SANTA FE, N.M. — A towering figure in cinema for decades, retired actor Gene Hackman spent his final years in seclusion with his wife, living with heart disease and Alzheimer’s, authorities said Friday.
An investigation into the deaths of Hackman and his wife, 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa, paint a tragic picture of the 95-year-old Oscar-winner’s last days before he succumbed to heart disease, one week after Arakawa died from a rare disease called hantavirus.
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“Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” New Mexico chief medical investigator Dr. Heather Jarrell said. “He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death.”
All signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said, adding, “It’s quite possible he was not aware she was deceased.”
Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired because of Alzheimer’s disease and unable to deal with his wife’s death in the last week of his life.
When Hackman and Arakawa were found, the bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).
Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza described the couple as a “very private family,” which presented difficulties in determining a timeline in their deaths. Hackman had no food in his stomach when he died, meaning he hadn’t eaten recently, but he wasn’t dehydrated, Jarrell said.
Investigators have not found any indication Hackman tried to contact anyone after Arakawa died, Mendoza said.
“All of us that knew him should have been checking on him,” said Stuart Ashman, co-owner of Artes de Cuba gallery. He cherished his encounters with Hackman at a local Pilates exercise studio, where they used to swap stories.
“I had no idea. … It’s just really sad,” Ashman said. “And that she died a week before him. My God.”
Arakawa likely died Feb. 11 from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease spread by infected rodent droppings. She had gone out that day to run errands and stopped at a grocery store, pharmacy and pet store before returning to their home in a gated neighborhood.
How Arakawa contacted hantavirus is unknown, but signs of rodents were found by investigators in some of the buildings on the couple’s property, authorities said. Jarrell said it’s possible Arakawa was showing symptoms of the virus, similar to flu symptoms, before she died.
The virus can cause a severe and sometimes deadly lung infection. While hantavirus is found throughout the world, most cases in the U.S. have been found in western states.
Hackman’s long career included roles as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films. Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen on the Hollywood social circuit. Hackman and Arakawa eschewed fame and made Santa Fe their home decades ago, like many other artists.
He met Arakawa, a classical pianist, at a California gym in the mid-1980s. They moved to Santa Fe by the end of the decade. Their Pueblo revival home sits on a hill with views of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
In his first decades in New Mexico, Hackman was often seen around the state capital and served on the board of trustees for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum from 1997 to 2004. Hackman kept a tight circle of friends and didn’t go out much, but he was sometimes spotted downtown.