by Abb Jones
The Reelness

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arawara and one of their three dogs have been found dead in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hackman was 95. Arawara, a former classical pianist, was 64.

Santa Fe County authorities made the discovery Wednesday afternoon. (Update: autopsies have revealed that Arawara first died in the house from Hantavirus a week before Hackman died of heart disease and advanced Alzheimer’s disease.)

Born in San Bernadino, California but spending much of his childhood in Danville, Illinois, Hackman decided at the age of 10 that he wanted to be an actor. After several years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and acting school in California, he would move to New York City with his good friends Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall, working in off-Broadway productions and landing various bit parts in TV series, before getting his big break in his Broadway debut in 1963 in “Children From Their Games.”

1967’s Bonnie and Clyde earned Hackman his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He would go on to win two Academy Awards – for Best Actor in 1971’s The French Connection and Best Supporting Actor in the 1992 Clint Eastwood Oscar-winning Western, Unforgiven.

Among Hackman’s other notable film roles are 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure, as villain Lex Luther in three Superman movies, 1981’s Reds, 1986’s Hoosiers, and 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums.

In 2004, Hackman announced on CNN’s Larry King Live that he had no future film projects and believed his acting career was over. He would go on to write three historical fiction novels.

Married twice, the proud Democrat is survived by three children from his first marriage of 30 years to Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.