Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead at their home in the US, according to local law enforcement.
Hackman was 95 and his wife was 63. No cause of death has been given but there was no indication of foul play.
A statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff in New Mexico said: “We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail.
“This is an active investigation - however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor.”
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza made a statement today to say the couple and their dog had been found dead at their home but could not say when they might have died.
He told local media: “All I can say is that we’re in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant.”
Hackman was an actor known for Oscar-winning performances in 1972 crime thriller The French Connection and 1993 western Unforgiven – both of which also secured him Bafta awards. He received four further Academy Award nominations for his roles in Bonnie And Clyde, I Never Sang For My Father and Mississippi Burning. He also won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1989 for his performance in Mississippi Burning.
Born in San Bernardino, California in 1930, he began his on-screen acting career in 1961, appearing in a string of TV series such as I Spy and The FBI.
After moving into film, he quickly gained acclaim with Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in Arthur Penn’s 1968 film Bonnie And Clyde and Gilbert Cates’ 1970 drama I Never Sang For My Father.
Hackman’s star rose in 1971 with his performance as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle” in William Friedkin’s The French Connection, for which he won the Oscar, Bafta and Golden Globe.
The 1970s saw the actor star in films ranging from disaster thriller The Poseidon Adventure, to Francis Ford Coppola’s conspiracy drama The Conversation (winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or in 1974), French Connection II and Richard Donner’s Superman. He would reprise his role as Lex Luthor in a further two instalments of the Superman franchise.
Hackman moved between leading and supporting performances throughout the 1980s, beginning opposite Barbra Streisand in All Night Long and Warren Beatty in Reds, both in 1981, and securing a best actor Oscar nomination for 1988’s Mississippi Burning.
He remained prolific throughout the 1990s in films such as Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, Sydney Pollack’s The Firm opposite Tom Cruise, Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, The Birdcage and Enemy Of The State.
After roles in Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums and his final film appearance in 2004’s Welcome To Mooseport, Hackman retired from acting.
Hackman and Arakawa married in 1991. She was a classical pianist. Hackman is survived by his children, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie.
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