Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman's wife, was a businesswoman, former pianist and decades-long companion
Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman's wife — a businesswoman, who was a steadfast companion of the screen legend and had musical talents of her own — died with him on Wednesday.
Arakawa, 64, was found dead with Hackman along with the couple's dog in their New Mexico home, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said. A search warrant says the deaths are 'suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.'
Hackman's daughter, Elizabeth, declined to comment when reached by phone, but said in a statement along with his other daughter, Leslie, and his granddaughter, Annie, that they are 'devastated' by the loss.
'It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,' Hackman's family said in the statement. '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. Arakawa, a former classical pianist, had been with the 'French Connection' actor for more than four decades. She met the actor while working part-time at a fitness center in California, according to the New York Times. Together the pair, who married in 1991, enjoyed watching DVDs that Arakawa would rent, particularly 'simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce,' Hackman told Empire in 2020.
But long before meeting the actor, Arakawa, a Hawaii native, was an accomplished young pianist. While attending Kahala Elementary School, then 11-years-old Arakawa, performed for 9,000 children at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, according to a 1971 Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper.
Arakawa moved to Los Angeles after high school, where she attended the University of Southern California. During her time there, she juggled going to classes, working as a production assistant on popular classic television game show 'Card Sharks,' and cheerleading for the now-defunct professional soccer team, the Los Angeles Aztecs, according to a 1981 issue of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
She continued performing on occasion, once giving a piano concert at the Altenheim Geriatric Center in Chicago, which was featured in Hackman's 1989 action thriller film 'The Package,' according to a Chicago Tribune newspaper from that year.
Arakawa eventually ended up in New Mexico with the actor and, according to Architectural Digest, had a big hand in the couple's home renovations, filling their household with items from their travels.
'We bought a few things in Santa Fe,' Hackman told the outlet. 'Other things came from auctions in New York, an antiques shop in Germany that Betsy and I found, and from Los Angeles.'
There, she also co-owned a home decor shop that often featured work from local artists, according to a 2005 article in The Santa Fe New Mexican.
Hackman addressed rumors that he had left his first wife, the late Faye Maltese with whom he shared three children, for Arakawa, clarifying in a 2021 interview with South Florida Sun-Sentinel that that wasn't the case.
'I did not leave my real-life wife for a younger woman. We just drifted apart,' Hackman said. 'We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Justin Baldoni slams Blake Lively's 'false' victory as he makes lawsuit vow
Actor Justin Baldoni has been locked in a legal battle with his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively as a judge dismissed his £294m defamation lawsuit against her Justin Baldoni's legal team have insisted Blake Lively's victory over her It Ends With Us co-star is "false" after his $400million lawsuit was dismissed by a judge. Their ongoing legal battle kicked off following their time working together on the film. Blake launched a sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin, who has strongly refuted the claims. He then hit back with a $400m defamation claim against her, her publicist and husband Ryan Reynolds, all of whom have dismissed the accusations. Justin went on to launch a $250m libel case against the New York Times over their coverage of Blake's allegations. Yesterday, it was reported his $400million lawsuit was dismissed. Judge Lewis J Liman dismissed the lawsuit due to Blake's allegations being made within privileged court papers, so were subsequently not defamatory. Blake's legal time branded the decision a "total victory" and "complete vindication" for the star. However, Justin's lawyer has now hit back at their celebrations and branded it "false". In a statement to the Mirror, Bryan Freedman said: "Ms. Lively and her team's predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling. "While the Court dismissed the defamation-related claims, the Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations. "This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively's own team conveniently describes as 'untraceable' because they cannot prove what never happened. "Most importantly, Ms. Lively's own claims are no truer today than they were yesterday, and with the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking. "We are grateful for the organic show of support from the public and for the dedication of the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity." A spokesperson for Blake, who stepped out at the Chanel Tribeca Festival Artists Dinner red carpet last night, had told the Daily Mail: "Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times. "As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation." The actress went on to issue a statement on Instagram as she said: "Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organisations united in defending women's rights to speak up for their safety. Like so many others, I've felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us. While the suit against me was defeated, so many don't have the resources to fight back." Blake added she was "more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman's right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story". The Gossip Girl actress, who has four children with actor Ryan Reynolds, continued: "With love and gratitude for the many who stood by me, many of you I know. Many of you I don't. But I will never stop appreciating or advocating for you."
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Glen Powell's ex blames Sydney Sweeney cheating rumours for their split saying ‘I hope they're in love'
Gigi slammed Glen's response to the huge speculation of a romance between him and Sydney played out Glen Powell's ex blames Sydney Sweeney cheating rumours for their split saying 'I hope they're in love' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) GLEN Powell's ex Gigi Paris has broken her silence on their split more than two years after their relationship ended. Actor Glen, 36, and model Gigi, 32, broke up after three years together in 2023 amid rumors of a romance between him and his Anyone But You co-star Sydney Sweeney. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 3 Gigi has blamed her split from Glen on the rumors surrounding him and Sydney Credit: Shutterstock 3 Glen and Sydney have insisted they were playing up to the speculation Credit: Getty 3 Gigi and Glen were together for three years Credit: Getty Speaking to Emma Klipstein on the Too Much podcast, Gigi - while not naming her ex or 27-year-old Sydney - slammed Glen for failing to put the fan speculation to bed at the time. She said: 'It was just, this is what I have to do for my job. 'I had two options. I could either pretend like I was going along with everything and have everyone wonder, like, 'Are they hooking up? Are they not hooking up? Is she okay with this? What the f***?' 'Or stand up for myself and say, 'No, I'm actually not okay with this, and I'm walking away.' So that's what I decided to do… I was shattered.' Both Glen and Sydney, who at the time was engaged to Jonathan Davino, have denied anything happened between them and actually admitted to playing on the rumors to ensure maximum publicity for the movie. Glen previously told the New York Times: 'That's people wanting what's on the screen, off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully.' Now Gigi has slammed her ex for refusing to deny the continuous speculation. She said: 'Where are you when you just need to stand up and say, 'No, I would never cheat on my girlfriend. I wouldn't do that.' 'That's all that needed to be said. And that wasn't said ... Never once. "It was serving them for their PR. Later on, it turned out that it was all, I don't know if there was a relationship there or not, but then they came out to say it was all a PR scheme at the expense of our relationship. Like, it was just crazy.' Glen Powell breaks his silence on Sydney Sweeney dating rumors after she attends his sister's wedding And she admitted at the time she hoped Glen and Sydney would end up together so her break-up wasn't for nothing. She added: 'I honestly hoped that they'd end up together, because I was like, at least it would make it worth it for me, you know? I hope they are in love or whatnot.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
‘They tell you every minor inconvenience': bartenders on which generation has the worst behavior
Gen Z are used to headlines about the things they've 'killed': writing in cursive, getting their driver's licenses, knowing how printers work, wearing skinny jeans. Their latest offense, according to a recent New York Times article: opening bar tabs. Bartenders and drinkers alike spoke to the Times about young people's hesitancy to leave their credit cards behind the bar, instead preferring to close out and pay after every single drink – no matter how many rounds they order. The piece sparked conversations on TikTok and Reddit about gen Z bar etiquette, which some call nearly irredeemable. 'Working a bar that is almost exclusively Gen Z, we stopped opening tabs altogether because they're so bad at even remembering they have a card,' one person wrote on r/bartenders. But does gen Z have the worst bar etiquette? The Guardian spoke to bartenders across the US about which generation behaves best and discovered that younger folks aren't the horrible customers so many trend pieces set them up to be. Older drinkers often have worse manners – and they don't have the excuse of inexperience to let them off the hook. Michaela Giunchigliani works in Sonoma, California, at a boutique winery where she serves people of all ages. 'By far the most challenging, stressful, taxing – and I say this with love – are the boomers,' Giunchigliani said. 'I find that boomers [roughly those aged between 60 and 80] keep this keen eye on any little thing that they can glob onto and say: 'Well, you didn't bend over backwards for me.' Gen Z doesn't have that same entitlement.' Rachel Phelps, a bartender in Pittsburgh, agreed that the '50-plus' crowd wins the distinction of most demanding. 'They're going to want to pick where they sit, and they're going to tell you every minor inconvenience. I used to work at a bar that didn't have air conditioning, and it was always my fault, according to them.' Gen Z, meanwhile, isn't nearly as fussy. 'If I just perform like the bare minimum of what I'm expected to do, we're good,' Giunchigliani said. Since the legal drinkers of gen Z haven't experienced bar culture for that long (the oldest in the cohort are 28) many of them don't know or care about certain bar rituals. Chloe Richards, who tends bar at dives in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, said gen Z is blissfully ignorant of 'buybacks', the old saloon tradition of getting a free drink or shot after a few rounds. (In 2019, the New York Post eulogized the ritual, saying gentrification and higher rents killed it off.) But 'old heads', as Richards calls her gen X-and-up patrons, come in expecting the quid pro quo. 'They think that after every three drinks, I'm supposed to give them a free one,' Richards said. 'That's not a real thing or a hard rule: it's a privilege. If you're a good customer or a patron, of course, but I don't owe anybody free anything.' Bartenders also said gone are the days when the youngest drinkers wind up the most wasted by the end of the night. Gen Z came of age during a seismic shift in drinking culture: they're imbibing much less than previous generations. This means the getting-sloshed baton falls to an older crowd. 'People in their late 30s to early 40s usually have higher tabs, but it comes at a cost,' said Dimitri Gellis, who manages the Chicago sports bar Fatpour Tap Works. 'They think they can still drink like they're in their 20s, but they can't hang. They'll order whiskey on the rocks like pros, but after a few they're holding onto the wall and they don't take it well when you cut them off.' Gen Z may be drinking less, but that doesn't mean their bar hangs can't last for hours – even if they don't keep ordering. 'Something that drives me fucking nuts is when they get like one drink and use that as an excuse to sit at the bar for five hours,' said a Brooklyn bartender who goes by Priz. 'Why go to a bar? One drink is not access to unlimited space at a place. You have to do a little more.' Gen Z's anxiety manifests at the bar counter, too: some of them haven't yet nailed the quickest way to order a round. 'What's most annoying to me is when people order their drinks one by one when they're in a group, especially when they all have to think about it,' Richards said. 'For me it's like, let's get it going, because you're slowing down the process. Get it together first before you get my attention.' Most bartenders say they understand why gen Z has a hard time in bars. Many spent formative going-out years in the wake of Covid restrictions. 'They're learning how to do this a bit later than the rest of us did,' Richards said. She gets it, but also that inexperience can mess with her tips. 'I think young people are just guessing numbers,' Richards said. Ultimately, bartenders say that there's no magic age for an ideal patron – their work headaches come from people of all generations. Phelps, the Pittsburgh bartender, added that overall, gen Z's looking for 'experiences' on nights out – it's not really about drinking anymore. In some ways, that makes them easier to serve. 'They want to look cute and take pictures,' she said. 'The sloppy behavior is just not there the way it was for us when we were younger. It's definitely better for the people behind the bar. But also, I'm always like, 'Have some fun! Do something stupid.''
