Gene Hackman’s Publicist Details How Fiercely Private He Was in His Final Years

Gene Hackman’s longtime publicist is giving an insight into how he lived out his final years.

During a hearing in New Mexico on Monday, March 31, over the public release of investigative records into his death, the star’s longtime representative, Susan Madore, said that the Oscar winner was fiercely private and avoided the spotlight after leaving Hollywood for Santa Fe in the 1990s.

According to Rolling Stone, Madore said that CBS contacted her with an interview request for Hackman in the months before the actor’s death, which was denied. She claimed the outlet initially planned to run a piece on Hackman anyway, which “horrified” Hackman and his late wife, Betsy Arakawa. Madore said she asked CBS not to pursue the piece, and they obliged. (Us Weekly has reached out to CBS News for comment.)

According to Madore, who worked for Hackman for 27 years, the French Connection actor and his wife moved to Santa Fe because he wanted to live an “artistic life” away from the bright lights of Hollywood.

Madore said that Hackman once purchased a plot of land next to a garbage “dump” because he “wanted the privacy of being able to ride his bike without anyone following him or observing him.” Madore said Arakawa called her personally about Hackman’s purchase because “she wanted me to be aware if anyone called asking why Mr. Hackman lived at the dump.”

During Monday’s hearing in New Mexico, Judge Matthew Wilson said that police photographs, audio and video related to the deaths of Hackman and Arakawa can be released to the public. However, he ruled that any footage or photographs of the late couple’s dead bodies must be blurred, per Rolling Stone, ABC News and CNN.

The Hackman family estate attorney, Kurt Sommer, argued the release of photos and videos inside the late couple’s residence would violate their privacy. He said they “took great pains to stay out of the public light,” adding, “There simply is no legitimate government purpose for releasing this material at this time.”

Hackman and Arakawa were found dead inside their Santa Fe home on February 26. He was 95 and she was 65.

Arakawa’s cause of death was officially listed as Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), a rare infectious disease carried by rodents that begins with flu-like symptoms and progresses rapidly to more severe outcomes, including trouble breathing. Hackman died due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor.

Chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell estimated that Arakawa had died around a week before Hackman. Arakawa is thought to have died around February 12. Hackman likely died around February 18, a week before the couple’s bodies were found.