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Gene Hackman has been found dead, aged 95, in his Santa Fe home along with his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, and one of their pet dogs.
According to a police search warrant, the actor, his wife and their dog were found in separate rooms and appeared to have been “dead for some time”. The couple suffered “no external trauma”, the preliminary findings of a medical investigation found.
At a press conference at the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon, Sheriff Adan Mendoza announced that an investigation by Dr Heather Jarrell, New Mexico’s Chief Medical Investigator, had revealed that Hackman’s pacemaker had stopped 10 days before his body was found.
“An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman’s pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed,” said Mendoza.
Asked if that meant Hackman had died that day, he responded: “According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption, that that was his last day of life.”
He also confirmed that both Hackman and Arakawa had tested negative for carbon monoxide.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza initially said that foul play was not suspected, although a search warrant affidavit has since ruled their deaths “suspicious” enough to require further investigation.
Despite early speculation, the document added that there were “no obvious signs of a gas leak”.
The actor was one of the best-loved stars in Hollywood, appearing in classic films such as The French Connection, The Conversation and Superman.
He won Oscars for The French Connection and Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and stepped away from the spotlight a few years after 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums.
Video: Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s bodies tested negative for carbon monoxide, police confirm
Tom Murray1 March 2025 18:03
Hackman and Arakawa’s two surviving dogs
The Santa Fe County Animal Control Division is reportedly working with Hackman’s family to “ensure the safety of the two dogs,” according to a press release.
Although one of the couple’s dogs was found dead at the scene, another dog was found alive next to Arakawa’s body while another was found running loose on the property.
Police will hold a press conference at 3 pm on Friday to provide an update on the investigation.
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 16:00
Bill Murray says Gene Hackman was ‘really rough on’ Wes Anderson in The Royal Tenenbaums
Bill Murray has remembered Hackman as being a great but “difficult” actor who was “really rough” on The Royal Tenenbaums director Wes Anderson.
Hackman led Anderson’s 2001 comedy-drama as the Tenenbaum family patriarch. Murray, meanwhile, played neurologist Raleigh St. Clair.
“He was a tough nut, Gene Hackman. But he was really good,” Murray, 74, recalled of the legendary actor in an interview with the Associated Press.
“And he was really difficult, we can say it now, but he was a tough guy. Older, great actors do not give young directors much of a chance. They’re really rough on them, and Gene was really rough on Wes,” the Groundhog Day star said.
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 14:30
Sheriff shares details about investigation into Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths
Sheriff says Hackman’s pacemaker stopped on February 17.
At a press conference in Santa Fe, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza announced that an investigation by Dr Heather Jarrell, New Mexico’s Chief Medical Investigator, had revealed that Hackman’s pacemaker had stopped 10 days before his body was found.
“ An initial interrogation was conducted of Mr Hackman’s pacemaker. This revealed that his last event was recorded on February 17, 2025, I was advised that a more thorough investigation will be completed,” said Mendoza.
Asked if that meant Hackman had died that day, he responded: “According to the pathologist I think that is a very good assumption, that that was his last day of life.”
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 13:00
Hackman’s daughter says ‘despite his age, he was in very good physical condition’
Gene Hackman’s daughter Leslie Anne has told The Daily Mail that “there was no indication that there was any problem” with her 95 year-old father’s health prior to his death.
“Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition,” she said, adding that he hadn’t had any major surgeries in the months leading up to his death.
“He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health.”
She acknowledged that given his age, Hackman’s death was “not terribly shocking” and that Arakawa’s death at 63 raises more questions.
She went on to say that the couple had “a wonderful marriage,” saying: “I give credit to his wife, Betsy, for keeping him alive.”
“[Betsy] took very, very good care of him and was always looking out for his health. So I am appreciative to her for that, and I’m very saddened by her passing.”
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 12:30
If Gene Hackman was a young actor in 2025, Hollywood would reject him
Hackman, who was found dead this week at the age of 95, was one of Hollywood’s greatest actors – and one of its least conventional leading men.
It’s hard to imagine anyone like him reaching these levels of success now, writes Louis Chilton.
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 12:00
Deaths remain an ‘open investigation’ following autopsy
Police said in a statement: “In the early hours of Thursday, February 27, 2025, Hackman and Arakawa were transported to the Office of the Medical Investigator.
“An autopsy was performed. Initial findings noted no external trauma to either individual. Carbon monoxide and toxicology tests were requested for both individuals.
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined. The official results of the autopsy and toxicology reports are pending. This remains an open investigation.”
According to reports, the full results of the autopsy could take four to six weeks to be determined.
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 11:00
Hackman’s family break silence
Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and his granddaughter, Annie, have shared a statement with the New York Post.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they said.
“He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” the statement continued. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 10:30
‘Send somebody up here real quick’: 911 call released
TMZ has obtained the 911 call that first alerted police to the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa.
In the call, an unidentified man who describes himself as the “caretaker for the subdivision” can be heard telling an operator to dispatch police to the couple’s residence.
When the operator asks for details about the “patients”, the caretaker replies that he doesn’t know.
“Send somebody up here real quick,” he says through tears. “I’m not inside the house, it’s closed. I can’t go in, but I see them. She’s laying down… over from the window.”
When the operator asks if they appear to be awake, he replies: “No, no, no, no.”
Asked if they’re moving, he contines: “No, dude, they’re not moving. Just send somebody out here. Really quick.”
The operator assures him that units are on the way, and the caretaker says he will meet them at the property’s “gatehouse.”
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 10:00
Gene Hackman reflected on fear of dying in 2004
The interview has today (27 February) resurfaced following the death of the 95-year-old actor, alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their pet dog.
No foul play is suspected, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.
Mendoza told The Santa Fe New Mexican that the couple died around midnight on Thursday. The sheriff did not speculate on their cause of death, which has not been determined.
In the 2004 CNN interview, Hackman said: “I have the normal fear of passing away.”
He added: “I want to make sure that my wife and my family are taken care of.”
Jacob Stolworthy1 March 2025 09:30
