Okay, so legendary two-time Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, who was, like, the star of The French Connection and Unforgiven, was found dead at 95 in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home. But wait—the circumstances around his death are bizarre. His wife, Betsy Arakawa (she was 63), and one of their dogs were also dead in the house. Like, what??
So, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, the whole thing is “suspicious,” and yeah, you think?! Investigators are, like, totally scrambling to figure out what actually happened.
Okay, so neighbors and a maintenance worker were, like, super worried because they hadn’t seen Hackman or his wife in forever, so they called for a welfare check. When deputies showed up, they found a door open, but, like, there weren’t any obvious break-ins or anything sketchy like that. And get this—Hackman’s body was found in the mudroom (why is that such a weirdly specific location?), and his wife was discovered in a bathroom with, like, an open pill bottle right there and pills scattered around. Plus, one of their three German Shepherds was dead in a closet (so sad! 😭), but the other two were still alive.
So, the first autopsy results came in, and there was, like, no external trauma on either Hackman or his wife, which just makes this whole thing even more mysterious. Investigators were all, “Omg, is this, like, carbon monoxide poisoning?” But then they checked for gas leaks, and there were none. So now they’re waiting on toxicology reports to see if there was, like, something else in their systems.
For those who don’t know (looking at your Gen Z), Hackman was a total icon. He was born in 1930 (can you even imagine??), and his career was literally decades long. He won his first Oscar for The French Connection (where he played this super intense detective, Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle), and then another for Unforgiven, where he played, like, such a villain. But, like, his resume was totally stacked—Bonnie and Clyde, The Conversation, Hoosiers, The Royal Tenenbaums—I mean, legend behavior. After, like, running Hollywood for decades, he retired in 2004 and got into writing books. Yeah, he literally just peaced out from acting and became an author.
Hackman’s wife, Betsy, was, like, so low-key. She was a classical pianist and ran, like, an interior design business in Santa Fe. They got married in 1991, and after Hackman retired, they just, like, lived their best chill life far away from Hollywood drama.
Okay, so obviously, everyone in Hollywood is freaking out over his death. Clint Eastwood (who directed him in Unforgiven) was, like, so emotional, saying:
“There is no finer actor than Gene. Intense and intuitive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss greatly.”
And Francis Ford Coppola (you know, the guy behind The Godfather movies) was just like, “Gene Hackman was a great actor—an inspiration and a joy to watch.” Other stars like Tom Hanks, Viola Davis, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Nathan Lane are all posting about how much they admired him, which, like, duh. He was GENE HACKMAN.
Honestly, no one knows yet, and it’s totally driving us crazy. Like, this whole thing is so weird. No signs of forced entry, no trauma, no gas leaks—just…suspicious. Hopefully, the toxicology report gives some answers because this mystery is wild. RIP to an absolute legend.
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
Image from ABCNews/Vera Anderson/WireImage
