Hollywood Icon Gene Hackman, Wife, and Dog Discovered Dead in New Mexico Home [WATCH]

Gene Hackman, the two-time Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven, was found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home, according to reports.

RIP Gene Hackman 1930-2025

Such a brilliant actor. pic.twitter.com/UNPdHvWubr

— I❤️Nostalgia ‘ ‘ (@il0venostalgia) February 27, 2025

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Hackman was 95, and Arakawa, a classical pianist, was 63. Their dog was also found deceased at the scene.

Santa Fe County authorities confirmed the discovery on Wednesday afternoon. Sheriff Adan Mendoza stated on Thursday that no foul play is suspected.

At this time, no official cause of death has been announced.

Actor, Gene Hackman, wife and dog found dead in New Mexico home pic.twitter.com/JxPgFuaHbS

— Karli Bonne’ (@KarluskaP) February 27, 2025

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Hackman was widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, with a career spanning more than four decades.

He won two Oscars—Best Actor for The French Connection (1971) and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven (1992)—and received five Academy Award nominations overall.

His filmography includes a mix of critically acclaimed dramas and box office hits, such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Hoosiers (1986), The Firm (1993), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and Superman (1978), in which he played the villainous Lex Luthor.

In 2003, Hackman was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes for his lifetime achievements in film.

Born Eugene Hackman on January 30, 1930, in California, he spent much of his youth moving between cities before settling in Danville, Illinois.

His childhood was marked by the absence of his father, Eugene, who left the family when Hackman was just 13.

“I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean,” Hackman reflected in a 2011 interview with GQ. “Maybe that’s why I became an actor.”

At the age of 16, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving for four and a half years in China, Japan, and Hawaii.

After his service, he enrolled at the University of Illinois to study journalism and television production but later abandoned those plans to pursue acting.

Gene Hackman has passed away at the age of 95.
Gene was one of the greatest actors of his, or anyone’s generation. He was a powerhouse, as adept at comedy as he was drama. Today is a very sad day, we’ve lost a legend. Gene was a giant of cinema.
R.I.P Gene Hackman pic.twitter.com/iL19ky4not

— The Sting (@TheStingisBack) February 27, 2025

Hackman’s acting career began at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he met a young Dustin Hoffman.

The two formed a close-knit group with fellow aspiring actor Robert Duvall, eventually moving to New York City to pursue work in film and theater.

“There was something about him that—like he had a secret. You just knew he was going to do something,” Hackman said of Hoffman in a 2004 interview with Vanity Fair.

In 1964, Hackman got his first big break on Broadway in Any Wednesday, leading to a role in Lilith alongside Warren Beatty.

Beatty later cast him as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), which earned Hackman his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

His career-defining moment came with The French Connection, where he played NYPD Detective “Popeye” Doyle.

The film’s high-intensity chase scene through the streets of Brooklyn remains one of cinema’s most iconic sequences. Hackman won his first Oscar for the role and later admitted he only watched the film once.

“Filmmaking has always been risky—both physically and emotionally—but I do choose to consider that film a moment in a checkered career of hits and misses,” Hackman told The New York Post in 2021, reflecting on the 50th anniversary of The French Connection.

After more than 100 acting credits, Hackman retired from Hollywood following Welcome to Mooseport (2004).

He cited health concerns, particularly a stress test he took in New York, as the reason for stepping away from the industry.

“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 in 2009.

Hackman spent his retirement in Santa Fe, where he focused on writing, painting, and fishing.

He co-wrote several adventure novels with underwater researcher Daniel Lenihan, including Justice For None and Wake of the Perdido Star.

“It’s very relaxing for me,” Hackman said of writing. “I don’t picture myself as a great writer, but I really enjoy the process.”

Throughout his career, Hackman was widely respected in Hollywood. While presenting him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, actor Michael Caine called him “one of the greatest actors” he had ever known.

Robin Williams, who co-presented the award, added, “Whether it be comedy or drama, you’re the most gifted actor in America. You’re also a truly superhuman being.”

Hackman is survived by his three children, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne, from his first marriage to Faye Maltese.

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