Oscar award winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakaw and their dog were found dead in their home in New Mexico Wednesday afternoon after a welfare check was called in by their neighbor.
Hackman, 95, appeared in over 100 films throughout his 40-year career. He got his first starring role in 1970 with “I Never Sang for My Father.” Hackman married Arakaw, 64, his second wife in 1991.
Hackman was a two-time Oscar-winning actor and he also received two Academy Awards, two British Academy Films Awards, and four Golden Globes.
The actor was well known for his roles in Hoosiers, The French Connection, Superman, and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Gene Hackman stopped acting after receiving medical advice from his doctor, who recommended against putting his heart under stress due to the demands of acting. He cited a stress test as the “straw that broke the camel's back” in his decision to leave the industry. Hackman’s last film was “Welcome to Mooseport” in 2004.
Since leaving acting, Hackman became a novelist, writing several historical fiction books.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Officer Denise Avila said, “Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time however the exact cause of death has not been determined.” The investigation is “active and ongoing,” she added.
His three children, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne with whom he shared with his first, late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, survive Hackman.
By - FZ/VC
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