Actor Gene Hackman, His Wife, and Dog Found Dead

[ZariusTwo]

Legendary Hollywood actor Gene Hackman has been found dead in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home alongside his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, citing police.

Santa Fe County police discovered the body of the two-time Oscar winner, 95, and 63-year-old Arakawa — his wife of 34 years and their dog — on Wednesday afternoon.

No foul play is suspected and no cause of death has been announced.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed the news on Thursday.

Hackman was one of the most accomplished actors of all time, thanks to star turns in “The French Connection,” “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

The actor’s prolific resume includes two Oscars, three Golden Globes and the Cecil B. DeMille Award, bestowed in 2003.

https://nypost.com/2025/02/27/entertainment/gene-hackman-and-wife-betsy-found-dead-in-new-mexico-home-police/

[FredWolfLeonardo]

What in the actual heck, me and my wife were just watching Superman, we paused for a break during Lex Luthor's scene, and then I see this thread.

Terrible news.

[Mayhem]

If they say no foul play (so murder suicide is out), and the dog is dead as well, could well be something like carbon monoxide poisoning or similar then.

[triplexxx]

Gene Hackman was a true cinema legend with a long and spectacular career. He will always be treasured and fondly remembered. Will take comfort in the fact that he, his wife, and dog are now altogether in a better place.

As for how this all happened, will wait for further details, but is definitely obscure that they all went together this way.

[neatoman]

This is quite sad, with all of them dying I'm wondering if there was a gas leak or something.

[CyberCubed]

What the hell? I mean Gene was 95 so it was inevitable, but how the hell did the wife and dog die too? Was there no foul play?

[IMJ]

What the hell? I mean Gene was 95 so it was inevitable, but how the hell did the wife and dog die too? Was there no foul play?

Ironic, given the conversation about reactions to celebrity deaths in the other thread. Honestly I know Hackman was a "great actor" but I only ever saw maybe 5 or 6 of his movies and three of them involved Superman.

But finding the whole household dead screams of suicide of some kind to me.

[Stu_Padasso]

Terrible. I was wondering just yesterday what Gene was up to these days.

This is quite sad, with all of them dying I'm wondering if there was a gas leak or something.

It’s how “Weird Al” Yankovics parents died.

[Andrew NDB]

It sounds like the welfare check people didn't find any gas leaks or anything of the like... so we might not know much until autopsies happen.

Yeah, might be some kind of suicide pact. But the dog, too, though?

[Stu_Padasso]

It sounds like the welfare check people didn't find any gas leaks or anything of the like... so we might not know much until autopsies happen.

Yeah, might be some kind of suicide pact. But the dog, too, though?

I suppose it’s possible. Some people really love their dogs and worry about what would happen to them after their own death.

Queen Elizabeth stopped adopting terriers towards the end of her life because she was afraid of what would happen to them after.

Adolf Hitler “tested” the cyanide on his German Shepherd because he was afraid it would be captured by Soviet forces.

[Andrew NDB]

Might be a sad asterisk to his death: "... but he killed the dog!"

[IMJ]

There are a lot of instances of people killing their pets before their suicide. The prevailing theory is that the suicidal person considers killing the pet a relief for the pet because

A) it will no longer have to suffer the "awful life" the suicidal owner brought upon it (remember that this is the mental calculus of a suicidal person)
B) it will not have to suffer being alone once the owner is gone

Anything is possible here, but I also know that "death pacts" are more common in very old people than in younger people as well.

[Stu_Padasso]

There are a lot of instances of people killing their pets before their suicide. The prevailing theory is that the suicidal person considers killing the pet a relief for the pet because

A) it will no longer have to suffer the "awful life" the suicidal owner brought upon it (remember that this is the mental calculus of a suicidal person)
B) it will not have to suffer being alone once the owner is gone

Anything is possible here, but I also know that "death pacts" are more common in very old people than in younger people as well.

It can also be extremely difficult to re-home an older dog and euthanizing it might be seen as the more humane option. After my parents adopted my uncle’s dog after his family moved, she was a nervous wreck, desperate for attention and couldn’t be left alone for more than a few hours. After she passed away, my parents have expressed no interest in adopting another dog.

[IMJ]

I guess the Sheriff said that there were three dogs total, but one was found dead in a kennel while the other two were alive and fine.

So in some ways that makes the whole thing weirder.

[IndigoErth]

Shame, and the dog too? Surely that was something such as carbon monoxide. :ohwell:

[Andrew NDB]

Shame, and the dog too? Surely that was something such as carbon monoxide. :ohwell:

The welfare checkers and even the fire department said no.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/us/gene-hackman-wife-dead-new-mexico.html

So it's looking a little bit like maybe Hackman died suddenly of natural causes, then the wife might have offed herself with "prescription pills" in the bathroom after she saw him dead. Maybe. And who knows about the dog. But given there was significant decomposition... maybe it just starved by the time anybody came and the other ones were lucky?

[IMJ]

But given there was significant decomposition... maybe it just starved by the time anybody came and the other ones were lucky?

Pretty common with "Welfare Checks" - people can be gone a long time.

[triplexxx]

Pretty common with "Welfare Checks" - people can be gone a long time.Wonder how often they checked on Peter Renaday before he passed on.

[Andrew NDB]

Pretty common with "Welfare Checks" - people can be gone a long time.

Sounds like it was 2 weeks. That's the last time a maintenance worker said he spoke to the couple. Assuming they died right afterward, 2 weeks without food and water is probably enough to kill a dog, especially if it's older.

[ToTheNines]

Sounds like it was 2 weeks. That's the last time a maintenance worker said he spoke to the couple. Assuming they died right afterward, 2 weeks without food and water is probably enough to kill a dog, especially if it's older.

Damn. That’s honestly worse than just killing it humanely.

[IMJ]

Wonder how often they checked on Peter Renaday before he passed on.

Well, if you mean "how often" as in did his neighbors or family have cause to ask for Wellness Checks on him repeatedly, I don't know but that would potentially speak to how long he was gone before they found him. Because if he was getting routine "Wellness Checks" for some reason then there was a limited window between his death and finding him.

And so, if you mean "how long was he dead before they found him", I never saw any mention of that in any of the news about that situation. Interestingly enough, 31% of deaths happen at-home - so dying somewhere other than at home happens frequently. And that tells me that most wellness checks probably result in finding dead people.

Sounds like it was 2 weeks. That's the last time a maintenance worker said he spoke to the couple. Assuming they died right afterward, 2 weeks without food and water is probably enough to kill a dog, especially if it's older.

Not trying to make this anymore morbid than it already is but - well.... most dogs that live on after someone dies around them will actually eventually... eh... eat their owners before they starve to death. It's just nature kicking in to survive.

[ToTheNines]

https://apnews.com/article/gene-hackman-found-dead-f6c106e92987aeaaab7b35c1b956a5c8

The dead dog was found in a closest. Their two other dogs are still alive and were described as healthy, one was found inside and one was found outside.

Incredibly fishy.

[Cowabung-Gal]

The dead dog was a German Shepherd. That hits me hard considering we own two.

[IMJ]

The dead dog was a German Shepherd. That hits me hard considering we own two.

I've been looking for an opportunity to find a German Shepherd puppy for years now. Everytime I've seen one at a pet store they want like 6 grand, and there has to be another way that isn't even remotely close to that.

[Cowabung-Gal]

I've been looking for an opportunity to find a German Shepherd puppy for years now. Everytime I've seen one at a pet store they want like 6 grand, and there has to be another way that isn't even remotely close to that.

If you’re thinking about owning a German Shepherd, be warned: THEY ARE A HANDFUL, especially when they are fully grown.

[IMJ]

If you’re thinking about owning a German Shepherd, be warned: THEY ARE A HANDFUL, especially when they are fully grown.

I've heard that!
But I'm all-in and I have a Shih-Tzu that would keep him in line. :lol:

[IMJ]

:o
What a sad end to this story (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-07/gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-death-investigation-update).....

Basically his wife died of hantavirus basically spread from mice. She died a week before he did.

The sad part? Hackman had heart problems and advanced Alzheimer's disease. So basically he wasn't cognizant that his wife had been dead for a week, and without her there to help him he succumbed to heart disease.

What a sad story.

[IndigoErth]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/gene-hackman-and-wife-s-causes-of-death-revealed/ar-AA1AtI0V?ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&cvid=9a3a99d1d2424812adcc12cd61f20471&ei=6

Hackman died of cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease likely around Feb. 18, about one week after his wife died from a rare syndrome, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, on about Feb. 11, officials said.

Good grief, what a situation. Maybe the dog really did just starve, poor thing.

So one spouse dies after a virus and the other, with "advanced Alzheimer's," is just there alone with the body. Why old folks really should be checked on more often. :(


Edit: Guess it helps to hit "read more" and look for the dog info:

One of the couple's three dogs was found dead in a crate about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa's body, officials said.

But their two other dogs were found alive. It appeared they had access to a doggy door; one dog was found near Arakawa's body and the other was located outside, according to Mendoza.

Poor thing.

[Andrew NDB]

Yeah, definitely not "suicide pact" and "btw, let's off the dog, too" remotely.

[IndigoErth]

Apparently, the deceased dog had recently come home from a vet visit and (I read) suspected why it might have been it might have been kept in the crate at the time.


Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare but potentially life-threatening viral illness transmitted to humans from the infected urine, droppings or saliva of certain species of mice and rats.
Wow, wtf. How did she even end up with that.

I feel bad for Hackman if he was mentally too far gone and just couldn't manage that situation and being left to his own care that he might not have been capable of.

[triplexxx]

Well that would explain why parts of her body were "mummified". So, in Gene's case, it was natural; in Betsy's case, it was plague; in the dog's case, it was starvation.

[IndigoErth]

Great, like a modern version of the Oregon Trail, but without those two things, nor any wagon wheels.

[IMJ]

What a sad end to this story.....

Basically his wife died of hantavirus basically spread from mice. She died a week before he did.

The sad part? Hackman had heart problems and advanced Alzheimer's disease. So basically he wasn't cognizant that his wife had been dead for a week, and without her there to help him he succumbed to heart disease.

What a sad story.

[sdp]

Was Gene's wife Patient Zero?

[CyberCubed]

It's funny because Gene Hackman was still a big actor into the 90's. He was in movies alongside Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Leonardo DiCaprio and a whole bunch of other 90's stars. You would think that by then he would already be phasing out but he had a lot of roles alongside big 90's movie stars back then.