Investigation launched after Gene Hackman and his wife found dead
An investigation is underway into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.
'The French Connection' star was 95.
Hackman and Arakawa, 64, were found at their home in Santa Fe on Wednesday, alongside their dog.
'An active and ongoing investigation' into their deaths, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies were called at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park, 'where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64 and a dog were found deceased,' the county sheriff's public information officer, Denise Womack Avila, said in a statement.
'Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time however exact cause of death has not been determined,' the statement added.
The sheriff's office told a reporter from NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque that the alarm was raised after a neighbor called police to carry out a welfare check.
The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were not formally identified until 12:30 a.m. Thursday (2:30 a.m. ET).
Hackman had been airlifted to hospital after he was hit by a car while riding a bike in the Florida Keys in 2012, but escaped with minor injuries.
He won his first Oscar for his portrayal of detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle in William Friedkin's 'The French Connection,' and later riveted audiences in Francis Ford Coppola's paranoid thriller 'The Conversation.' Later, he would play the villainous Lex Luther in 'Superman.'
He won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award and two British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs).
He also landed Oscar nominations for his roles in 'Bonnie & Clyde,' the character study 'I Never Sang for My Father' and the divisive thriller 'Mississippi Burning.'
He left Hollywood in 2004, making his final film appearance in the largely forgotten Ray Romano vehicle 'Welcome to Mooseport.'
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Arthur Hamilton, 'Cry Me a River' Songwriter, Dies at 98
Arthur Hamilton, the Oscar-nominated songwriter best known for his smoky torch-song classic 'Cry Me a River,' memorably recorded by Julie London, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Cocker and many others, has died. He was 98. His death was announced this week by ASCAP and the Society of Composers and Lyricists; details were not immediately available. More from The Hollywood Reporter Enzo Staiola, Child Star in Vittorio De Sica's 'Bicycle Thieves,' Dies at 85 Jason Constantine, Lionsgate Co-President, Dies at 55 Jonathan Joss, 'King of the Hill' Voice Actor, Dies at 59 After Shooting Hamilton received his Oscar nom for best song (shared with composer Riz Ortolani) for 'Till Love Touches Your Life' from Madron (1970), performed by Richard Williams and Jan Daley for the movie Western that starred Richard Boone and Leslie Caron. For Warner Bros.' Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), starring and directed by Jack Webb, Hamilton created two wistful songs for Peggy Lee, who played an alcoholic jazz singer in the musical crime film — 'He Needs Me' and 'Sing a Rainbow,' which would evolve into a children's classic. 'Cry Me a River' was sung by Fitzgerald for the film but did not survive the cutting room floor. However, London — the actress and Webb's ex-wife — recorded it for her 1955 debut album, 'Julie Is Her Name,' and it soared to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. (London and Hamilton had gone to the Hollywood Professional School together, and he took her to the senior prom.) Performed from the perspective of a jilted lover, the sparse 'Cry Me a River' opens with: 'Now you say you're lonely / You cried the whole night through / Well, you can cry me a river / Cry me a river / I cried a river over you.' Fitzgerald released her version on her 1961 album Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!, and Cocker performed his on his 1970 Leon Russell-produced live album Mad Dogs & Englishmen. 'Cry Me a River' also would be recorded by Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Ray Charles, Harry Connick Jr., Susan Boyle, Michael Bublé, Jeff Beck, Diana Krall, Björk and Aerosmith, among many others. 'I just liked the combination of words,' Hamilton told The Wall Street Journal in 2010. 'Instead of 'Eat your heart out' or 'I'll get even with you,' it sounded like a good, smart retort to somebody who had hurt your feelings or broken your heart. 'Its general use as a put-down phrase has continued to delight and amaze me. Whenever my wife and I are watching a film or TV show and the phrase is used, we laugh and gently punch each other.' Arthur Hamilton Stern was born in Seattle on Oct. 22, 1926. His father, Jack Stern, was a songwriter and orchestrator who worked on films including His Night Out (1935), Jane Withers' Little Miss Nobody (1936) and Sweetheart of the Navy (1937). His mother, Grace Hamilton, wrote lyrics for her husband's songs. He came to Los Angeles with his parents when he was an infant, learned to play piano and in 1949 wrote a live stage musical, What a Day, for local station KTTV. He then spent a couple years working for a music publishing company. Hamilton said he was inspired by legendary cabaret performer Bobby Short. 'I told people many times, 'I never went to college, I went to Bobby Short,' ' he noted in 2016 on an episode of The Paul Leslie Hour podcast. Bobby Darin recorded 'He Needs Me' as 'She Needs Me' in 1959 for his second album — the one with 'Mack the Knife' and 'Beyond the Sea' on it — and Hamilton's résumé also included 'Rain Sometimes,' 'One Look' and 'The Best I Ever Was.' He earned Emmy noms in 1993 and '94 for his tunes 'Good Things Grow' and 'Something Is Out There' from the respective TV movies Blind Spot and The Corpse Had a Familiar Face. London's version of 'Cry Me a River,' backed only by Barney Kessel on guitar and Ray Leatherwood on bass and released on the newly founded Liberty Records label, became her signature song. It was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2015. 'So fully does London's image, persona and, of course, her voice convey and encompass the world of smoky nightclubs and intimate stages, that every would-be chanteuse, whenever they take to the stage to sing out a song, are (whether they know it or not, whether they credit her or not) both channeling and paying homage to Miss Julie London,' the Library of Congress' Cary O'Dell wrote. Hamilton served as the second president of the Society of Composers and Lyricists from 1985-87 and was a music branch governor at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scientists and a member of the ASCAP Foundation Board. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
How the News Networks Are Covering the L.A. Immigration Protests
The Los Angeles metropolitan area became the focal point of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement campaign over the weekend as protestors and law enforcement clashed. Events on the ground led Trump to call in the National Guard, a move that inspired criticism-and now a lawsuit-from California's governor, Gavin Newsom. Broadcast and cable news networks quickly deployed reporters on the ground to cover the unrest, and are making programming and reporting adjustments to keep pace with the rapidly developing situation. [Note: This post will be updated as new events and coverage reports occur.] ABC News The network's team in L.A. includes correspondents Matt Gutman, Trevor Ault, Alex Stone, and multiplatform reporter Melissa Adan. CNN Kyung Lah and Julia Vargas Jones reported from L.A. over the weekend and the network announced Erin Burnett will anchor her show, Erin Burnett OutFront, live on location beginning Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Additional reporters in the region include Josh Campbell, Jason Carroll, Marybell Gonzalez, as well as Michael Yoshida for CNN Newsource, and Gonzalo Alvarado for CNN en Español. MSNBC The network began its coverage on Saturday during the 3 p.m. ET edition of Alex Witt Reports. MSNBC continued its breaking news coverage into the evening and throughout the day on Sunday. NBC News Steve Patterson, Jacob Soboroff, and David Noriega provided reporting over the weekend. Additionally, NBC News Now simulcast coverage from the network's flagship West Coast station KNBC from Sunday afternoon into the evening. NBC News added Liz Kreutz, Camila Bernal, Morgan Chesky, and Gadi Schwartz to its presence on Monday. NewsNation Nancy Loo, Mills Hayes, and Alex Caprariello are reporting live on the ground with coverage assistance from sister station, KTLA-TV. NewsNation's border correspondent, Ali Bradley, is joining L.A. coverage as well. Spectrum News and Spectrum Noticias The network is utilizing L.A.-based affiliate Spectrum News 1 for ongoing coverage from the city. Over at Spectrum Noticias, reporters Annie Mapp and Tania Martin Carrillo have been providing updates and perspectives from protesters and officials. Telemundo The network's chief anchor Julio Vaqueiro will anchor his Monday evening show out of Los Angeles.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
George Clooney shows off hair transformation at Tony Awards: 'I had to cut it out'
George Clooney is back to his silver fox self. The "Good Night, and Good Luck" star, who was nominated at the 78th annual Tony Awards on June 8, returned to his signature salt-and-pepper hairdo, as seen by Clooney's red-carpet appearance with wife Amal Clooney. The Oscar-winning actor had previously dyed his hair black for his starring role as CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow in the Broadway play. "I had to cut it all out with a weed whacker to get it all," Clooney told E! News. "That black hair dye, I had to cut it out. You can't color that." Despite the hairy ordeal, Clooney, 64, and Amal made a stylish splash on the Tony Awards carpet. The "ER" alum evoked Hollywood heartthrob vibes in a classic black-and-white tuxedo, while Amal, 47, stunned in a white, off-the-shoulder frock. The actor, who was up for best leading actor in a play for his portrayal of Murrow, joked about the lukewarm reception of his darker hair in an April interview with "CBS Mornings." Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. "It's not my favorite look, and my wife, she thinks it's funny," Clooney said at the time. "Honestly, nothing makes you look older than being 63 and dyeing your hair." Just like the closing night of "Good Night, and Good Luck," which took place the same day as the Tonys, Clooney's brunette era was bound to have its final bow. The actor hinted at his hair transformation in a June 3 interview on "Late Night with Seth Meyers." "We do a matinee, and then by the time we go to the Tonys that night, it'll be gone," Clooney told Meyers. "I may have a shaved head."
