Oscar winner Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95.
Hackman, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday, February 26. Arakawa was 63.
A cause of death is not yet known, though foul play is not suspected, a spokesperson for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told Us Weekly.
Hackman began his acting career more than six decades ago and was celebrated for his roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven. He stepped back from Hollywood in the early 2000s.
Actor Gene Hackman, Wife Betsy Arakawa, Found Dead in New Mexico
Scroll below to see the actor’s life in photos:
1960s
Hackman began his Hollywood career with a role in the film Lilith in 1964. He went on to win Academy Award nominations for 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde and 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father.
1972
The actor won his first Oscar in 1972 for his portrayal of detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in 1971’s The French Connection.
He kept his acceptance speech simple. “Thank you very much. I just want to start at the beginning just for a second and say, sitting out there next to Barbara Harris reminds me of my first acting scene ever,” he said.
“It was in New York, and the gentlemen sitting in front of us when we were doing that scene was my acting teacher, and I just have to mention his name: George Morrison. I want to thank him,” he added, before going on to thank the film’s director, William Friedkin, “because he really brought me through this when I wanted to quit.”
1980s
As Hackman’s career was taking off, his personal life took a different turn. The actor and his wife Faye Maltese separated in the mid-1980s after spending three decades together. Their divorce was finalized in 1986.
“We just drifted apart,” Hackman told the Florida South Sun-Sentinal in 1985.
“We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love,” he added.
The former couple had three children together: Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie. Maltese died in 2017.
1980s
In 1989, The New York Times reported that “for the last five years” Hackman had “been living quietly with classical pianist Betsy Arakawa.
They were photographed together in L.A. in 1986. The couple wed in 1991.
1993
Hackman won a second Academy Award for his role in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western film, Unforgiven.
2003
Hackman was honored with the Cecile B. DeMille Award at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2003.
The following year, Hackman announced that he did not have any upcoming projects in the works. He confirmed his retirement from acting four years later in 2008.
In a 2020 interview with Empire, Hackman said he decided to step away for health reasons.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” he shared. “The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
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