Oscar award-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead on Wednesday afternoon in their home outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
According to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, the actor and his wife were also found with their dog, but the cause of death is not known at this time.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time. However, (the) exact cause of death has not been determined,” the sheriff’s office shared in a statement.
The investigation into the deaths remains ongoing at this time.
Hackman was known for his iconic roles in several film classics, including “The French Connection,” “The Conversation,” and “Unforgiven.”
To a younger audience, he may be better known as the comic book villain Lex Luthor, which he portrayed in three “Superman” films.
Hackman won the Best Actor Oscar for portraying Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s 1971 thriller The French Connection. He also won a Best Supporting Actor award for his role as Little Bill Daggert in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 film Unforgiven.
However, he was nominated for a few other roles, including the one he played in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde” and 1970’s “I Never Sang for My Father.”
Arakawa was a well-renowned pianist, and the two had been married since 1991.
Several actors have taken to social media to pay their respects to Hackman, including Star Trek actor George Takei, who posted that “we have lost one of the true giants of the screen.”
“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it,” he wrote. “He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
“His performances are legendary. His talent will be missed. Goodbye my sweet Lex Till we meet again,” Valerie Perrine, who played alongside Hackman as his on-screen girlfriend in the “Superman” films, wrote.