Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa have been laid to rest nearly two months after their sudden and tragic passing, The Post can confirm.
The Oscar-winning actor, 95, and his wife, 65, were found dead in their Santa Fe, NM, home on Feb. 26. A private memorial in their honor was recently held in Santa Fe. People was first to report the news.
The intimate gathering was attended by their family and close friends, including Gene’s three children — son Christopher and daughters Elizabeth and Leslie — who came together to pay their respects and give their final goodbyes.
Gene and Betsy Hackman. Dave Allocca/DMI
Gene Hackman and Betsy Hackman were laid to rest nearly two months after their sudden and tragic passing, The Post can confirm. Bei/ShutterstockThe children previously released a statement when the news of their father’s passing broke.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they said.
“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. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Gene had spoken candidly over the years about the strained connection he had with his children, whom he shared with his late first wife, Faye Maltese, admitting that his acting career often took him away from home and his family.
The Oscar-winning actor, 95, and his wife, 65, were found dead in their Santa Fe, NM, home on Feb. 26. Getty Images
A private memorial in their honor was recently held in Santa Fe.
The intimate gathering was attended by their family and close friends, including Gene’s three children — son Christopher and daughters Elizabeth and Leslie — who came together to pay their respects and give their final goodbyes. SplashNews.comThe star eventually mended his relationship with his kids, though they were reportedly left out of his will. Hackman’s entire $80 million estate is said to have been left to Betsy (née Arakawa), his second wife.
The “Birdcage” actor likely died on Feb. 17 or 18 from heart disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease being a contributing factor, New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner Heather Jarrell revealed last month. The “French Connection” star “was in very poor health” before he died, Jarrell added, and is believed to have lived with his wife’s dead body for roughly a week.
Betsy died of hantavirus, a rare flu-like disease linked to rodents, on Feb. 11 or Feb. 12, officials said.
Maintenance workers discovered their bodies on Feb. 26.
The “Birdcage” actor died around Feb. 17 or 18 from heart disease with advanced Alzheimer’s disease being a contributing factor, New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner Heather Jarrell revealed last month. GC Images
Betsy Hackman (née Arakawa), died of hantavirus, a rare flu-like disease linked to rodents, on Feb. 11 or Feb. 12, officials said. Marcel Thomas
The “French Connection” star “was in very poor health” before he died and is believed to have lived with his wife’s dead body for a week. AFP via Getty ImagesExtensive evidence of rodent feces at Hackman and Betsy’s Santa Fe home was discovered by health officials who carried out a hantavirus risk assessment test at the property last month, according to a report by the New Mexico medical investigator’s office.
A dead rodent and an entire rat nest were also found in the three detached garages, the report also revealed.
The findings, which weren’t disclosed in the initial death reports, were revealed in the New Mexico medical investigator’s full report first obtained by TMZ on Monday.
The report also revealed that Betsy had researched COVID symptoms and considered seeking medical care for her husband in her final days based on her internet browsing history, call logs, voicemails and security footage from stores she visited.
She gave Hackman a COVID test — which came back negative — and purchased multiple portable supplemental oxygen canisters, the report added.
