Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and wife found dead at home

Actor Gene Hackman and his wife have been found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, police have said.

Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told Sky News: “We do not believe foul play was a factor in their deaths however, exact cause of death has not been determined at this time.”

Local reports said the couple died along with their dog.

Hackman, 95, won an Oscar for a leading role in The French Connection, a 1971 action movie by William Friedkin, and then again for best supporting actor in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western, Unforgiven.

He was also known for playing Lex Luthor in the Superman films of the late 1970s and 1980s, as well as The Conversation and Mississippi Burning.

The former Marine appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage during a lengthy career that
started in the early 1960s.

He is remembered for playing Captain Frank Ramsey alongside Denzel Washington in the 1995 thriller Crimson Tide.

His wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, was a classical pianist and was married to Hackman in 1991.

The couple lived outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Hackman married twice and had three children.

Irish comedian Dara O Briain posted a tribute to the actor following the news, calling Hackman “the finest screen actor ever”.

“Not a single duff performance, in a long, long career,” he wrote in a post on X.

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