Gene Hackman’s daughter thinks her father and his wife died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Elizabeth Jean Hackman told TMZ that while they are not sure of the couple’s cause of death, they think it could be due to inhaling toxic fumes.
The Oscar-winner, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday.
Elizabeth also told TMZ police did not find any signs of foul play at the actor’s home.
Hackman, Arakawa and their dog were all dead when deputies entered their home to check on their welfare around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said.
Santa Fe sheriff Adan Mendoza added that officials are ‘in the middle of a preliminary death investigation’ which is ‘active and ongoing’.
He also said detectives found two surviving dogs at Hackman’s residence on Wednesday.
Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner with an estimated net worth of $80million, just turned 95 in late January. He became a recluse in the last 20 years of his life, after retiring from acting in 2004. He packed up his things, left Los Angeles for a quiet life in New Mexico – and he never looked back.
Gene Hackman’s daughter thinks her father and his wife died from carbon monoxide poisoning
Gene Hackman and daughter Elizabeth Hackman during Gene Hackman Sighting on Rodeo Drive – March 24, 1979
Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003
Hackman shared three children with his first wife Faye Maltese. He and Arakawa, a classical pianist, had been married for the last three decades.
The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for The French Connection in 1972 and Unforgiven two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.
Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had decamped to Santa Fe.
A naturally private man, Hackman was labelled a recluse as he remained out of the public eye for years on end.
Friends occasionally shared glimpses of his post-acting life, including social media shots of fishing expeditions – while paying tribute to his silver screen triumphs. He would also occasionally be spotted pedaling around Santa Fe on a bicycle.
Last year, Hackman and Arakawa were seen out and about for the first time in two decades.
The actor was spotted holding onto his wife’s arm for balance as the pair grabbed a bite at Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Before the dinner date, Hackman enjoyed a cup of coffee and some apple pie from a local Speedway store.
The couple’s outing marked the first time they were seen together in public for 21 years, with the last time being at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, where he won the Cecil B. deMille award.
In an interview with Empire in 2020, the retired actor revealed he enjoyed watching DVDs that Arakawa rented. He said: ‘We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce.
‘Friday night is set aside for a Comedy Channel marathon, with particular attention paid to Eddie Izzard. The speed of thought is amazing.’
