American actor Gene Hackman, wife found dead in home

By John Ogunsemore

American actor, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa have been found dead in their home in New Mexico, local police say.

CNN quoted a spokesperson of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Denise Womack-Avila, as confirming the incident.

The Oscar-winning actor was 95.

According to police, the bodies of Hackman, his wife and their dog were discovered after officers responded to a welfare check request at the home around 1:45 pm on Wednesday.

No foul play is suspected.

Hackman won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s action thriller The French Connection (1971) and clinched another for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a villainous Sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s Western film Unforgiven (1992).

He was also nominated for an Oscar for his roles as Buck Barrow in the crime drama Bonnie and Clyde (1967), a college professor in the drama I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and an FBI agent in the historical drama Mississippi Burning (1988).

He gained further fame for his portrayal of Lex Luthor in Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), among others.