Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy's Friends Remember Their Deep Connection: ‘She Just Adored Him'
Members of Gene Hackman and wife Betsy's community in Santa Fe, New Mexico are opening up about the couple, weeks after they were both found dead in their home on Feb. 26.
In ABC News' special report The Last Days of Gene Hackman, which aired Tuesday, March 18, multiple people whom the network identified as friends of the couple spoke to their close relationship and warm personalities.
"Gene was a real guy's guy. He was a gentle giant, very calm," Kevin Bobolosky, identified as the couple's real estate broker, said. "Betsy, I think, mostly did all the cooking and cleaning on this big estate, out of love. She just adored him. So they had everything they wanted."
Stuart Ashman, a former director of Santa Fe's Museum of Fine Arts, recalled first meeting Hackman, who held a passion for painting outside of his film career, in the mid-1990s.
"When he talked to you, nothing else existed," Ashman said of the two-time Academy Award winner. "He was only interested in you, and he was very generous with his time, with his storytelling and also with his finances."
Related: Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's Estates Share Update on Couple's Surviving Dogs: 'Both Are Safe' and 'Healthy'
Another man whom ABC News identified as Gene and Betsy's friend, Stephan Marshall, described Betsy as "a lovely and charming woman." She and Gene first met in the late 1980s at a gym in California, where Betsy worked at the time, as the special reported. Gene and Betsy married in 1991; he shared three adult children — Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58 — with his first wife Faye Maltese, whom he was married to from 1956 to 1986. Maltese died in 2017 at 88.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"She had been with Gene since she was pretty young," Marshall said of Betsy, who was a classically trained pianist and skilled musician. "He was very proud of her accomplishments; she had played with the Honolulu Philharmonic Orchestra."
Related: Who Inherits Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy's Estate? Why It Matters Who Died First, According to a Legal Expert
ABC News' special features interviews with Santa Fe sheriff Adan Mendoza and reporters and journalists who covered Gene's career in addition to those who said they were friends with the actor and Betsy.
"That really struck home with me thinking about Betsy. I'm sure it just never occurred to anybody that she wouldn't outlast him," Marshall said, regarding officials' belief that Betsy died on Feb. 12, one week before her husband's death.
A medical examiner found that the acting legend died from heart disease, high blood pressure and advanced Alzheimer's after Betsy died from hantavirus, a virus spread by rodents.
Gene died at 95, while Betsy was 65 at the time of her death.
ABC News' Last Days of Gene Hackman special airs Tuesday, March 18
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ohio State sexual abuse documentary premieres at prestigious film festival
NEW YORK CITY (WCMH) – Survivors of Ohio State University sexual predator Dr. Richard Strauss are coming together Monday in New York City. The HBO documentary detailing the team doctor's 20 years of abusing young male athletes will get its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Central Ohio bitten by price cycling bug at the gas pump The film is called 'Surviving Ohio State,' and many of the survivors featured in the film were first interviewed by NBC4's Colleen Marshall and photographer Steve Wainfor for the award-winning series of reports, 'Culture of Cover-up.' Marshall, who was interviewed for the documentary, is in Manhattan for the premiere. 'Surviving Ohio State' is one of 118 films selected for the Tribeca Film Festival from out of nearly 14,000 submissions. The survivors of Strauss kept quiet for decades, internalizing their trauma, but back in 2018, they started talking. 'He molested me the same way that he did others, and a lot of intimidation,' survivor Steven Snyder Hill said. Family owned central Ohio steakhouse closes Gahanna location 'We would see Dr. Strauss coming out of the showers and he would see us coming down the stairs, and he would turn, go right back into the showers, stay in there from the first guy to the last guy,' survivor Dan Richie said. 'Every day, I'm thinking, 'Holy ****, did these people not have kids? Do these people not have hearts or souls,'' another survivor said. 'There's a special place for these people and it's not heaven. For those that knew, I mean, they knew, Colleen.' One by one, survivors shared their anguished stories as they described being sexually abused, even being drugged and raped by Strauss. But they also shared their anger as they learned the Strauss assaults lasted for nearly 20 years, and they said university leaders, even their own coaches, knew. Now, the stories they shared will be on the big screen, and in one week, available across the country on HBO MAX. Snyder Hill was the student who persistently complained about Strauss back in 1995 until the university allowed the doctor to retire, with a pension and emeritus status. He is also one of hundreds of survivors in federal lawsuits against the university, accusing Ohio State leaders of turning a blind eye to what Strauss was doing. Ohio State announces every student will use AI in class Kent Kirkland is not in the documentary, and is telling his story for the first time. He flew to New York from Florida with his wife to see the movie because he is a Strauss victim and now part of this brotherhood of survivors. 'Surviving Ohio State' is a two-hour film and will be shown in two different theaters Monday and Tuesday nights as part of the 12-day film festival. Film critics and members of the public will watch the movie, and then there will be a question-and-answer session with Academy Award-winning director Eva Orner. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
2 hours ago
'Call Her Daddy' host Alex Cooper accuses former soccer coach of sexual harassment
Alex Cooper, host of the popular podcast "Call Her Daddy," has accused her former Boston University soccer coach, Nancy Feldman, of uncomfortable encounters that Cooper characterizes as sexual harassment. Cooper made the allegation in her new Hulu documentary "Call Her Alex," which premiered on Sunday at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Cooper, who played collegiate soccer at Boston University, said in the documentary that the alleged harassment began during her sophomore year, when she said Feldman, "really starting to fixate on me, way more than any other teammate of mine, and it was confusing." "[It] was all based in her wanting to know who I was dating, her making comments about my body and her always wanting to be alone with me," Cooper alleged in the documentary. She claimed Feldman placed a hand on her thigh and asked about her sex life. "It was this psychotic game of, 'You want to play? Tell me about your sex life,'" Cooper said, adding that Feldman would tell her, "I have to drive you to your night class. Get in the car with me alone." "I felt so deeply uncomfortable," she said. In the documentary, Cooper said she didn't feel she could come forward at the time because she was on a full-tuition scholarship. After sharing the allegations with her parents, Cooper said they contacted lawyers, but were advised the case could drag on for years. Despite a meeting, she said the Boston University athletics officials failed to act. Feldman was not fired, though she later retired in 2022. While Cooper chose not to play soccer her senior year, she retained her scholarship. She returned to Boston University while filming the documentary and broke down in tears upon seeing the field, reflecting on all that she had lost. "When I look back at that time in my life, I was scared, hopeless," Cooper said in the documentary. "I had no resources and no options, and the minute I left that campus, I was so determined to find a way where no one could ever silence me again." ABC News has reached out to Feldman and representatives from Boston University for comment but has not yet received a response.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Erika Jayne Left 'Emotionally Destroyed' After Estranged Husband's 7-Year Prison Sentence For Wire Fraud
Erika Jayne has reportedly been hit hard by her estranged husband Tom Girardi's wire fraud scandal. According to reports, seeing someone she "loved and trusted" accused of such crimes has left her "emotionally destroyed." The former attorney was sentenced to over seven years in prison for his crimes, despite being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in March 2021. Tom Gerardi and Erika Jayne remain legally married, although the reality star filed for divorce in November 2020 after 21 years of marriage. After being found guilty of four counts of wire fraud in August 2024, it was only a matter of time before disgraced attorney Tom Girardi was sentenced for his crimes. That sentence was recently handed down, consisting of 87 months in prison and an order to pay a $35,000 fine, along with $2,310,247 in restitution. In the wake of the sentencing, an attorney representing Girardi's estranged wife, Erika Jayne, has revealed how the reality star feels about the situation. "Erika spent many years with Tom; she is experiencing a wave of emotions," said the attorney, Jim Wilkes, about his client, per The U.S. Sun. "I'm sure she's emotionally destroyed, but there's a part of her that's shut off and compartmentalized." He added, "If someone you loved and trusted, and everyone else told you to trust, broke every bit of trust you had in them and didn't even tell you, covered it up, how would you feel?" Amid Girardi's legal troubles, he was diagnosed with dementia and late-onset Alzheimer's in 2021. His health struggles later led to him being placed under a conservatorship by his younger brother, Robert, that same year. At the time the illness became known, some of Girardi's victims doubted its legitimacy, even going so far as to file a motion opposing the conservatorship appointment. Ultimately, Girardi was found competent to stand trial, but doubts still remained about whether he is genuinely ill. Now, Wilkes, Jayne's lawyer, who had a professional relationship with Girardi prior to his arrest, says he believes Girardi is genuinely suffering from dementia. However, he is also of the opinion that the octogenarian deserves to be held accountable for his actions. "He's been charged and sentenced to prison, that's what happens to people who do this," he said. "Am I happy about it? No. I'm not happy to see anyone suffer." "But Tom was a prominent figure, and he did some stupid stuff; he deserves to be punished for what he did," the lawyer added. "You have to deal with the consequences, the system is not perfect, but I'm sure he'll be in minimum security as he's no threat, but prison is still prison." The four wire fraud charges against Girardi stem from accusations that he allegedly embezzled settlement proceeds meant for the surviving family members of those who lost their lives in the tragic crash of Lion Air Flight 610. At the time the claim was filed, it was stated that the former personal injury attorney had lavishly spent the money to fund his and his estranged wife Jayne's Beverly Hills lifestyle. The amount in question was believed to be at least $15 million in settlement funds from four clients. Now that he has been sentenced, Girardi is required to surrender to federal authorities on or before July 17, as stated in the judge's ruling. However, it remains unclear where he will serve his sentence, although the judge ruled it will be in a federal prison. After Girardi was found guilty of the wire fraud charges, prosecuting attorney Bill Essayli ripped into him in a statement to the press. "This self-proclaimed 'champion of justice' was nothing more than a thief and a liar who conned his vulnerable clients out of millions of dollars," he said, adding that he intends to prosecute dubious lawyers like Girardi and their cronies. Meanwhile, IRS special agent Tyler Hatcher, who assisted with the investigation, claimed the jury's decision will serve as a salve for victims of the disgraced lawyer. "This sentencing brings a level of recompense for countless victims of Mr. Girardi's long-running scheme to enrich himself on the backs of clients who trusted him in some of their worst days," he said, per The U.S. Sun. Hatcher added, "This sentencing [also] demonstrates criminals cannot evade the unrivaled acumen of IRS-CI special agents in following the money, as well as the effectiveness of our partnerships with fellow law enforcement organizations like the FBI."
