropped out of those studies and returned to New York to actively pursue acting. According to IMDb,

After flunking out of the Pasadena Playhouse and moving to New York City with fellow drop-out Dustin Hoffman, Hackman worked at the Howard Johnson's restaurant in Times Square as a doorman. One day, a Pasadena Playhouse acting teacher whom Hackman hated walked by him, stopped, and told him that he had been right, that Hackman would never amount to anything.  

In a 2013 profile of Hackman, Hoffman, and Robert Duvall in Vanity Fair, Hackman gave more insight into what he did to survive while he chased an acting career:

Hackman, who was a relief man at Whelan drugstores, says the customers “treated you like crapola.” Once, while he was employed as a doorman at a building in Times Square, one of his former Marine officers walked by and muttered, “Hackman, you’re a sorry son of a bitch.” He sold women’s shoes at Saks 34th Street to annoyingly fussy women, but, he says, “I managed to steal enough so I could retire from that.” For a few dollars, he would slip shoes to actress friends. Earning a princely $10 an hour, Hackman moved furniture for the Padded Wagon in Greenwich Village, hauling refrigerators into walk-up apartments, and he has no memory of being tired.

It was the 1967 film, "Bonnie and Clyde," that launched Hackman. For his role as Clyde Barrow's brother "Buck Barrow," Hackman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Now in his mid-thirties, from here is where Hackman's film career finally took off. 

In 1972, Hackman was nominated and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as "Popeye Doyle" in "The French Connection" (1971). In the over 100 films in which he appeared, Hackman spanned the range from drama to comedy to action-adventure and psychological thrillers. Hackman performed in both star and supporting roles for "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972), "The Conversation" (1974), "Young Frankenstein" (1974), "Superman" (1978), "Hoosiers" (1986), "Mississippi Burning" (1988), and "Crimson Tide" (1995). Hackman won his second Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role of "Little Bill Daggett" in "The Unforgiven" (1992). He did three more Westerns after this, "Geronimo: An American Legend" (1993), "Wyatt Earp" (1994), and one of my personal favorites, "The Quick and the Dead" (1995). In 1998, he starred in another personal favorite, "Enemy of the State" with Will Smith.

I leave you with a lovely retrospective of his film career. Every role, big and small. A quote attributed to Konstantin Stanislavski says, “There are no small parts, only small actors.” Hackman was larger than life and has taken his final curtain call. RIP.