The ‘tough life’ of Gene Hackman’s 3 children after Hollywood star missed out on their early years
Hollywood star Gene Hackman – who along with his second wife, Betsy Arakawa, was found dead in their $3.8million Santa Fe home on Wednesday morning – leaves behind three adult children.
Whilst the two-time Oscar winner mostly tried to keep his family life private throughout his impressive career, he did often confess just how ‘tough’ his offspring’s lives were after he missed out on their earlier years due to work.
The Superman star, 95, was married to first wife Faye Maltese, a bank clerk, from 1956 to 1986. They shared three children together – Christopher Allen, now 65, Elizabeth Jean, 62, and Leslie Anne Hackman, 59.
Their first few years as a young family were marked by struggle – the couple lived in a ‘cold water walk up’ – meaning there was no hot water supply available – in New York City.
Thankfully, Gene soon found success on the stage and screen, but admitted that the jobs he took would ‘separate [his family] for three or four months at a time’.
He explained to the New York Times Magazine in 1989 how his search for the spotlight made him ‘selfish’.
‘You spend so many years wanting desperately to be recognized as having the talent and then when you’re starting to be offered these parts, it’s very tough to turn anything down,’ he confessed.
‘Even though I had a family, I took jobs that would separate us for three or four months at a time. The temptations in that, the money and recognition, it was too much for the poor boy in me. I wasn’t able to handle that.’
Gene Hackman and his family at Sun Valley in 1974. Whilst the two-time Oscar winner mostly tried to keep his family life private throughout his impressive career, he did often confess just how ‘tough’ his offspring’s lives were after he missed out on their earlier years due to work
Speaking to the Irish Independent in 2000, the Bonnie and Clyde star reflected: ‘It’s tough being the son or daughter of a celebrity.
‘I couldn’t always be home with them when they were growing up and then, living in California, they’ve had my success always hanging over their heads.’
In 2011, Gene further discussed how his dreams of grandeur caused difficulties with his children, when asked what advice he’d want to pass onto his son by GQ.
He answered: ‘I lost touch with my son in terms of advice early on. Maybe it had to do with being gone so much, doing location films when he was at an age where he needed support and guidance.
‘It was very tough for me to be gone for three months and then come home and start bossing him around.’
Gene, who announced his retirement from acting in 2004, was often honest about how he struggled to balance both his family and an illustrious career.
He told the Larry King Live show about his transition from an ordinary life to the spotlight, admitting: ‘I didn’t handle it very well, really. I took care of my family. You know, my family’s never wanted for anything.
‘But because I was so enamoured of the Hollywood of old, you know, the glamour of that, although I never involved myself in that, I was really – oh, how do you say, I was so taken with that, and the fact that I was part of that.
Actor Gene and daughter Leslie Hackman attend the premiere of ‘Class Action’ on March 13, 1991 at the Plitt Theatre in Century City, California
Gene and his daughter Elizabeth Hackman at the screening of Superman in December 1978
Gene and his children during the premiere of Superman in Washington, D.C in December 1978
‘And that I was – I could be anything and anyone I wanted to be. It was a long time before I settled down, before I got to the point where I could discern what was really right for me.’
However, the actor insisted in a February 1984 interview with journalist Leta Powell Drake that he and his son, who was in his 20s at that point, ‘still hug to this day, and I thank God that we are able to do that’.
He also shared in a January 2020 interview with Empire magazine how his son ‘thought he wanted to be an actor at one time’.
Despite the actor wanting to keep his life relatively private, he did sometimes appear at film screenings with his children; Gene and his eldest daughter Elizabeth attended the December 1978 showing of Superman, in which he played villain Lex Luthor.
Some years later, in 1984, Gene’s youngest daughter Leslie attended the 41st Annual Golden Globe Awards with the actor.
Then in October 1996, Elizabeth and her father were photographed at the premiere of The Chamber in Beverly Hills, California, alongside her sister and her stepmother, Betsy Arakawa.
Leslie, meanwhile, also stepped out at the premiere of The Godfather Part III in December 1990 and the screening of Class Action in March 1991.
However, prior to the height of his fame, Gene was turning to his children for help, with the actor once revealing how he ‘I used to have to borrow my daughter’s car to go to interviews in Hollywood’.
In October 1996, Elizabeth and her father were photographed at the premiere of The Chamber in Beverly Hills, California, alongside her sister and her stepmother, Betsy Arakawa
Gene and daughter Elizabeth in March 1979 in Beverly Hills, California
Speaking to Cigar Aficionado in 2000, he said: ‘Just a piece-of-s*** Toyota and I’d have to park it a couple of blocks [away] and walk so I wouldn’t be seen as being that needy.
‘… I was just barely hanging in, taking pretty much anything that was offered to me and trying to make it work.’
However, it appears that towards the end of his life, the star managed to make amends with his children.
In 2020, Closer reported that despite past regrets, Gene is close with his children and grandchildren.
‘He wishes he’d been around more for his children, but now he’s close with them and their kids,’ and insider added.
In his later years, Gene was said to live a ‘peaceful life’ with the Hawaiian classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, 64, he fell in love with and married.
He and Betsy were understood to live an idyllic life in their Santa Fe home – where they were keen to decorate the property unique to their own styles.
‘We bought a few things in Santa Fe,’ Gene told Architectural Digest in 2022. ‘Other things came from auctions in New York, an antiques shop in Germany that Betsy and I found, and from Los Angeles.
Leslie, meanwhile, also stepped out at the premiere of The Godfather Part III in December 1990 and the screening of Class Action in March 1991
Gene Hackman – who along with wife was found dead in his Santa Fe home – was married twice in his life. Pictured with first wife Faye
The Hollywood legend, 95, had been with Betsy Arakawa (pictured in 2003), more than 30 years his junior, since 1991
‘It’s a nice combination of soft southwestern pieces and hard-edged antiques,’ he added.
In an interview with Empire in 2020, the retired actor also said he enjoyed watching DVDs that Betsy rented.
‘We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce,’ he said. ‘Friday night is set aside for a Comedy Channel marathon, with particular attention paid to Eddie Izzard. The speed of thought is amazing.’
As reported by the Chicago Tribune via Nicki Swift, it was marrying Betsy that rekindled Gene’s relationship with his children, and encouraged him to start inviting them over.
While not much is known about the classical pianist who won over Gene’s heart, the actor had revealed that they started dating in the mid-80s.
In an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, via People, he however stressed that he did not leave Faye for her.
‘By the way, I did not leave my real-life wife for a younger woman,’ Gene remarked, when discussing his similarities to his character Harry Mackenzie in 1985’s Twice in a Lifetime.
‘We just drifted apart. We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love.’
American Actor Gene Hackman at the 1993 Academy Awards
Meanwhile, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza did not provide a cause of death, nor did he say when Gene and Betsy might have died, when asked by local media.
Two-time Oscar winner Gene had just turned 95 in late January. He was known for being a reclusive person, having not starred in a movie since 2004, when he played Monroe ‘Eagle’ Cole in the political satire Welcome to Mooseport.
The actor was first propelled into the spotlight when he starred in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, and he went on to star in a slew of beloved movies and TV shows like Superman, The French Connection and Get Shorty, to name a few.
But in 2004, he announced that he was done being an actor. He packed up his things, left Los Angeles for the quiet of New Mexico – and he never looked back.
Some initially thought that the shocking decision had to do with his marriage – but he actually quit acting because of the severe stress he was under, which became too much to handle after he started to have issues with his heart.
Last year, he and Betsy, a 63-year-old classical pianist, were seen out and about for the first time in two decades.
Gene 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, according to the New York Post.
Hackman played Kibby Womack in 1975’s Lucky Lady
Hackman also played Detective Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle in The French Connection
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.
He told Reuters in 2008: ‘I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer.’
‘I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer.’
He also explained his passion for writing novels, saying ‘I like the loneliness of it, actually. It’s similar in some ways to acting, but it’s more private and I feel like I have more control over what I’m trying to say and do.’
‘There’s always a compromise in acting and in film, you work with so many people and everyone has an opinion. … I don’t know that I like it better than acting, it’s just different. I find it relaxing and comforting.’
He didn’t stay completely away from the industry, however, as he narrated two Marine Corps documentaries: The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima (2016) and We, The Marines (2017).
Born in California on January 30 1930, the actor had enlisted in the army after lying about his age at 16, serving for four-and-a-half years.
After moving back to California following his military service, he decided to pursue acting after briefly living in New York.
Hackman played Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. Pictured with the leading stars in the 1968 film
Philip D’Antoni (left) and Gene Hackman, producer and star, respectively, of The French Connection, hold Oscars they won at the 44th movie Academy Awards
He began his acting career nearly 70 years ago, joining the Pasadena Playhouse in 1956, where he befriended fellow aspiring actor Dustin Hoffman.
He eventually moved to New York in 1963 and began performing in several Off-Broadway plays and smaller TV roles.
The thespian truly made his name in the 1970s, when he was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category for the 1970 flick, I Never Sang For My Father.
The following year he officially became a leading man, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as New York City Detective Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle in The French Connection.
He went on to have consistent work, including in disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974) before landing the role of supervillain Lex Luthor in 1978’s Superman: The Movie.
In the 1980s he starred in several films including Reds (1981), Under Fire (1983), Hoosiers (1986), No Way Out (1987) and Mississippi Burning (1988).
The 1990s brought him his second Oscar as he earned the Best Supporting Actor gong for his work as sadistic sheriff ‘Little’ Bill Daggett alongside Clint Eastwood in 1992’s Unforgiven.
He rounded out that decade by also starring in Narrow Margin (1990), Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), The Firm (1993), The Chamber (1996), Wyatt Earp (1994), The Quick And The Dead (1995), Crimson Tide (1995), Get Shorty (1995,) Absolute Power (1997), The Birdcage (1996) and Enemy Of The State (1998).
Gene continued to be active in the early 2000s with roles in Behind Enemy Lines (2001), Heist (2001), Runaway Jury (2003), and even earned the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums.
