# Gene Hackman and wife found dead, and dog **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [February 27, 2025, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861 "2025-02-27T08:27:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/1 "2025-02-27T08:27:41Z")
Says on my Norwegian news, any more info on this? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/2 "2025-02-27T08:28:44Z")
> **[Sheriff: Gene Hackman, wife found dead in Santa Fe home; no foul play suspected](https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sheriff-gene-hackman-wife-found-dead-in-santa-fe-home-no-foul-play-suspected/article_2ea8855a-f4b8-11ef-b501-73232a2b5213.html)** > > The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirmed the film star and wife Betsy Arakawa had died, along with their dog. It’s a chilly evening in Santa Fe tonight. My first guess is carbon monoxide poisoning from a malfunctioning furnace. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/3 "2025-02-27T08:30:28Z")
Suicide i persume ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/4 "2025-02-27T09:06:35Z")
From ABC News: [Gene Hackman, Oscar-winning star of ‘Hoosiers’ and ‘Unforgiven,’ dies at 95 - ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/gene-hackman-oscar-winning-star-hoosiers-unforgiven-dies/story?id=44069554) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/5 "2025-02-27T09:14:25Z")
Dogs don’t commit suicide. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/6 "2025-02-27T09:24:47Z")
For sure. Carbon monoxide poisoning, as @Smapti speculates, seems awfully likely. ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/7 "2025-02-27T10:08:15Z")
Dogicide ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/8 "2025-02-27T10:19:58Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Dogs don’t commit suicide. Canicide-suicide, then. Kidding aside, Smapti got it in one: CO poisoning is almost surely it. And (assuming that’s the cause) what a shame to make it to 95, only to be killed by a malfunctioning furnace. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/9 "2025-02-27T10:42:23Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Kidding aside, Smapti got it in one: CO poisoning is almost surely it. And (assuming that’s the cause) what a shame to make it to 95, only to be killed by a malfunctioning furnace. Once you’re 95, the cause of death doesn’t really matter. It’s sadder when you die at 64, like his wife. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/10 "2025-02-27T11:22:22Z")
If I may interject about the man’s life, rather than his death… My favorite actor, period. As the NY Times obit stresses (gift link below), he was so subtle, so real, yet so compelling, often with a so-human turbulence bubbling underneath. By chance, I told my 14-year-old son about him just yesterday – he’s into basketball, and I said we’ll see _Hoosiers_ sometime soon. So many great roles. _The Conversation_, of course. But I loved him in lesser-known roles, too, like _The Heist._ And he could be funny – _The Unforgiven, Birdcage_ – and worth savoring even in otherwise not-great movies like _Under Suspicion._ > **[Gene Hackman, Hollywood’s Consummate Everyman, Dies at 95](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/obituaries/gene-hackman-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0E4.JdQo.VgGX2iuciW50&smid=url-share)** > > The winner of two Oscars, he was hailed for his nuanced performances in films like “The French Connection,” “Unforgiven” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/11 "2025-02-27T11:33:49Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > So many great roles. I loved his performance in _March or Die_ along with Terence Hill. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/12 "2025-02-27T11:37:28Z")
I’ll check it out - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/13 "2025-02-27T11:56:40Z")
His personal narrative about lying about his age of 16 yrs to join the US Marine Corps was kind of mind-blowing yet rang true for a person like him. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/14 "2025-02-27T11:58:52Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SH4vCrz5Pb4/maxresdefault.jpg "The Conversation (8/11) Movie CLIP - I'm Not Afraid of Death (1974) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH4vCrz5Pb4) ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/15 "2025-02-27T12:45:03Z")
The Conversation did have me sitting on edge and the strong cast complemented each other. That’s really a good pic @JKellyMap! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/16 "2025-02-27T12:54:07Z")
I’m going with CO as well. The only other thing I could think of was a fire, but something like that probably would’ve made the news. If the dog wasn’t involved, food poisoning may have been in the running. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/17 "2025-02-27T12:54:52Z")
I visited someone in Santa Fe once who had an older, adobe house. The way the house was heated was from gas heaters that were mounted against the wall. At the time I thought that was odd and mentioned it to someone. He said that they are vented outside, but sometimes the vents get clogged. I have no idea if that’s what happened in this case, but it struck me as an odd coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/18 "2025-02-27T12:58:28Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Dogs don’t commit suicide. Well, he _was_ seen walking around with a hangdog expression. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/19 "2025-02-27T12:59:17Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > But I loved him in lesser-known roles, too, like _The Heist._ Just [_Heist_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252503/), a criminally underrated Mamet film: not only Hackman but Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, and Patti LuPone in a small part. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YaJlaK_dg_E/maxresdefault.jpg "Heist (2001) - Mr. Bergman Discusses 'The Swiss Job' With Joe & Bobby") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaJlaK_dg_E) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861/20 "2025-02-27T13:00:59Z")
PSA: a combination smoke/CO detector can cost as low as $15 apiece. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-hackman-and-wife-found-dead-and-dog/1014861.md?page=2)