Posted on 02/28/2025 6:07:02 AM PST by Red Badger
Actor Gene Hackman, 95, was found dead inside his home today along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog. The initial report was that the couple perished through carbon monoxide poisoning, but that was quickly updated as something seems off about how the bodies were discovered. Reportedly, Hackman and his wife had been dead for quite some time, their bodies mummified, with pills all over the place, and the front door was open. The couple hadn’t been seen or heard from in about two weeks (via NY Post):
Authorities said the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” after finding the door to the couple’s home was “unsecured and opened” and an open orange prescription pill bottle and pills scattered around the room where Hackman’s wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, and one of their German shepherd dogs were discovered.
Deputies noted that it appeared Arakawa had “obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet” when she was found on the floor of a bathroom near the home’s entry, according to the report.
The door into the couple’s $3.3 million Santa Fe, New Mexico, home, which sits on six acres and is over 8,000 square feet, was left ajar — but there was no sign of forced entry or theft, according to the report.
Authorities also noted in the report that a black space heater was found near Arakawa’s head. A responding officer said “he suspected the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground,” the affidavit said.
The couple’s deceased dog was located about 10 to 15 feet away from Arakawa inside the bathroom’s closet, deputies wrote in the report.
Meanwhile, Hackman’s body was located in what deputies believe was the mudroom near a pair of sunglasses. Officers wrote in the report that it appeared he had “suddenly fallen.”
We’ll know more after the autopsy.
It’s such a blow. Hackman was a Hollywood icon with a storied career. From playing a hard-nosed NYPD detective Popeye Doyle running down French drug smugglers in The French Connectionm for which he won an Oscar, to a former spook helping a DC-area attorney, played by Will Smith, escape rogue agents at the National Security Agency in Enemy of the State, Hackman was able to play them all. He earned his first Oscar nomination for a supporting role in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde. He helped survivors of the Poseidon reach safety after the luxury liner capsized upon being slammed by a tidal wave, showed off his comedic chops in Young Frankenstein, had a nasty vendetta against the Man of Steel, and led a rural Indiana high school basketball team to a state championship.
Hackman later worked for a law Firm with only one client: the mafia. He soon got into a tussle with his executive officer, played by Denzel Washington, in Crimson Tide, which involved deploying nuclear missiles. Got into drag at The Birdcage, got involved in a nasty sex scandal and murder plot in Absolute Power, and did I forget to mention his role in Unforgiven, also starring and directed by Clint Eastwood? He also did voice-over work in 1998’s Antz, playing the militaristic Gen. Mandible.
Get Shorty, Wyatt Earp, Mississippi Burning, The Conversation, A Bridge Too Far—his resume is one of the greats.
Hackman’s last major film was 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport, where the late actor admitted that project was likely his final role in movies.
I know he was 95, but what a blow.
His best role will always be Lex Luthor.
Patiently waiting for an article honoring/remembering his life.
“One of their German shepherd dogs”? That means there were others.
This could be the Sherlock Holmes clue of “the dog that didn’t bark” — or in this case, didn’t eat Gene and Betsy.
Don’t ask me what it means, but what about the other dogs?
Didn’t multi-millionaire Hackman have at least one maid coming daily/weekly to house clean? Do his children (or other family/friends) only call to check on their 95-year old father every six months or so? Did the neighbors/mailman/delivery man not notice an open front door or mail not being picked up? How did two of the three dogs manage to survive without food for weeks (or is that reason for the reported “decomposition”)? What were the reported “prescription pills”?
“Suspicious.” Ya think?!?
The Poseidon Adventure was my “Wow! This guy is good!” Hackman movie.
He was pretty good in Mississippi Burning.
Royal Tenenbaum for me.
The dead dog, a German Shepard, was in a closet.................
"Just one more thing...."
Blind man in Young Frankenstein...hilarious...I read where he had to literally beg Mel Brooks for the part because Brooks didn’t think he would be funny.
Brooks finally relented and GH went out and nailed it as always.
A real pro ... RIP Sir.
The bodies were discovered by the gardeners who said they had not seen them outside for two weeks..............
He didn’t deserve to die. He was building a house.
Gene Hackman and Peter Boyle
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974)
Directed by Mel Brooks
https://youtu.be/BXPl_wr2QNw?si=UR9f-BSharKTaf01
I was always partial to his role in “Mississippi Burning”. That movie was, in my opinion, his most powerful role.
Two articles in today’s WSJ.
As I understand it, the dog locked in the closet died. The dogs outside in the kennels are still alive.
No real mystery. Access to water is a matter of life or death.
“The Replacements” with Keanu Reeves and “The Royal Tannenbaums” with a literal host of actors were great........................
The two other dogs were still there, running loose and evidently in good health. They may have been wandering in and out thru the open front door. I’ll bet they were hungry if the Hackmans had been dead for a couple of weeks.
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