Connect with us

Published

on

Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife have been found dead, with authorities saying the couple had seemingly been deceased for some time when their bodies were discovered.

Hackman, 95, and his 63-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home on Wednesday, it was announced this morning. One of their pet dogs also died.

Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said deputies found the bodies while carrying out a welfare check on Wednesday at around 1.45pm local time.

The actor’s body was discovered in a mudroom while Arakawa was found in a bathroom next to a heater, detectives from the sheriff’s office wrote in a search warrant.

Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa in 1991. Pic: Dave Lewis/Shutterstock
Image:
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa in 1991. Pic: Dave Lewis/Shutterstock

There were scattered pills and an open prescription bottle on a countertop near the 63-year-old.

There was no indication they had been shot and they had no other wounds, Ms Avila said. The warrant added the door to the property was found ajar and there were no signs of forced entry.

A German Shepherd was found dead in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, police added. Two healthy dogs were on the property.

The police have since said the deaths of Hackman and his wife are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.

The actor’s daughter had earlier suggested they may have been killed by carbon monoxide – but the cause of death remains unclear. Speaking to TMZ, Elizabeth Jean Hackman said the family was not sure but thought the couple may have died from toxic fumes.

Santa Fe County deputies remain outside the house belonging to actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were earlier found dead, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)
Image:
Authorities outside the couple’s home. Pic. AP

The local utility company tested gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were found and did not find any sign of problems, the warrant said.

In a statement issued to Sky News, the sheriff’s office said: “We do not believe foul play was a factor in their deaths, however exact cause of death has not been determined at this time.”

Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter, Annie, said: “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa.

“We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss,” they added in a statement.

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

The French Connection. Pic: 20th Century Fox/D'Antoni Productions/Schine-Moore Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
Image:
The French Connection earned him his first Oscar. Pic: 20th Century Fox/D’Antoni Productions/Schine-Moore Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock

He was also known for playing Lex Luthor in the Superman films of the late 1970s and 1980s.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Hollywood actor Gene Hackman dies aged 95

Roles in the Francis Ford Coppola mystery thriller The Conversation and in the historical drama Mississippi Burning, where he starred as an FBI agent alongside Willem Dafoe, helped cement his career as one of Hollywood’s greats.

"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve. Pic: THA/Shutterstock
Image:
Playing Lex Luthor alongside Christopher Reeve’s Superman. Pic: THA/Shutterstock

Long career

The former US 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 earned his first Oscar nomination for his breakout role as the brother of bank robber Clyde Barrow in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde.

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

Read more:
Follow latest: Actor and wife were dead for some time
In pictures: Hollywood legend on silver screen

Crimson Tide. Pic: Richard Foreman/THA/Shutterstock
Image:
He starred alongside Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide. Pic: Richard Foreman/THA/Shutterstock

In the early 2000s, he starred as an eccentric patriarch in The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson.

Hackman’s final film appearance was in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport, after which he retired from acting and began co-writing adventure novels with friend and underwater archaeologist Daniel Lenihan.

“It’s very relaxing for me,” Hackman told Empire Magazine in 2020. “I don’t picture myself as a great writer, but I really enjoy the process.”

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Everett/Shutterstock
Image:
Playing the villain in Unforgiven. Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

‘He could play anyone’

Michael Caine revered Hackman as “one of the greatest actors” he had known while presenting him with the Cecil B DeMille Award in 2003.

Arakawa was a classical pianist. The couple married in 1991 and lived outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Hackman had three children, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.

Star Trek star George Takei said: “We have lost one of the true giants of the screen,” in a tribute on X.

“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it.

“He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was,” Takei wrote on X.

“He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”

Read more from arts and entertainment:
Oscars A-Z: From Anora to a (disqualified) Hans Zimmer
Gossip Girl and Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress dies aged 39

FILE - Actor Gene Hackman, winner of Best Supporting Actor at academy awards in March 1993. Hackman will turn 80 years on Jan. 30, 2010. (AP Photo, File)
Image:
Gene Hackman won his second Oscar in 1993. Pic: AP

Irish comedian Dara O Briain called Hackman “the finest screen actor ever”.

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

Hackman was versatile on screen, working with a face that he described to the New York Times in 1989 as that of “your everyday mine worker.”

StudioCanal, the UK arm of the leading European film studio, called Hackman’s death “a colossal loss for cinema” in a tribute posted on X.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawyers call for acquittal or retrial on prostitution-related charges

Published

on

By

Sean 'Diddy' Combs lawyers call for acquittal or retrial on prostitution-related charges

Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs have called for him to be acquitted of prostitution-related offences, or given a new trial on the same charges.

Combs, 55, was found guilty of two counts of transportation for engagement in prostitution at the end of his high-profile trial in New York earlier this month – for flying girlfriends and male sex workers around the US and abroad for sexual encounters referred to as “freak offs”.

However, he was cleared of more serious charges of racketeering, conspiracy and sex-trafficking.

Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Sean "Diddy" Combs, speaks to the media outside the court.
Pic Reuters
Image:
Marc Agnifilo is one of the lawyers on the defence team. Pic: Reuters

The hip-hop mogul has been in prison since his arrest in September 2024 and is due to be sentenced in October.

On Tuesday, his lawyers made a renewed request for his release on a $50m bond ahead of the hearing.

Now, they have filed another motion to the court, saying it “should either grant a judgment of acquittal or, at a minimum, a new trial” on the prostitution-related offences.

In the new filing, Combs’s defence team said the US government had “painted him as a monster” ever since his arrest, but argued his two-month trial showed allegations of a “20-year racketeering enterprise and of sex trafficking multiple women… were not supported by credible evidence, and the jury rejected them”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

How the Diddy trial unfolded

They also say that to their knowledge, he is “the only person” ever convicted of these charges for the conduct he was accused of in court.

“It is undisputed that he had no commercial motive and that all involved were adults,” the filing states. “The men chose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily. The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable or exploited or trafficked or sexually assaulted during the freak offs or hotel nights.”

Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

They describe the prosecution’s evidence on the counts as “thin at best” and say the trial would have been “totally different” had the rapper only been charged with the prostitution-related offences and not the more serious counts.

“Sean Combs sits in jail based on evidence that he paid adult male escorts and entertainers who engaged in consensual sexual activities with his former girlfriends, which he videotaped and later watched with the girlfriends. That is not prostitution, and if it is, his conviction is unconstitutional,” the filing says.

Combs, one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all time, faces being jailed for several years after his conviction on the prostitution-related charges.

But he was cleared of the more serious charges that could have put him in prison for life – and the verdict was hailed a “victory” by his team.

Immediately after he was acquitted of those charges, his lawyers asked for his release on bond. The request was denied by Judge Arun Subramanian, who heard the trial, and said Combs at the time had not met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community”.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Ozzy Osbourne is given final tour of Birmingham – with thousands of fans flooding streets to pay their respects

Published

on

By

Ozzy Osbourne is given final tour of Birmingham - with thousands of fans flooding streets to pay their respects

Ozzy Osbourne has taken his final tour of Birmingham – with his family experiencing the love of thousands of fans who turned out to see the heavy metal star come home.

“We love you, Ozzy!” came the shouts from the crowd as his cortege stopped at Black Sabbath Bridge in the city, a site that has become a shrine to the performer since his death at 76 last week.

His family and loved ones, including his wife Sharon Osbourne and their children Jack, Kelly and Aimee, spent several minutes taking in all the flowers, messages and other tributes left in an outpouring of love from fans.

The family of Ozzy Osbourne (left to right) Jack Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne and Kelly Osbourne lay flowers.
Pic PA
Image:
Jack, Sharon and Kelly Osbourne laid flowers. Pic: PA

Sharon was in tears as she took it all in. Supported by her children, she gave a peace sign to the crowd before returning to the procession vehicles.

Each family member carried a pink rose, wrapped in black paper, tied with a purple ribbon – the traditional Black Sabbath colours. The flowers bearing his name in the hearse were also purple.

Before reaching the city centre, the cortege had travelled past Ozzy’s childhood home in Aston. Just a few weeks ago, he was on stage at Villa Park performing his final gig alongside many of the musicians his music had inspired, from Metallica to Guns N’ Roses to Yungblud.

Heavy metal, reality TV and biting bats: Ozzy Osbourne obituary

A man passes by a mural of Ozzy Osbourne, the former Black Sabbath frontman, ahead of the funeral cortege, in Birmingham.
Pic Reuters
Image:
Tributes to Ozzy can be seen all over Birmingham. Pic: Reuters

On a hugely emotional day, his presence could be felt throughout the city, with the star’s music playing in pubs and posters paying tribute: “Birmingham will always love you.”

For fans, this was a chance to say not just goodbye, but also thank you to a star who never forgot where he came from. His remarkable achievements from humble beginnings and continued love for his hometown, even when he lived thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, meant that for many, the loss feels incredibly personal.

People gather around tributes at the Black Sabbath Bridge.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
The Black Sabbath Bridge has become a shrine in recent days. Pic: Reuters

‘The Prince of Laughter – not Darkness’

Graham Wright, a roadie who worked with Black Sabbath in the 1970s and beyond, up to the Back To The Beginning reunion gig at Villa Park, told Sky News he would remember Ozzy not by his traditional nickname, the Prince of Darkness – but as the Prince of Laughter instead.

“It was a shock he left us so soon after [the show],” he said. “The show was tough for him but he was determined to say goodbye to his fans, that was the main thing. It was important for all four of [Black Sabbath] to get back together and do a farewell.

“The tears will be flowing today to see the Ozz man – the Prince of Laughter, not Darkness. He really was. We’ll all miss him.”

A person gestures as the funeral cortege of Ozzy Osbourne.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

‘My mum used to say he was a lovely boy’

Chris Mason, general manager of The Brasshouse pub, which is next to Black Sabbath Bridge, said music by the band and Ozzy’s solo material had been played pretty much “on loop” since his death.

“I’m a metal fan and Ozzy being the godfather of the scene – if not for Ozzy and Black Sabbath, we wouldn’t have heavy metal,” he said. “This is what Birmingham is about, bringing people together, and Ozzy and Black Sabbath did that.

“He was Mr Birmingham and his family have brought him back.”

Mohabbat Ali, who used to live on the same street as Ozzy’s childhood home, said the property had become one of the focal points for tributes in the city.

Describing what it was like living near him, he said: “He played guitars, very loud at night sometimes, but my mum used to say he was a lovely boy.”

From an era of preening rock gods, Ozzy was the real deal


Katie Spencer

Katie Spencer

Arts and entertainment correspondent

The sea of black was always a given – but this wasn’t about respecting funeral traditions. Ozzy himself had previously said he wanted his send-off, when it came, to be a celebration and not a “mope-fest”.

This was his final tour in the city that meant so much to him.

For fans, he meant so much to them.

For his family, the emotion was raw.
Sharon, his soulmate, has spent her life and career organising his shows, and it was clear how hard this day was for her.

After they left, fans flooded the streets to lay flowers.

Not since David Bowie has an artist’s death prompted such an outpouring of emotion. From an era of preening rock gods, Ozzy was the real deal – one of the most notorious figures in rock, but a man who remained as Brummie as can be.

‘A true legend who never forgot his roots’

Birmingham’s lord mayor, Councillor Zafar Iqbal, also attended the procession and spoke of the city’s pride in Ozzy.

“What a great honour for us to have him here one last time,” he said. “The love for Ozzy – well, you can feel it in the air.”

The star put both Aston and Birmingham on the map, he said, and always took the time to get to know people.

Mr Iqbal said Ozzy sent him a letter after reading on the mayor’s website biography how he had struggled with dyslexia at school – something the star identified with.

“I’ve got the letter in a frame and it’s in my office… he was just a natural human being, down to earth. You wouldn’t have known he was a rock star – but he was a true legend, who never forgot his roots.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs asks judge to release him on $50m bond as he awaits sentencing

Published

on

By

Sean 'Diddy' Combs asks judge to release him on m bond as he awaits sentencing

Disgraced hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has asked a judge to release him on a $50m bond as he waits to be sentenced for prostitution-related offences.

Combs’s lawyer has argued that conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn are dangerous and noted that others convicted of similar offences were typically released before sentencing.

“Sean Combs should not be in jail for this conduct,” Marc Agnifilo said in a court filing on Tuesday.

“In fact, he may be the only person currently in a United States jail for being any sort of John, and certainly the only person in jail for hiring adult male escorts for him and his girlfriend.”

A “John” in the US is a slang term for somebody who hires a prostitute.

A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors have previously insisted he remains a flight risk and should therefore not be granted bail.

The 55-year-old, one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all time, faces up to a decade in prison after he was convicted earlier this month of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

The charges relate to how he flew people around the US, including his girlfriends and male sex workers, for sexual encounters.

Read more:
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
What it was like in court for start of P Diddy trial

Sean "Diddy" Combs reacts after verdicts are read of the five counts against him, during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New
Image:
Combs knelt at his chair and appeared to pray after the verdicts

Combs was cleared of three more serious charges – two for sex trafficking and one for racketeering conspiracy – following his landmark trial in New York.

A conviction on one of those charges could have put him in prison for life.

Immediately after he was acquitted of those charges on 2 July, Mr Agnifilo had asked that Combs be released on bond.

But Judge Arun Subramanian denied it, saying Combs at the time had not met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community”.

Combs is the latest celebrity inmate to be locked up at MDC Brooklyn, the only federal jail in New York City, joining a list that includes R Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

Continue Reading

Trending