Family friends of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa claimed the actor’s health was failing in the months leading up to his death.
Husband and wife Daniel and Barbara Lenihan and their son Aaron — family friends of Hackman, 95, and wife Arakawa, 65 — spoke to People on Friday, February 28, about Hackman’s alleged declining health leading up to his death.
Daniel alleged to the outlet that “in recent times” Hackman was “essentially kind of home-bound,” while Barbara claimed that Hackman had “quit riding his bike through the neighborhood” one year ago.
Daniel and Barbara further claimed that Hackman had started “really slipping there” in the “last couple of months.” According to Barbara, “Betsy was in perfect health,” and alleges that she was “so fit” prior to her mysterious death.
“Betsy tried to keep him kind of active and engaged,” Aaron told the outlet. “She was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and healthy as possible.” He added Arakawa was “very protective of [Hackman] in terms of COVID, so she’d always wear a mask when we’d see her out.” (The pair alleged the same to CNN.)
“They were one of the tightest couples I’ve seen,” Aaron continued. “They seemed like real life partners, really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind. And they were reserved, but they were real, [and] a lot of fun.”
Barbara shared, “Gene was as proud of Betsy as she was of him. She had been a concert pianist. Over at their house, she had a special building, a studio that half of it was her grand pianos [and] another half was Gene’s art studio.”
Family members of Hackman and Arakawa were reportedly also concerned about the couple’s wellbeing ahead of their deaths. Arakawa’s mother’s longtime housekeeper, Keiko, told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Friday, “Betsy hadn’t called her mother in months. She usually called every one or two months. Last time she called was October. We were thinking, what happened?’”
Hackman, Arakawa, and their German Shepherd (one of three dogs the couple owned) were found dead in their Sante Fe home on Wednesday, February 26. The couple were reportedly found in separate areas of the house, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed by authorities, and their two other dogs were found on the property alive.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. 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,” Hackman’s daughters and granddaughter told Us Weekly in a statement. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
An official cause of death has yet to be determined and an investigation is ongoing. In a press conference on Friday, authorities revealed that Hackman had likely been dead for over a week before the couple’s bodies were found.
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