Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s love story was one for the big screen.
“They had a true love affair…Capital L love,” film producer Matthew Gross exclusively told The Post on Thursday. “They were very happy together, and we are all incredibly, incredibly shocked by this.”
Gross is the son of Hackman’s longtime business manager and next-door neighbor, the late Edgar Gross.
“She was an incredible pianist, and he loved that,” he continued. “He was an artist, too, and they had a deep connection.”
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa in Los Angeles, circa 1986. Getty Images
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Hackman attend Mission Hills Pro-Celebrity Sports Invitational on Nov. 30, 1991. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Hackman married Arakawa in 1991 after ending his 30-year marriage with his first wife, the mother of his children, Faye Maltese, in 1986. The couple were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Wednesday.
Gross, the Senior Vice President of Authentic Studios in Beverly Hills, also addressed Hackman’s close friendship with his father, who passed away at age 85 in 2016.
Edgar was considered one of the entertainment industry’s first business managers. He worked with Hollywood’s elite, including Richard Gere, Angelica Huston, Hackman and more.
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Hackman attend 63rd Annual National Board of Review Awards on Feb. 24, 1992. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Gene Hackman holding his Oscar at the 1993 Academy Awards. Getty Images
Gene Hackman as Detective Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle in “The French Connection.” Getty Images
“They were incredibly, incredibly close and obviously my father and mother also knew Betsy very well,” Gross said of the actor and Edgar, noting that his dad inspired Hackman’s look in the 1995 mobster comedy “Get Shorty.”
Hackman and his wife’s bodies were discovered inside their home. One of their German shepherd dogs was also found deceased, but two other dogs were alive.
The actor, who won two Oscars over his decades-long career, was 95. Arakawa was 65.
Gene Hackman on the set of “The French Connection.” Corbis via Getty Images
Gene Hackman in September 1973. Getty Images
Gene Hackman during 65th Annual Academy Awards at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and his granddaughter, Annie, confirmed their deaths to The Post on Thursday.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they shared.
“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.”
Elizabeth told TMZ that she suspected her father and stepmother died of carbon monoxide poisoning; however, police noted in the affidavit that there was “no obvious sign of a gas leak.”
Gene Hackman as Little Bill Daggett in “Unforgiven.” Getty Images
Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood in 1990. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Law enforcement determined that Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.”
The affidavit revealed details about the death scene.
The door to the couple’s house was “unsecured and opened,” and there was no sign of forced entry or theft when police arrived, per the report.
Authorities also noted an open orange prescription pill bottle and pills were scattered around the room where Arakawa and their deceased dog were discovered.
Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, pictured with their beloved German shepherd in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in February 2024. BACKGRID
Gene Hackman’s Santa Fe, New Mexico, property. BACKGRID
Hackman’s wife had “obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” per the affidavit, which stated that Arakawa was found on the bathroom floor near the home’s entry.
A space heater was also located near her head, with a responding officer believing it “could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground.”
Additionally, the report noted that Hackman had “obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent,” and his body was found in what police determined to be the couple’s mudroom.
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Corbis via Getty Images
It appeared Hackman had “suddenly fallen,” according to the officer’s notes.
Their causes of death will be determined by the medical examiner and could take weeks. Preliminary autopsies determined the pair suffered “no external trauma.”
Hackman officially retired from acting in 2008 but left his mark as a legend in Hollywood.
He won his first Academy Award for his role as Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in the 1971 crime movie “The French Connection.”
Hackman went on to receive a second Oscar for his portrayal of Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 film “Unforgiven.”
Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. AP
Gene Hackman and Marisa Tomei with their Oscars. AFP via Getty Images
Gene Hackman with director, screenwriter and producer Francis Ford Coppola on the set of Coppola’s movie ‘The Conversation.’ Corbis via Getty Images
The movie icon appeared in a slew of classics, including “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), “Mississippi Burning” (1988), “Superman: The Movie” (1978), “A Bridge Too Far” (1977), “Hoosiers” (1986), “The Firm” (1993) and “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001).
He teased his retirement in 2004 but officially followed through four years later due to his heart after he determined the industry was too stressful for him.
“I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer. I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer,” the star told Reuters in June 2008.
Hackman’s last role was the 2004 political satire “Welcome to Mooseport,” in which he starred alongside Ray Romano.
Gene Hackman poses backstage with his Cecil B. deMille award during the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 19, 2003. Getty Images
Gene Hackman poses for a portrait circa 1996 in Los Angeles. Getty Images
He’d later move to New Mexico with Arakawa and lived his final years painting, writing novels and narrating two documentaries.
Decades before his sudden passing, the actor shared he was concerned about dying.
“I try to take care of myself. I don’t have a lot of fears,” he told Larry King in 2004. “I have the normal fear of passing away – you know, I guess we all think about that, especially when you get to be a certain age.”
Hackman added, “I want to make sure that my wife and my family are taken care of. Other than that, I don’t have a lot of fears.”
Hackman leaves behind his two daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and his son, Christopher.
