Culture

Legendary actor, two-time Academy Award winner, and author Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday afternoon at their home in the Santa Fe Summit community, located northeast of Santa Fe.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed their deaths just after midnight on Thursday, stating that their dog was also found deceased.

Mendoza noted in an interview Wednesday evening that there were no immediate signs of foul play but did not provide details on a possible cause of death or when they may have passed.

Hackman, 95, had lived in Santa Fe since the 1980s. He married Arakawa, 63, in 1991.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the couple’s home on Old Sunset Trail, in a gated community off Hyde Park Road near Ten Thousand Waves, on Wednesday afternoon. They were investigating the deaths of two elderly individuals and a dog, though it was unclear whether they were responding to a report or conducting a welfare check.

Initially, Mendoza reported that deputies had discovered the bodies of a man in his 90s and a woman in her 60s. “All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant,” he stated Wednesday evening before authorities had officially identified the couple.

“I want to assure the community and neighborhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone,” he added.

Born on January 30, 1930, in San Bernardino, California, Hackman built an acclaimed career in film, winning two Academy Awards. His performance as Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection (1971) earned him an Oscar for Best Actor, while his role as Sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in Unforgiven (1992) won him Best Supporting Actor.

Among his many other memorable roles, Hackman portrayed Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), an FBI agent in Mississippi Burning (1988), and the infamous Lex Luthor in several Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s.

He was previously married to Faye Maltese from 1956 to 1986, and the couple had three children: Christopher, Elizabeth, and Leslie.

Hackman moved to Santa Fe in the 1980s and became a familiar face in the community. He served as a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the 1990s and spoke at its grand opening in 1997. “In the 10 years I’ve lived here, I’ve been taken with the excitement and indomitable spirit of this place,” he remarked at the time.

He frequently dined at El Nido in Tesuque and was often featured in The New Mexican’s “El Mitote” celebrity column, which covered local sightings of famous figures. In his later years, he made fewer public appearances, though they sometimes garnered media attention. His attendance at a performance at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in 2018 was reported by The Independent in the UK.

Hackman also made headlines in 2012 when police reported that he struck a homeless man in downtown Santa Fe in what he described as self-defense. He told officers that the man had threatened both him and his wife, including calling her a vulgar name. The New Mexican reported that Hackman had known the man for years and had provided him with clothes, money, and rides. However, when the man confronted the couple on Marcy Street and demanded money, Hackman refused and told him to get a job. No charges were filed in the incident, which gained national attention.

In his later years, Hackman largely stayed out of the public eye, though occasional sightings were reported. In 2023, The New York Post published a story about him doing yard work, pumping gas, and ordering a chicken sandwich at a Wendy’s. The following year, the paper covered another sighting, this time of Hackman and his wife dining at a seafood restaurant in Albuquerque.

Beyond acting, Hackman was also an author, co-writing several novels with longtime friend Daniel Lenihan. The two discussed their book Wake of the Perdido Star during a 1999 event at Cloud Cliff Café in Santa Fe, where they had developed the idea for the adventure novel set in the 19th century.