Hollywood legend and double Oscar winner Gene Hackman, who died at the age of 95, retired the last years of his life and as a recluse.
The star of the Star of 1970s The French connection and the conversation looked brittle in some of the last photos that he and his wife Betsy Arakawa showed, who was also found dead in their house, along with their dog.
They were discovered on the building in Santa Fe in the US state of New Mexico, where Hackman withdrew over the past decades after years of Hollywood success.
Friends occasionally shared a glimpse of his post -acting life, including social media recordings of fish expeditions -while trying to his silver screen triumphs.
The couple, who married in 1991, was found next to their dog on Wednesday morning – with local media who reported that no false game was suspected.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza did not cause a cause of death, nor he said when she might have died when reporters asked.
Two-time Oscar winner Hackman, who just turned 95 last month and whose fortune was estimated at $ 3.8 million (£ 3 million), was noted because he had been withdrawn.
He no longer played in a film since 2004, when he played Monroe 'Eagle' Cole in the Political Satire Welcome to Mooseport.
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Awakawa are depicted here in Santa Fe, in the US state of New Mexico, in March 2024
Hollywood – Legend Hackman won two Oscars – He is depicted here in honor of his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1993, after his performance in Unforgiven
Hackman announced his retirement Van Actteren in 21 years ago – he was depicted here and looked weak while he in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in March 2024
Hackman is seen here in the western of 1992 directed by Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven
He announced his retirement Van Actteren that year, Los Angeles leaving for a quieter life in New Mexico – and opposes all overtures to return to the camera.
Hackman told how his decision was influenced by the tension he suffered during action, as well as health problems with regard to his heart.
He told about receiving a health warning from a doctor, while at the time he said in a statement: “The company is very stressful for me.”
He had previously undergone surgery after he had confronted problems with his heart – urgently to the hospital with breast pain and a balloon catheter had to be inserted to open an artery that was dangerous narrowed.
In 2009 he opened more and told an interviewer: 'The straw that broke the back of the camel was actually a stress test that I did in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart was not in the kind of form that I should put it under stress. '
He said Movie Magazine Empire: 'If I actually did the work on the set or on a stage, I actually did the work, I loved that process and I loved the creative process to bring a character to life.
'And then, when you actually photograph or implement, there is a kind of feeling that comes over you, a confidence and a kind of beautiful, washed feeling of well -being, if you want, if it goes well.
'While the business part of the show business is quite bad. You jump from trying to become a sponge if you want – in terms of input from other actors and the director and everything you surround.
The local population in Santa Fe has shared photos of Gene Hackman who moved there in the 1980s
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, depicted here at the Mission Hills Celebrity Sports Invitational in California in November 1991, were both dead
This photo of Hackman (center) was shared from when he attended a show in 2022
'You jump from that to a lunch meeting with a cop and a producer on another film.
“It's a kind of frying pan. It was shocking and at my age and with my health I decided that I no longer wanted to do that. '
Hackman moved to the Santa Fe area in the 1980s, where he was often seen in the city and served as a board member of the Georgia O'Keffe Museum in the 1990s, according to the local newspaper the New Mexican.
Rare recent photos of Hackman showed him hold on to the arm of his wife for balance when the couple grabbed a bite in Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe in March last year.
The outing of the couple was the first time that they were seen together in public for 21 years, with the last time at the Golden Globe Awards 2003 where he won the Cecil B. Demille Award.
In the same year, Hackman gave a rare interview to Larry King in which he announced that he had not prepared new film projects and believed that his acting career was over.
And he confirmed his departure from Hollywood in promoting his third novel Escape from Andersonville in 2008 and told Reuters: 'I have not held a press conference to announce pensions, but yes, I am no longer going to act.
“I was told not to say that in recent years, in case there is a really beautiful part, but I really no longer want to do it.”
Rare recent photos of Hackman showed him alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa when the couple took a bite in Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe in March last year
The acting legend was seen in Santa Fe in March last year who kept his wife in Santa Fe
He also explained his passion for writing novels and said: 'I actually love its loneliness. It is similar to acting in some ways, but it is more private and I feel that I have more control over what I am trying to say and do. '
'There is always a compromise in acting and in film, you work with so many people and everyone has an opinion. I don't know I like it more than acting, it's just different. I find it relaxing and reassuring. '
After leaving the spotlights, Gene settled and written in Santa Fe, where he was fishing, painting and writing – Three historical fiction novels with submarine archaeologist Daniel Lenihan, as well as two books themselves.
In 2011 he was asked by GQ if he would ever retire to make another movie – to which Hackman replied: “If I could do it in my own house, perhaps, without disturbing something and only one or two people.”
However, he did not completely like the industry, because he told two documentaries from Marine Corps – the unknown flag display of Iwo Jima (2016) and WE, De Mariniers (2017).
The office of Santa Fe County Sheriff today confirmed that Hackman and his wife were found dead on Wednesday afternoon with their dog in their house in Santa Fe – and said they did not believe that false game was a factor at the moment.
A police declaration shared with the PA press agency said: 'On 26 February 2025 at about 1.45 pm the representatives of Santa Fe County Sheriff were sent to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64 and a dog were found.
'At the moment a false game is not suspected as a factor in those deaths – but the exact cause of death is not exactly. This is an active and continuous study by the Santa Fe County Sheriff office. '
Hackman's roles include Arch Villain Lex Luthor in Superman films
His first Academy Award came to play Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle in the French connection
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa are depicted here at the 'Aatle' actors as artists The Limited Edition Party in Los Angeles in 1992
In addition to his two Oscars, Hackman also achieved two Baftas, Four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award in an acting career that included six decades.
He assured the Oscar for Best Actor in 1972 for his role as Detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle in the French connection before he took the best supporting actor prize for his share in 1992 western Unforgiven.
Hackman, born in California in 1930, left the house at the age of 16 -to be served in the Marine Corps and served from 1947 to 1952 as a field radio operator and then as a temporary employment journalist.
He studied journalism and television production at the University of Illinois, but later turned to pursue an acting career.
Hackman had a few TV and theater roles before he was broken with his performance in 1967 in Bonnie and Clyde, with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the title roles.
That display as the brother of Clyde Barrow roared him an Oscar nomination for the best supporting actor.
He also reached Oscar -nods for his role in the 1970s, I never sang for my father and the thriller Mississippi of 1988.
Hackman also portrayed Supervillain Lex Luthor in the 1978 Superman film with Christopher Reeve in the role of the same name and Marlon Brando as Jor-El, the biological father of Superman.
Gene Hackman (left) played Buck Barrow, the brother of Clyde Barrow portrayed by Warren Beatty (right), in 1967 classical film Bonnie and Clyde
One of the last films of Gene Hackman was the Royal Tenenbaums, released in 2001
He repeated the role for his subsequent sequel, Superman II from 1980 and Superman IV from 1987: The Quest for Peace.
Hackman traded against many Hollywood -heavy weights, including already Pacino in 1973's Scarecrow.
He also appeared in addition to Gene Wilder in the Young Frankenstein from 1974 – the couple who also performed together in Bonnie and Clyde – as well as Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in 1981's Reds.
His other remarkable roles were the hit films The Poseidon Adventure from 1972, The Conversation and Runaway Jury from 1974 in 2003.
Hackman also played in the cast of Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, three years before his last film role.
