Oscar-winning American actor Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their Santa Fe home in New Mexico along with their dog on Wednesday afternoon, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
A police statement shared with the PA news agency said: “On February 26 2025 at approximately 1.45pm, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased.
Hackman had a few TV and theatre roles before breaking through with his performance in 1967’s Bonnie And Clyde, which starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the titular roles, and landed him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola has hailed Gene Hackman as a “great actor” who was “inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity” following his death.
He also appeared in Children From Their Games at the former Morosco Theatre, Poor Richard at Helen Hayes Theatre and The Natural Look at Longacre Theatre, before later returning in 1992 to perform Death And The Maiden at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
