Oscar Winning Actor Santa Fe Resident Gene Hackman, Wife and Dog Found Dead

In an odd twist to a long and active life, Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, known for movies from the Bird Cage to Oscar winning performances in the  French Connection” in 1972 and “Unforgiven” later in life was found dead in his home. Much like a plot from a movie his death was discovered along with his wife and their dog, each were found dead in their Santa Fe New Mexico home, authorities said Thursday.

Foul play was not suspected, but authorities did not release circumstances of their deaths and said an investigation was ongoing with more information to be released to the public at a later time.

Hackman, 95, Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog were all dead when deputies entered their home to check on their welfare around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said.

Francis Ford Coppola who lives and has a winery in Napa California, has paid tribute to his “The Conversation” star Gene Hackman after the Oscar-winning actor was found dead at 95alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday.

“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,” Coppola wrote on Instagram with a photo of the two on set. “I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”

Meanwhile on X, Edgar Wright simply remembered Hackman as “the greatest,” while George Takai of Star Trek fame wrote: “We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”

He retired at 74 and lived in Santa Fe in recent decades with Arakawa, a former classical pianist, largely staying out of the  industry, but served on community boards as a volunteer in his hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico to include the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Board in the past. 

Police continue to investigate the circumstances around the death of him, his wife and dog. 

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