The elderly are like Haiti, everyone knows where they are, but visitors are scarce.
Gene Hackman and his wife found dead
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After Gene Hackman retired from acting in 2004 he and his wife became recluses, the house they lived in was part of a gated community.
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A new update from CBS news:
As was pointed out in the clip the two of them were very private.
If I were to speculate what Gene Hackman died from my guess, given that he was fitted with a pacemaker, was a heart-attack which could be the last event registered on February 17th.
On a completely different note here are some clips from "Hearbreakers" where he played a tobacco baron addicted to his own product:
A rather nasty smoker's cough there.
Since this film was released in 2001 it would've been one of the last films he did before he retired.
As was pointed out in the clip the two of them were very private.
If I were to speculate what Gene Hackman died from my guess, given that he was fitted with a pacemaker, was a heart-attack which could be the last event registered on February 17th.
On a completely different note here are some clips from "Hearbreakers" where he played a tobacco baron addicted to his own product:
A rather nasty smoker's cough there.
Since this film was released in 2001 it would've been one of the last films he did before he retired.
Gene Hackman was also one of the lead characters from the 1972 disaster film "The Poseidon Adventure":
I was very annoyed that Gene Hackman's character almost made it to the end only to be killed off in the Poseidon's engine-room. In regards to the 1970s disaster films I'm surprised and disappointed that Gene Hackman wasn't cast in "The Towering Inferno" which had a LOT of big acting names appearing in the film.
I was very annoyed that Gene Hackman's character almost made it to the end only to be killed off in the Poseidon's engine-room. In regards to the 1970s disaster films I'm surprised and disappointed that Gene Hackman wasn't cast in "The Towering Inferno" which had a LOT of big acting names appearing in the film.
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Gene Hackman definitely fell (Either because of a medical event or he slipped and fell) and I won't be surprised if the cause of death is revealed to be a fatal heart-attack, as for his wife, Betsy Arakawa, she was found dead in their bathroom with an open bottle of prescription medication (Yet to be revealed) with pills scattered on the floor. What I suspect is that it was a case of death by natural-causes (Remember that Gene Hackman was 95) followed by a suicide (Betsy Arakawa), the two of them had been married since 1991 (34 years) and were reported to be deeply devoted to each other.
Some new details about the 911 call have just been revealed, from News Nation:
So while their deaths don't appear to be the result of foul-play the circumstances in which they died made the police suspicious. Betsy Arakawa's toxicology report will be of great interest as it will reveal if she lethal levels of a prescription dedication in her system when she died.
At the 2025 Oscars Morgan Freeman gave a tribute to Gene Hackman:
So while their deaths don't appear to be the result of foul-play the circumstances in which they died made the police suspicious. Betsy Arakawa's toxicology report will be of great interest as it will reveal if she lethal levels of a prescription dedication in her system when she died.
At the 2025 Oscars Morgan Freeman gave a tribute to Gene Hackman:
Gene Hackman cause of death bombshell as police issue statement
Another update into the deaths of Hollywood veteran Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa has been delivered.
Regards,
Another "headline does not match content." There is no "bombshell."Gene Hackman cause of death bombshell as police issue statement
Another update into the deaths of Hollywood veteran Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa has been delivered.www.express.co.uk
Regards,
martinbayer
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I am shocked, shocked to find that no actual reporting is going on in here...
Who had this on their bingo card?
https://wtop.com/national/2025/03/i...-death-with-update-by-new-mexico-authorities/
Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say
https://wtop.com/national/2025/03/i...-death-with-update-by-new-mexico-authorities/
Not what I expected and while it's sad that Gene Hackman had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease in hindsight given his age it's not surprising, I can't imagine what it must've been like for the poor man stumbling around on his own not comprehending his wife, Betsy, was gone. I can't help but wonder that if they hadn't been recluses and had regular visits they'd still be alive. If she was sick from a viral-infection I wonder why she didn't call her doctor and get taken to hospital for treatment?
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An old person with Hanta virus can go down pretty quick, especially if they start off just thinking they have the sniffles. Given that this was February...
Orthohantavirus - Wikipedia
"For HPS, initial symptoms are flu-like, with fever, headache, and muscle pain, followed by sudden respiratory failure."
I had the flu 2 months ago. The symptoms were much the same apart from the sudden death thing. She may have gone from "I'm fine and I'll get over this with some bedrest and chicken noodle soup" to being unable to pick up a phone in a matter of hours to minutes.
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Gene Hackman Survived in Home Alone With Advanced Alzheimer’s for a Week After Wife’s Death
The Santa Fe sheriff and the city's medical examiner shared that the mysterious deaths of the actor and his pianist wife were due to severe cardiovascular disease and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, respectively.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
The sequence of events leading to the tragic outcome are so extraordinary and awful. If it was a film you wouldn’t believe it.
R.I.P.
Gene Hackman Survived in Home Alone With Advanced Alzheimer’s for a Week After Wife’s Death
The Santa Fe sheriff and the city's medical examiner shared that the mysterious deaths of the actor and his pianist wife were due to severe cardiovascular disease and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, respectively.
The sequence of events leading to the tragic outcome are so extraordinary and awful. If it was a film you wouldn’t believe it.
R.I.P.
The last week of his life would've been a truly shitty, miserable and hellish experience for him not understanding what had happened before he died
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jeffb
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Gene Hackman Survived in Home Alone With Advanced Alzheimer’s for a Week After Wife’s Death
The Santa Fe sheriff and the city's medical examiner shared that the mysterious deaths of the actor and his pianist wife were due to severe cardiovascular disease and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, respectively.
The sequence of events leading to the tragic outcome are so extraordinary and awful. If it was a film you wouldn’t believe it.
R.I.P.
Unfortunately, many couples reach this sort of state, one declines faster than the other who winds up becomes primary care giver. Usually the ages are closer together so that when it gets too hard, the decision to move into care or get someone in is much easier. But Arakawa was only 65 so they probably thought they'd have a few more years at least until his needs became too much.
Very sad. I suspect it's a story that's repeated more often than you'd think though.
I suspect that they both thought that she would outlive him due to their 30 year age-difference and planned accordingly.
Weird Al’s parents had perhaps the best exit—for that really was from carbon monoxide.
They were near the end of their lives—but they were still healthy enough to where they had no expectation of not waking up the next day.
While it was tough on Al, neither parent had to grieve/bury the other.
You couldn’t ask for a better end, except for both of them dying in bed.
They were near the end of their lives—but they were still healthy enough to where they had no expectation of not waking up the next day.
While it was tough on Al, neither parent had to grieve/bury the other.
You couldn’t ask for a better end, except for both of them dying in bed.
In modern societies there are more and more elderly people who live and die alone. When they retire, the phone stops ringing and then the years go by too quickly.
As far as I understand their deaths were an accident not suicide.
In modern societies there are more and more elderly people who live and die alone. When they retire, the phone stops ringing and then the years go by too quickly.
While this is a good point Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa could've easily afforded at least one live-in helper but didn't due to them being recluses, if at least one such helper had been present in their house I think they'd still be alive.
My better half is a DR/GP and when we were talking, she indicated a common issue with advanced dementia is anger and aggressive behaviour which makes it hard to get care givers.
Normally at an advance stage you're looking at an age care home as they have the capacity and staffing.
It seems that his partner was his primary carer and so when she died it left him truly helpless.
Regards,
Normally at an advance stage you're looking at an age care home as they have the capacity and staffing.
It seems that his partner was his primary carer and so when she died it left him truly helpless.
Regards,
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I've heard about dementia patients being hard to handle due to behavioural issues and it would certainly be hard around-the-clock for an ordinary person looking after them.
From what I've heard it would appear that Gene Hackman had needed at least one professional carer/live-in helper to help look after him.
Given that he was a multi-millionaire this is where I find it a bit baffling that he didn't have professional live-in help as he could've easily afforded it.
On another ABC had released a clip a day ago giving a brief public briefing (A gets a little technical) describing what they died from and Gene Hackman it turns out was in bad shape mentally AND physically, I doubt he would've reached the end of 2025.
For something more light-hearted here are the Honest Trailer reviews for Superman I and Superman IV (Gene Hackman played Lex Luthor):
In the second trailer it amuses me how Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) pronounces nuclear "Nucluar".
In the second trailer it amuses me how Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) pronounces nuclear "Nucluar"
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Scott Kenny
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Grandpa had dementia, he was an absolute asshole before he passed. He barely made it 6 months after Grandma passed from leukemia, and as soon as Grandma was gone so was Grandpa's mind. He'd go from 4 to 14 to 40 in a single sentence.
If I get diagnosed with dementia, I'm punching my own ticket. The hell with slowly fading away!
If I get diagnosed with dementia, I'm punching my own ticket. The hell with slowly fading away!
Hackmans children weren't in his $80 million will. That "why didn't the kids check in more often" mystery is coming into focus.
Looks like everything is going to "charity."
https://nypost.com/2025/03/14/enter...-his-will-what-will-happen-to-his-80m-fortune
Looks like everything is going to "charity."
https://nypost.com/2025/03/14/enter...-his-will-what-will-happen-to-his-80m-fortune
If he cut his own children out of his will I'm not surprised at all they didn't bother visiting him, I wonder if they will contest the will?
On another note I won't be surprised at all if there are already Hollywood script writers drafting scrips for a biopic about Gene Hackman's life. I wonder if it would get the HBO treatment (10 episode series with a big-screen budget)? The question is who would play Gene Hackman?
Scott Kenny
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More likely the other way around. Kids didn't visit, so he cut them out of the will.
And yes, with some 80mil on the table I expect them to contest it.
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I imagine this could get messy.
deadline.com
Gene Hackman’s Children “Not Named In His Will, But Could Still Claim Estate”: Report
Hackman died last month, a week after his wife of 30 years Betsy Arakawa, at their home in New Mexico.
deadline.com
Gene Hackman had been publicly on the record in various interviews that he prioritised his acting-career when his children were growing up (And that he regretted it) so he was a largely absent father also when he was around was he a good father or an abusive one like Jerry Lewis or Bing Crosby for example?
And the thing is that in his new will he left everything to his wife, Betsy Arakawa, but she's dead too so the question is who are the beneficiaries in her will? As far as I know she didn't have any children of her own so does she have any family of her own? Are her parents still alive (They'd be around the same age as her husband was), does she have any siblings and if so nieces and/or nephews?
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Doesn't necessarily matter, since she pre-deceased him.
Good point! In that case I wonder what, if any, provisions his will had for that scenario? I'm not a lawyer but it would seem to me that this favours his children if they decide to contest the will (Personally I hope they do and succeed).
MrPhantomMan
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Honestly, I hope all of the people I saw speculating on the cause of death online really have a good look at themselves.
If they can't go the local pub then online is all they have. That said, respect for privacy should be there. Respect for the fact that the competent authorities will provide answers at the appropriate time.
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