Oscar-winning American actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead in their home in New Mexico in the US. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the couple had been found dead on Wednesday afternoon in their Santa Fe home.
The police said it is currently an active investigation but, discussing the actor’s cause of death, they do not believe that foul play was a factor at this time. Hollywood star Hackman, 95, received two Oscars and two Baftas in his acting career which spanned decades.
He secured the best actor Oscar in 1972 for his role as Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection. Hackman landed a further Academy Award in the best supporting actor category for his part in 1992 Western Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood.
Hackman retired from acting 21 years ago, in 2004, when he was given a health warning by his doctor. He was 74 years of age at the time. He said in a statement at the time: “The business for me is very stressful.”
Five years later, in 2009, Hackman said: “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York.The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
He told Empire: “When I’m actually on the set or on a stage, actually doing the work, I loved that process and I loved the creative process of trying to bring a character to life,’ he explained.And then, when you’re actually shooting or performing, there is a kind of a feeling that comes over you, a confidence and kind of a wonderful, washed-over feeling of wellbeing, if you will, when it’s going well.
“Whereas, the business part of show business is kinda wicked. You jump from trying to be a sponge, if you will – in terms of input from other actors and the director and everything that’s surrounding you – you jump from that to a luncheon meeting with an agent and a producer on another film. It’s kind of a frying pan. It was jarring and at my age and with my health, I decided I didn’t want to do that any longer.”
Stress increases the risk of heart disease and is also linked to dementia, diabetes and obesity.Hackman underwent surgery after facing problems with his heart. In 1990, he was taken to hospital with chest pain, and needed to have a balloon catheter inserted to help open an artery that had dangerously narrowed.
Having avoided a stressful life for the last 20 years, asource told Closer magazine in 2020 that Hackman “bicycles [and] does yard work”, and “his health is good”.