Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife and dog found dead in their New Mexico home

By Canadian Press on February 27, 2025.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were found dead in their New Mexico home Wednesday, authorities said.

Foul play was not suspected, but authorities did not release circumstances of their deaths and said an investigation was ongoing.

Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies found Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and a dog dead when they preformed a welfare check at the home around 1:45 p.m., spokesperson Denise Avila said.

Hackman, 95, was a five-time Oscar nominee who starred in dozens of films and one of the industry’s most respected and honored performers. His two Oscar wins, for “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” were spaced out 21 years apart.

News of his death comes just four days before this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.

The couple’s home is in a gated community just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital city. Hackman moved in the 1980s to the area, where he was often seen around town and served as a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the 1990s, according to the local paper, The New Mexican.

Hackman played a variety of roles, appearing in action movies, thrillers and even had a comedic part in “Young Frankenstein.”

Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired in his mid-70s.

An email sent to his publicist was not immediately returned early Thursday.

The Associated Press