Legendary Hollywood star Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead in their Santa Fe home.
The couple, who had been married since 1991, were found alongside their dog. Local media reported:
Legendary actor, two-time Oscar winner and author Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday afternoon in their home in the Santa Fe Summit community northeast of the city.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed just after midnight Thursday the couple had died, along with their dog.
Mendoza said in an interview Wednesday evening there was no immediate indication of foul play. He did not provide a cause of death or say when the couple might have died.
In a career that spanned more than six decades, he received two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Silver Bear. Hackman’s two Academy Award wins included one for Best Actor for his role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s acclaimed thriller The French Connection (1971) and the other for Best Supporting Actor for his role as “Little” Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s Western film Unforgiven (1992). His other Oscar-nominated roles were in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and Mississippi Burning (1988).
Hackman gained further fame for his portrayal of Lex Luthor in Superman (1978) and its sequels Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
He also acted in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Scarecrow (1973), The Conversation (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Under Fire (1983), Power (1986), Loose Cannons (1990), The Firm (1993), The Quick and the Dead (1995), The Birdcage (1996), Enemy of the State (1998), Behind Enemy Lines (2001), and Runaway Jury (2003).
On July 7, 2004, Hackman gave a rare interview to Larry King, where he announced that he had no future film projects lined up and believed his acting career was over. In 2008, while promoting his third novel, he confirmed that he had retired from acting.
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