Gene
Hackman
as
Lex
Luthor
in
Superman
2.
Oscar-winning
actor
Gene
Hackman,
his
wife
Betsy
Arakawa
and
their
dog
were
found
dead
at
their
New
Mexico
home,
authorities
have
confirmed.
The
office
of
Santa
Fe
county
sheriff,
Adan
Mendoza,
confirmed
their
deaths
to
Variety.
There
is
no
immediate
indication
of
foul
play,
per
authorities,
though
the
sheriff’s
office
did
not
immediately
provide
a
cause
of
death.
“All
I
can
say
is
that
we’re
in
the
middle
of
a
preliminary
death
investigation,
waiting
on
approval
of
a
search
warrant,”
the
sheriff
told
the
Santa
Fe
New
Mexican.
The
statement
came
before
authorities
had
positively
identified
the
pair,
per
the
publication.
“I
want
to
assure
the
community
and
neighborhood
that
there’s
no
immediate
danger
to
anyone.”
One
of
the
industry’s
most
honoured
performers,
Hackman,
95,
was
a
five-time
Oscar
nominee
who
starred
in
dozens
of
films.
He
received
two
Oscar
wins,
for
The
French
Connection
and
Unforgiven.
He
had
also
won
two
BAFTA
Awards
and
four
Golden
Globes.
Hackman
always
had
a
surprise
hit
up
his
sleeve,
as
in
films
like
The
French
Connection
II,
The
Firm
and
even
The
Poseidon
Adventure.
Hackman
delivered
an
impressive
array
of
performances
that
have
only
grown
in
stature
over
time.
His
Harry
Caul
in
Francis
Ford
Coppola’s
The
Conversation
is
every
bit
as
strong
and
well
delineated
now
as
when
the
film
debuted
in
1974.
The
same
is
true
of
his
stoic
promoter
in
the
Michael
Ritchie
ski
film
Downhill
Racer.
In
1990,
around
the
time
he
and
Arakawa
made
Santa
Fe
their
home,
Hackman
underwent
angioplasty
due
to
congestive
heart
failure.
He
continued
to
work
as
a
screen
actor
for
14
years,
as
per
Variety.
Hackman
also
penned
three
novels
with
undersea
archaeologist
Daniel
Lenihan:
Wake
of
the
Perdido
Star
(1999),
Justice
for
None
(2004)
and
Escape
From
Andersonville
(2008).
His
2011
work,
Payback
at
Morning
Peak,
was
a
solo
effort.
He
was
married
twice
and
had
three
children.
His
first
marriage
to
Faye
Maltese
lasted
30
years
from
1956
to
86.
Hackman
married
Arakawa
in
1991.
Arakawa
was
a
classical
pianist.
