Before Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa tragically died, the couple had been living a great life away from the spotlight — until he started to experience trouble with his health! That’s what a few insiders are saying!
As you may know, the 95-year-old actor had an illustrious career in the business for over 40 years, starring in hundreds of roles across the screen and stage. Some of his most iconic ones include Lex Luther in three of the Superman films, Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection, which earned him an Oscar for Best Actor, and Royal O’Reilly Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums! And that’s just to name a few!
However, nothing lasts forever. Gene decided to quit acting at the age of 74 after starring in the movie Welcome to Mooseport in 2004 and retired to Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Betsy. Why? It all came down to his health! He explained his decision to leave Hollywood in an interview with Empire magazine in 2009:
“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.”
Related: Gene Hackman’s Daughter Says Circumstances Around Their Deaths Are ‘Very Strange’
So, he quit! And we get why! Your health is so important, more important than any job. Just because Gene left Hollywood doesn’t mean his love for movies went away, though. While enjoying a quieter life in Santa Fe, the Academy Award winner shared that he and Betsy would bond over watching films together:
“Watching DVDs that my wife rents. We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce.”
Aww! The couple then continued to live a “happy” life together in New Mexico over the years, according to Splash News photographer Mark Kreusch who last shot them together before their death. He told People:
“I think that he loved Santa Fe. He would go on these long drives… like he just was clearing his mind. He did it kind of often.”
And he did not go on those outings alone. Mark recalled that Gene and Betsy “would drive super far out in the middle of nowhere and she would bring him food and they would have little picnics.” So cute! These excursions happened “fairly often,” and sometimes involved fast food. He continued:
“They’d find some remote place, some really beautiful place, and they would park up and hang out for a couple hours.”
Wow. It sounds like Gene and Betsy still had such a strong connection and love for each other. The pair also rarely left the house without their dogs! The photographer shared that the 64-year-old classical pianist “had those German shepherds with her everywhere she went without [fail],” adding:
“There was not one time that I didn’t see her with those German Shepherds. She had cages built into the cars.”
March 28, 2024, was the last time Mark photographed Betsy and Gene together. They had enjoyed a meal together at the local Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. According to Mark, the two “ were pretty happy” and “in good spirits.” When it came to Gene, though, that was the normal! The paparazzi noticed he “always” looked “pretty upbeat”:
“For a guy that old, he had energy… He was solo, he was moving about and he was happy.”
Despite being “in his early nineties,” Mark even remembered him being pretty active in the months leading up to March 2024:
“He had different properties where he would do yard work.”
However, things changed after those last pictures of the couple. Mark said Gene’s car stayed in the driveway from then on:
“It was like it hadn’t moved in a few months.”
What happened? Family friends, Daniel and Barbara Lenihan and their son, Aaron, told the outlet that Gene’s health started to decline. Daniel claimed that “in recent times,” he was “essentially kind of home-bound.” Whoa. Barbara said he even “quit riding his bike through the neighborhood” around a year ago.
As the star struggled with his health, Betsy did everything she could to help him. Aaron shared that she “tried to keep him kind of active and engaged,” having him do puzzles and yoga over Zoom every day. She also “was very protective of him in terms of COVID, so she’d always wear a mask when we’d see her out,” he noted. However, Daniel and Barbara said Gene “was really slipping there” over the “last couple of months.” So sad.
For her part, Barbara alleged that “Betsy was in perfect health” and “was so fit.” And that adds to the mystery of their deaths! As we previously reported, the duo was found dead inside their Santa Fe home on Wednesday alongside one of their dogs. Authorities claimed no foul play was suspected, though an affidavit later labeled their deaths as “suspicious.”
At this time, the cause of their deaths is unknown. Police found no evidence of a gas leak, ruling out the theory they perished from carbon monoxide poisoning. Until the autopsy report comes out, we seemingly won’t get answers about what happened to Gene and Betsy. But for now, one thing we do know? It sounds like all was not well in the months leading up to their tragic passing.
Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments!
[Image via WENN, CBS Sunday Morning/YouTube]
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