LOS ANGELES (CNS) – As details slowly emerged about the death in New Mexico of legendary actor Gene Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner whose career spanned five decades, tributes poured in from the entertainment world Thursday for a man who was a towering figure in the industry.
Hackman, 95, and his wife, 63-year-old Betsy Arakawa, were found dead inside their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday afternoon. Their dog was also found dead.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time. However, (the) exact cause of death has not been determined,” according to a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department.
However, a search warrant affidavit subsequently filed by the sheriff’s department and obtained by multiple media outlets stated that the deaths were “suspicious” enough to necessitate a thorough search and investigation.
According to the affidavit, Hackman was found dead in a mudroom, and his wife was found in a bathroom next to a space heater. An open prescription bottle was found on a countertop near Arakawa, along with some scattered pills.
It was unclear how long the couple had been dead, but authorities indicated it could have been at least a day and the warrant stated that Arakawa’s body was showing signs of decomposition.
A German shepherd was found dead near Arakawa’s body, but two other dogs were found alive at the home, according to the affidavit.
A sheriff’s department representative told the Associated Press there was no indication they had been shot or suffered any other type of wounds.
According to the search warrant, the New Mexico Gas Co. was also taking part in the investigation, but early tests didn’t reveal any problems that might have led to a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, the AP reported.
Sheriff’s deputies found the couple during a welfare check following a call from a neighbor concerned about their well-being, Public Information Officer Denise Avila told reporters.
Hackman was born on Jan. 30, 1930, in San Bernardino and grew up in Danville, Illinois, where his father worked as a pressman for a local newspaper and his mother was a waitress.
Hackman’s parents divorced when he was 13.
He lied about his age and enlisted in the U.S. Marines when he was 16, at the end of World War II. He served four years in the military as a radio operator and moved to New York after he was discharged. He went to college briefly after his military service, studying to become a journalist, but dropped out after six months.
He worked in TV production in New York before moving to Pasadena to study acting. While taking classes at the Pasadena Playhouse, he met Dustin Hoffman, who was known as Dusty at the time.
Hackman moved back to New York, and Hoffman followed him shortly thereafter, and shared an apartment with another young actor, Robert Duvall.
Hackman had roles in some of the most popular and celebrated movies in Hollywood history. He played Lex Luthor in “Superman” in 1978, high school basketball coach Norman Dale in “Hoosiers” in 1986, and the conservative senator Kevin Keeley opposite Robin Williams in “The Birdcage” in 1996.
His most celebrated roles came as playing law enforcement figures in “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven.” He won his first Academy Award for his role as New York City police Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in 1971’s “The French Connection,” and his second 20 years later playing corrupt Sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in director Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western, “Unforgiven.”
Hackman had other memorable roles throughout his acting career, including a conflicted surveillance expert in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 suspense thriller “The Conversation”; an FBI agent who pushes ethical boundaries while investigating the murders of three civil rights workers in the 1988 drama “Mississippi Burning”; and Capt. Frank Ramsey, the rigid nuclear submarine commander in 1995’s “Crimson Tide,” opposite Denzel Washington.
“You go through stages in your career that you feel very good about yourself. Then you feel awful, like, ‘Why didn’t I choose something else?’ ” Hackman told GQ magazine in 2011, seven years after his retirement from acting. “But overall I’m pretty satisfied that I made the right choice when I decided to be an actor. I was lucky to find a few things that I could do well as an actor and that I could look at and say, ‘Yeah, that’s all right.’
After appearing in nearly 80 films over 40 years, Hackman’s final role was in the 2004 political satire “Welcome to Mooseport.” He received five Academy Award nominations as well as two BAFTA Awards out of five career nominations. Hackman was nominated for eight Golden Globe awards and won three, in addition to being presented with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2003 for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.”
Francis Ford Coppola paid tribute to Hackman on Instagram, writing, “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman is a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Actress Viola Davis wrote, “Love you in everything! The Conversation, The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, Unforgiven — tough yet vulnerable. You were one of the greats. God bless those who loved you. Rest well, sir.”
“Star Trek” actor George Takei posted on social media that “we have lost one of the true giants of the screen.”
“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it,” he wrote. “He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
Director Paul Feig wrote, “So awful. Gene was such an inspiration to so many of us who love movies. So many brilliant roles. His performance in `The Conversation’ alone changed the way I looked at acting and what actors could bring to a role. Such an amazing career.”
Valerie Perrine, who played alongside Hackman as his on-screen girlfriend in the “Superman” films, wrote, “His performances are legendary. His talent will be missed. Goodbye my sweet Lex. Till we meet again.”
Hackman was married twice, the first time for 30 years to Faye Maltese, with whom he had three children. They divorced in 1986. He married Arakawa, a classical pianist 30 years his junior, in 1991. He is survived by his son and two daughters.
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