Gene Hackman passed on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at the age of 95, along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, and their dog at their home in New Mexico. At this time, no foul play is suspected, and they were found by local sheriff deputies conducting a welfare check on them. Gene and Betsy had been together for decades since their meeting in the mid-1980s and lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hackman leaves behind three adult children, Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne Hackman from his first marriage to Faye Maltese. Gene and Besty did not have any children from their marriage. He had retired from acting many years ago and spent his time in Santa Fe. and his wife, Betsy, was a classical pianist. Hackman enjoyed writing, usually historical fiction, and wrote many novels from 1999 to his final novel in 2013. Further hobbies of his involved race car driving, architecture and football, especially for the Jacksonville Jaguars who his friend Jack Del Rio, coached for at the time.
Hackman provided global audiences with great performances in key roles for decades. His career began in the 1950s and took flight in the 60s with his work in Bonnie and Clyde. He was nominated five times for Oscars and won twice, a rarity among Hollywood or any profession with such difficult awards to be nominated for, let alone receive. Before making audiences swoon on screen and etching memorable roles into their mind, Hackman served in the Corps. He came from a difficult home life as his dad abandoned the family when he was young, and his mother struggled with alcoholism, which led to his early enlistment in the Corps, in which he lied about his age to join. He enlisted at the age of 16. Hackman served from 1946 to 1951 in China, Japan and Hawaii. He earned the rank of Private First Class and was a radio operator in the service. He served in Operation Beleaguer and the Occupation of Japan during his four and half years in the Marines. He faced further difficulty as his mother died in the early 1960s in a house fire.
He tried his hand at college using his GI Bill in the 1950s but decided to follow his childhood passion, acting. Hackman stated to Utah’s Deseret News in 1988, “Acting was something I wanted to do since I was 10 and saw my first movie, I was so captured by the action guys. Jimmy Cagney was my favorite. Without realizing it, I could see he had tremendous timing and vitality.” He started out acting in the mid-1950s and trained at the Pasadena Playhouse with fellow future star and California native, Dustin Hoffman. He and Hoffman were voted “The Least Likely to Succeed” by the playhouse. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Hackman moved to NYC, met another fellow California-born actor, Robert Duvall, and furthered his journey in acting. He used the rejection from people to motivate him. He stated in 2004 to Vanity Fair:
“It was more psychological warfare, because I wasn’t going to let those fuckers get me down. I insisted with myself that I would continue to do whatever it took to get a job. It was like me against them, and in some way, unfortunately, I still feel that way. But I think if you’re really interested in acting there is a part of you that relishes the struggle. It’s a narcotic in the way that you are trained to do this work and nobody will let you do it, so you’re a little bit nuts. You lie to people, you cheat, you do whatever it takes to get an audition, get a job.”
Hackman pressed further with his career in the 1960s, booking guest spots on top TV shows and on stage. Shows included such hits at Route 66, The Naked City, The F.B.I., Hawk on TV and then on stage he worked in Any Wednesday, Poor Richard and Children From Their Games. His Academy-nominated break in Bonnie and Clyde further his star momentum, which led to roles in I Spy, Downhill Racer, and The Gypsy Moths to round out the 1960s. Hackman struck further gold in the 1970s with The French Connection, Superman, The Poseidon Adventure and the all-star casted A Bridge Too Far. He won his first Oscar for portraying real NYPD detective Popeye Doyle in The French Connection. By the 1980s he continued to star in mainstream films including Superman II and Superman IV. He led a memorable film, Uncommon Valor, about rescuing POWs in Vietnam, and an even more iconic part as the head coach in Hoosiers. He was one of the busiest movie actors in the 1980s.
The 1990s involved more great films for him, especially his role in Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood and he earned his second Oscar win for it. He led blockbuster films such as Crimson Tide with Denzel Washington and Enemy of the State with Will Smith. His career slowed in the 2000s with some more hits and a few misses at the box office. He officially retired from acting on July 7, 2004, during an interview with Larry King. In 2009, he spoke more about his retirement to Farout Magazine, “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.” He retired to a quiet life in Santa Fe with his wife and dogs. He continued to cycle and write. He and his wife will be missed. We Are The Mighty expresses our heartfelt condolences to the Hackman and Arakawa families.