Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife, Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead in their New Mexico home on Wednesday.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time, however exact cause of death has not been determined,” the county sheriff’s public information officer, Denise Womack Avila, said in a statement.
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64, were found in separate rooms at their home.
Authorities said the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” after discovering the door to the couple’s home was “unsecured and opened” and an open orange prescription pill bottle and pills scattered around the room where Hackman’s wife and one of their German Shepherd dogs were discovered.
Two other “healthy” dogs were also located on the property, one inside the home and one outside.
In a career spanning over 30 years, Gene Hackman carved out his space in Hollywood as an everyman, yet his impact was far from ordinary.
Although he was a late bloomer in Tinseltown, Hackman put his stamp on films at the forefront of the New Hollywood era, a period beginning in the late ’60s and stretching throughout the ’70s that saw bold, risk-taking filmmakers challenge the conventions of the old studio system.
At the age of 35, Hackman had his breakout performance in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), a film regarded by many as one of the earliest works of the new era.
He won his first Oscar in his 40s for his lead role in The French Connection (1971) and won his second 21 years later for his supporting role as the corrupt town boss in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 best picture winner Unforgiven.
His roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven also each earned him a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actor.
The 1970s would see the Hollywood legend take on a flurry of work, including roles in Cisco Pike, the disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure, and Night Moves, featuring a young Melanie Griffith.
In 1978, he took on his most famous villain role as Lex Luthor in Superman, opposite Christopher Reeves. It was a role he would reprise in the film’s subsequent sequels, 1980’s Superman II and 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
Other notable film credits that speak to the breadth of his versatility include Mississippi Burning, Hoosiers, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, The Birdcage and The Royal Tennenbaums.
He quietly retired from Hollywood a little over 20 years ago. His final role was the 2004 political satire Welcome to Mooseport.
In his later years, Hackman turned his attention to writing, a passion he had harboured throughout his acting career, but had little time for. He wrote three historical novels in collaboration with archaeologist Daniel Lenihan and two solo novels, including Pursuit, a police thriller released in 2013.
Hackman had three children from a previous marriage.
Tributes Pour In
Following news of Gene Hackman’s death, fellow acting legends and Hollywood luminaries took to social media to pay tribute.
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