Gene Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman, and his granddaughter Annie said they are “devastated” after the two-time Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday. He was 95 and she was 64.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” the family told TheWrap in a Thursday statement. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
As TheWrap previously reported, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office insists Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths are not suspicious despite multiple media reports regarding search warrants suggesting the contrary. The department states no foul play is suspected in the case, though the investigation in ongoing.
“Foul play is not currently suspected as a factor in those deaths,” spokesperson Denise Womack-Avila told TheWrap in a Thursday statement. “Cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI).”
Her message further explained, “On Feb. 26, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased. The bodies of Mr. Hackman and his wife were located in separate rooms.”
In addition to “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” Hackman’s other notable roles included “Bonnie and Clyde,” “I Never Sang for My Father,” “Scarecrow,” “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Young Frankenstein,” “The Conversation,” “Hoosiers,” “Mississippi Burning,” “The Firm,” “Crimson Tide,” “The Quick and the Dead” and “The Birdcage,” to name a few. He retired from acting in 2004.
