We are deeply saddened to confirm that Gene Hackman, the legendary actor, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found partially mummified in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home with signs of decay on their bodies on Wednesday afternoon, February 26, 2025. He was 95. She was 63.
Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor of the couple’s home on her right side, with an open prescription bottle of pills scattered across a nearby countertop. No indication has been given as to what the pills were and whether they had been prescribed to Hackman or his wife.
Hackman himself was found in a mudroom off the kitchen, fully dressed with his sunglasses and walking cane found near his body, indicating he may have died of a sudden fall. He was found to have the same signs of decomposition as his wife.
One of the couple’s three dogs, a German Shepherd, was found dead about 10 to 15 feet away from Betsy in a closet just off the bathroom.
Mummification occurs when a person’s skin and tissues are preserved after their death. While most associate it with ancient Egyptians wrapping the corpses of pharaohs in bandages, it can also be achieved if a body is left in a place with cold, dry air where bacteria struggles to grow. Santa Fe is known to enjoy such a climate during winter.
Maintenance workers Roland Lowe Begay and Jesse Kesler had discovered the bodies of Hackman and Arakawa at 1:46 p.m. on Wednesday. The couple’s $3.3 million mansion had been quiet for a while, and Begay and Kesler told investigators they hadn’t seen them for two weeks.
The couple had apparently been dead for one or two weeks. One of their three dogs was also found dead at the scene, but another was found alive and a third was roaming the property.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza stated that there are no immediate indications of foul play, but a detective noted in the search warrant that ‘the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.’ To our mind, finding the dog deceased in the closet suggests that somebody put him there, the motivation for which does suggest foul play. Gene Hackman’s daughter, Elizabeth, had theorized that a carbon monoxide leak could have killed her father and stepmother. Fire department officials, however, found no signs of a gas leak.
Gene Hackman had a distinguished career spanning five decades. His first move role was in the Warren Beatty film Lilith in 1964. He earned two Academy Awards for his roles in The French Connection (1971) and Unforgiven (1992). He was also known for his performances in films such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Conversation (1974), and his iconic role as Lex Luthor in Superman (1978). His final film was Welcome to Mooseport, where he played opposite Ray Romano.
Though the character of Lex Luthor had been seen in cartoons since 1961, Gene Hackman is the first actor to portray Superman’s arch-nemesis in a live action production. He reprised that role in Superman II, and again in the unfortunate fourth film in the series, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
It was Hackman who famously appeared as the blind man who invited Frankenstein’s Monster into his shack for cigars and espresso in Young Frankenstein. He also provided the voice for General Stanley Mandible, the main antagonist in Dreamworks’ 1st full-length animated feature film Antz (1998). Hackman retired from acting in 2004 and later pursued a career in writing, authoring several novels.
In a later interview with Empire in 2009, Gene disclosed that it was his doctor’s advice to retire due to the strain on his heart. “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress,” he explained.
However, details about Gene’s health in the years before his sudden passing remain scarce.
Betsy Arakawa, was a classical pianist. She and Hackman married in 1991 and shared a home in Santa Fe. The couple was known for maintaining a private life away from the public eye, and appeared in public recently only once, when they went to dinner Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The news of their passing has led to an outpouring of tributes from the film industry and fans worldwide, honoring Hackman’s significant contributions to cinema and the couple’s enduring partnership.
