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/entert...o-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]

Originally Posted by 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?

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.

Originally Posted by neatoman

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]

Originally Posted by 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?

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

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

The welfare checkers and even the fire department said no.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/u...ew-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]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

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]

Originally Posted by IMJ

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]

Originally Posted by IMJ

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]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

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.