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Boston Globe
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Betsy Arakawa, a classical musician and the wife of Gene Hackman, dies at 65
'If in fact I have a style, it came from repeated edits, friends' suggestions, and my wife's unwavering, specific read-throughs,' he told the 'Writer's Bone' podcast in 2014. Advertisement Hackman would write his books with pen and paper, and Ms. Arakawa would type them up on a computer, making edits or sharing thoughts on characters with him, according to Barbara Lenihan, a friend of the couple for nearly 35 years. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'She was very involved with what he did,' Lenihan said. 'She made it very possible for him to do it.' Betsy Machiko Arakawa was born Dec. 15, 1959, and grew up in Honolulu. She began playing the piano at a young age. At 11, as a sixth-grader at Kahala Elementary School, she performed in front of thousands of students at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, now the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. She later performed with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, now the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra. After moving to Los Angeles, she attended the University of Southern California from 1981 to 1983, graduating with a degree in social sciences and communication. During that time, she was a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Aztecs, a professional soccer team, and worked as a production assistant on the television game show 'Card Sharks,' according to The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. She graduated with a master's degree in liberal arts from St. John's College in New Mexico in 1991. She met Hackman in the 1980s while she was working part time at a fitness center in Los Angeles and trying to make it as a classical musician. Hackman had three children from a previous marriage, and in 1991 he and Ms. Arakawa married and settled in Santa Fe. Her survivors include her stepchildren, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie, and a grandchild. Advertisement In 1989, when she was dating Hackman, she gave a concert to residents at the retirement home that was used as a German nursing home in his film 'The Package.' After they married, she largely stopped performing in public. Ms Arakawa kept her life private, avoiding interviews and staying off social media. She would appear at awards shows with Hackman, and was often on the set of his movies, but avoided the limelight. 'She had to do a lot of Hollywood things, but she was very private,' Lenihan said. 'I think she could keep the parameters of their life together very well, and he appreciated that.' In 2001, Ms. Arakawa, who had an eye for interior design, opened Pandora's, a linens and home furnishings store in Santa Fe, with Lenihan. The longtime friends were running the store until her death. This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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 Wednesday. Arakawa, 64, was found dead with Hackman and 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 Magazine. 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, Arakawa, then 11 years old, performed for 9,000 children at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, according to a 1971 Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper article. 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 article 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 the 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.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
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.'
New York Times
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Betsy Arakawa, a Classical Musician and the Wife of Gene Hackman, Dies at 65
Betsy Arakawa, a classical musician and small-business owner who was married to Gene Hackman and helped edit his novels, died on Wednesday with him at their home in Santa Fe, N.M., the local authorities said on Thursday. She was 65. Sheriff's deputies found the bodies of Ms. Arakawa and Mr. Hackman, 95, along with one of their dogs, on Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department, which said that foul play was not suspected. Mr. Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two during a 40-year acting career. In his later years, he became a published author, witing three historical novels, and he attributed his writing style, in part, to Ms. Arakawa. 'If in fact I have a style, it came from repeated edits, friends' suggestions and my wife's unwavering, specific read-throughs,' he told the 'Writer's Bone' podcast in 2014. Mr. Hackman would write his books with pen and paper, and Ms. Arakawa would type them up on a computer, making edits or sharing thoughts on characters with him, according to Barbara Lenihan, a friend of the couple for nearly 35 years. 'She was very involved with what he did,' Ms. Lenihan said. 'She made it very possible for him to do it.' Betsy Machiko Arakawa was born on Dec. 15, 1959, and grew up in Honolulu. She began playing the piano at a young age. At 11, as a sixth grader at Kahala Elementary School, she performed in front of thousands of students at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, now the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. She later performed with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, now the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra. After moving to Los Angeles, she attended the University of Southern California from 1981 to 1983, graduating with a degree in social sciences and communication. During that time, she was a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Aztecs, a professional soccer team, and worked as a production assistant on the television game show 'Card Sharks,' according to The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. She graduated with a master's degree in liberal arts from St. John's College in New Mexico in 1991. She met Mr. Hackman in the 1980s while she was working part-time at a fitness center in Los Angeles and trying to make it as a classical musician. Mr. Hackman had three children from a previous marriage, and in 1991 he and Ms. Arakawa married and settled in Santa Fe. Her survivors include her stepchildren, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie. In 1989, when she was dating Mr. Hackman, she gave a concert to residents at the retirement home that was used as a German nursing home in his film 'The Package.' After they married, she largely stopped performing in public. Despite being married to a big-name actor, Ms. Arakawa kept her life private, avoiding interviews and staying off social media. She would appear at awards shows with Mr. Hackman, and was often on the set of his movies, but avoided the limelight. 'She had to do a lot of Hollywood things, but she was very private,' Ms. Lenihan said. 'I think she could keep the parameters of their life together very well, and he appreciated that.' In 2001, Ms. Arakawa, who had an eye for interior design, opened Pandora's, a linens and home furnishings store in Santa Fe, with Ms. Lenihan. The longtime friends were running the store until Ms. Arakawa's death.
