The mystery surrounding the deaths of Hollywood icon Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have deepened as new information emerged. The New York Times reports that the couple’s bodies were found in separate rooms as a sheriff at the centre of the inquiry said their deaths were ‘not typical’.
One of their dogs was found dead in a kennel, the NYT reports, while two of their dogs survived. The American paper reported Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza as saying that there was no suicide note and no obvious signs of trauma to their bodies
“At this stage in the process there isn’t anything obvious like that,” he said. “The autopsy is going to tell us more.”
The sheriff’s department said that checks were carried out by the fire department and the gas company before officers entered the property, to ensure it was safe to enter. The sheriff said: “We’re not going to guess this was an accident or natural causes. It wasn’t typical.”
Questions about Gene Hackman and Betsy’s deaths
Movie fans around the world are asking questions about what might have happened in the couple’s New Mexico home. As a police intensified, officers said there were no signs of foul play. Sheriff Mendoza said: “I want to assure the community and neighbourhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”
Assisted suicide is legal for the terminally ill in New Mexico. Police have given little guidance on their cause of death.
The star’s body was found by sheriff’s deputies in the Hyde Park neighbourhood of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday afternoon.
The couple had lived there since he quit Hollywood in the early 2000s.
Officers attended the secluded house after a neighbour requested a welfare check on the couple. Their bodies were not formally identified until early Thursday.
Statements from Josh Brolin and Antonio Banderas
Following news of Hackman’s death, multiple tributes have poured in. Actor Josh Brolin said he was “crushed” by the deaths of Hackman and his wife and dog.
“He was always one of my favourites,” Brolin said. “Not many who beat to their own drums like he did. Rest in Peace.”
Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas called Hackman’s death a “very sad day for cinema’s family”. Spanish actor Banderas wrote on Instagram: “A very sad day for… cinema’s family. Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have passed away.
“My deepest condolences to friends, family and cinema lovers. RIP.”
The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola hailed the star as a “great actor” who was “inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity.” The American filmmaker wrote and directed the Oscar-nominated 1974 mystery thriller The Conversation which starred Hackman as a surveillance expert Harry Caul who has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Alongside a photo of them working on the film, Coppola wrote in an Instagram post: “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Gene Hackman’s career lasted more than 60 years
During his career Hackman, 95, received two Oscars, two Baftas, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award in an acting career which spanned six decades. Valerie Perrine, who starred alongside Hackman in Superman in 1978, described the actor as one of the “greatest to grace the silver screen”.
Perrine starred as Eve Teschmacher, the girlfriend of Hackman’s character Lex Luthor, who was Superman’s nemesis. In a post to X, formerly Twitter, she wrote alongside images of the pair together: “The great Gene Hackman has passed away.
“He was a genius & one of the greatest to grace the silver screen. I had the honour of working with Him on Superman.
“His performances are legendary. His talent will be missed. Goodbye, my sweet Lex, Till we meet again. Valerie.” Meanwhile, Bafta has said it is “saddened” by the death of Gene Hackman.
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, it said: “We are saddened to hear that the much-celebrated actor Gene Hackman has died aged 95. Hackman’s illustrious career spanned over six decades and earned him BAFTA wins for his work in Unforgiven, The French Connection and The Poseidon Adventure.”
Star Trek actor William Shatner added: “Condolences to the Family of Gene Hackman.”