Gene Hackman, wife and dog found dead
SANTA FE
Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead in their New Mexico home on Feb. 27, authorities said.
Foul play is not suspected, however authorities did not release any details of the circumstances of their deaths and said an investigation is ongoing.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said deputies responded to a request to do a welfare check at the home Wednesday around 1:45 pm local time and found Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and a dog dead.
The couple’s home is in a gated community just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital city. Hackman moved in the 1980s to the area, where he was often seen around town and served as a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the 1990s, according to the local paper, The New Mexican.
Hackman is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the tough and vulgar New York cop Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the 1971 crime thriller "The French Connection."
Hackman won his first best actor Oscar for that film. He won another golden statuette two decades later for best supporting actor for his portrayal of the brutal small-town sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett in the 1992 western "Unforgiven."
He earned three more Oscar nominations during a five-decade career in which he appeared in 80-odd films.
Not blessed with leading man good looks, Hackman instead drew on his talents and versatility, taking on gritty roles and delivering thoughtful, intelligent performances.
Hackman notched up dozens of film credits in his career, working well into his 60s and 70s although he stayed out of the limelight, living with his second wife in Santa Fe, writing and painting. His wife was found dead with him at their home.
Into the 21st century, he starred in "The Heist" and "The Royal Tenenbaums" in 2001, the latter winning him his third competitive Golden Globe, before announcing his retirement in 2008.
"It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on screen," Hackman once said.
"I think of myself, and feel like I'm quite young, and then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that."
