By Marni Rose McFall
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Hollywood legend Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, 63-year-old former classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead on Wednesday afternoon. They made their final appearance together at a dinner date in their home state of New Mexico last spring.
The couple, who lived in the state since the 1980s, dined at Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, in March 2024, the New York Post reported at the time. Earlier in the day, Hackman had been seen grabbing a cup of coffee and an apple pie from a local Speedway store. The two were pictured walking together, Hackman was using a cane and holding onto his wife's arm.
Former Marine Hackman and Arakawa married in 1991 and were rarely seen together in public. Their last publicity event together came 21 years ago on the Golden Globe Awards' red carpet in Beverley Hills, California, in 2003.
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Hackman received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment," that night. The award was presented to him by the late Robin Williams and Michale Caine.
California-born Hackman was Hollywood royalty. He leaves behind an indelible mark on cinema and a film legacy, with roles like Buck Barrow in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, the iconic Lex Luthor in Superman and Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett in Unforgiven.
Hawaii-born Arakawa was a former classical pianist and businesswoman. She met Hackman while she was working in a gym in California.
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Hackman retired in 2004 after the relase of his movie Welcome to Mooseport and dedicating his time to writing and painting.
Asked in a 2011 interview with GQ if he would ever come out of retirement, he said that he would consider it if he, "Could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people."
The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office provided no cause of death but said there was no indication of foul play. "This is an active and ongoing investigation," a spokesperson said in an email to Newsweek.
Hackman is survived by his three children from his first marriage to the late Fay Maltese. He married Maltese in 1956 and the two divorced in 1986. Maltese died in 2017.
Correction 2/27/25, 6:53 a.m. ET: Betsy Arakawa was 63 years old at her time of death, according to the AP and Reuters, not 64 as this article previously reported.
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