Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa reportedly had him on a ‘strict diet’ in the years before their mysterious deaths this week.
The Oscar-winner, 95 — who retired from acting in 2004 — and his spouse, 64, were discovered dead at their $3.3million Santa Fe, New Mexico compound on Wednesday afternoon.
The longtime couple’s bodies were partially mummified and, according to investigators, they were found in separate rooms inside the home.
Gene’s close friend and former business partner, Doug Lanham, spoke to TMZ about the late couple on Thursday, claiming that Betsy placed the Hollywood icon on a strict, healthy diet.
Lanham said that Betsy closely monitored Gene’s eating habits.
Gene allegedly only managed to ‘sneak a cheat meal’ when he was out golfing with Lanham — despite previously co-owning a popular Santa Fe-based restaurant.
Gene Hackman ‘s wife Betsy Arakawa reportedly had him on a ‘strict diet’ in the years before their mysterious deaths this week; the couple seen in 2003
Lanham and Gene co-owned Jinja Bar & Bistro for several years before the actor retired from the restaurant industry and sold his stakes in 2018.
Gene — known for his roles in films like The French Connection (1971) and Unforgiven (1992) — still frequented the eatery in the years following his retirement.
But because Betsy demanded he eat healthy, the star opted for menu options like ‘the halibut or rice-paper salmon,’ according to Lanham.
Lanham described his late friend as a ‘jokester’ and revealed that he often paid for the tabs of Jinja Bar & Bistro patrons when he came by to visit.
Lanham also said Gene happily shared stories from his days in Hollywood with interested friends.
Gene frequented many local Santa Fe hotspots, including his favorite restaurant Harry’s Roadhouse.
There, Hackman blended in as an ‘unassuming’ customer who liked to be treated like everyone else and was even considered ‘family’ among staff, DailyMail.com revealed on Thursday.
He visited the restaurant so often he even ended up making a cameo appearance on the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri when they filmed an episode at the eatery in 2008.
‘I’ve known Gene and his wife for over 30 years. He was a beloved, beloved regular of ours,’ Harry’s Roadhouse owner Kathleen O’Brien, 61, told DailyMail.com.
‘Never presumptuous, always kind and very generous, always quick to smile and make a wry joke. We were always giving them the space to be very private people,’ she added.
Harry Shapiro, the original owner of Harry’s Roadhouse before selling it to his longtime employees in 2023, said Gene had long been a regular, coming in for breakfast about a once a week.
‘He was a really beloved customer,’ Shapiro, 78, told DailyMail.com hours after learning of Gene’s shock death.
‘He’d come in with his wife and often keep to himself. We were lucky in that he would come in as a private person, and most people would really respect that. And I respected him.
He was just happy he could be there and just be a customer, not be a star. I felt honored to get to know him,’ he added. ‘He was a great guy.’
The Oscar-winner, 95 — who retired from acting in 2004 — and his spouse, 64, were discovered dead at their $3.3million Santa Fe, New Mexico compound (pictured Thursday) on Wednesday afternoon
Gene’s close friend and former business partner, Doug Lanham, spoke to TMZ about the late couple on Thursday, revealing that Betsy placed the Hollywood icon on a strict, healthy diet; the couple seen in 1994
Gene and Betsy — who wed back in 1991 — were discovered dead at their Santa Fe home on Wednesday, February 26 by an unnamed male, who made a frantic call to 911.
In audio of the 911 call, obtained by TMZ, the man is heard telling the dispatcher that he has found two bodies which are not moving while pleading for help at the actor’s home.
The outlet reported Thursday that the caller, whose identity was redacted, was emotional and repeatedly exclaimed ‘Damn’ while sniffing away tears.
Disturbingly, the caller, believed to be one of the two maintenance men who stumbled across the bodies, was unclear if they’d stumbled across one or two corpses.
A dispatcher can be heard asking the caller for details about the ‘patients.’ The caller was unable to give details on Hackman or Arakawa’s ages or genders.
He could be heard saying there was no movement coming from inside the house.
The caller was standing outside looking through a window while making the 911 call.
Investigators fear Hackman and Arakawa may have lain dead in the house for up to two weeks.
Gene allegedly only managed to ‘sneak a cheat meal’ when he was out golfing with Lanham — despite previously co-owning a popular Santa Fe-based restaurant; Gene seen in 2003
Both were found decomposed and partially-mummified. The cold, dry air of the New Mexico desert climate likely helped preserve their skin and tissues.
The couple’s bodies appear to have taken hours to identify, with news of their deaths not released until after midnight Thursday morning.
Hackman was found dead in a mud room just off the couple’s kitchen.
His sunglasses and cane were on the floor next to him, sparking speculation he may have died from a fall.
Arakawa was found dead on the floor of the couple’s bathroom. An open bottle of prescription pills was found partially scattered on a countertop nearby.
Neither showed any sign of wounds. It remains unclear how they died and who died first.
The results of an autopsy could take four to six weeks to be published, local officials have said.
One of the couple’s three pet dogs, a German Shepherd, was found dead in a closet just off the bathroom where Arakawa was found.
Their two other dogs survived.
A sheriff who arrived on the scene initially deemed the deaths as possibly suspicious, but Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office now say they do not believe there was any foul play.
Gene and Betsy — who wed back in 1991 — were discovered dead at their Santa Fe home on Wednesday, February 26 by an unnamed male, who made a frantic call to 911; the couple seen in 1991
Hackman was one of Hollywood’s most famous and prolific actors and enjoyed a lengthy Tinseltown career; seen in 2001
Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth was among those who speculated her father and stepmom may have been killed by carbon monoxide poisoning earlier Thursday.
It has since emerged a firefighter was called out to the house after the bodies were found and discovered no sign of a gas leak.
Hackman was one of Hollywood’s most famous and prolific actors and enjoyed a lengthy Tinseltown career.
He won a best actor Oscar in 1972 playing a hard-bitten cop in iconic thriller The French Connection.
Hackman went on to win a best supporting actor Oscar in 1993 for Western classic Unforgiven.
He stared in dozens of memorable movies including Bonnie and Clyde, The Poseidon Adventure, Superman, Mississippi Burning, Postcards from the Edge, The Firm, Get Shorty, The Birdcage and The Royal Tenenbaums.
Hackman retired from acting after 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport and enjoyed a quiet life in Santa Fe. He moved to the New Mexican city during the 1980s.
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