Hollywood legend Gene Hackman, wife, dog found dead at home

JACKSONVILLE, FL – FEBRUARY 4: Actor Gene Hackman attends the Next House ESPN The Magazine party on February 4, 2005 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images via AFP)

Award-winning Hollywood actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, have been found dead in their Santa Fe home in New Mexico alongside their family dog, US media reports.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed the death of the couple to the media as they disclosed that there were no signs of foul play. Cause of death has yet to be determined, as of this writing.

“We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased. Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail,” said the local sheriff office. 

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“This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor,” they added. “All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant.”

Hackman rose to fame for his portrayal in “The French Connection,” which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor. He also starred as Lex Luthor in the 1978 “Superman.”

Over his six-decade long career, the Hollywood icon appeared in the films “Mississippi,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” and “Unforgiven,” for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor. He retired in 2004.

Meanwhile, Arakawa was a former singer and classical pianist. The pair got married in 1991 after Hackman’s separation from his first wife Fay Maltese, with whom he shared three children Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Ann Hackman.