‘She was very excited’ (exclusive)

Daniel and Barbara Lenihan, old friends of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, reveal the last conversation that their family had with the actor and his wife.

Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their house in Santa Fe Summit, NM, on Wednesday 26 February. A police investigation into their death case is underway.

The Lenihans and their children were neighbors and friends of the actor and his pianistic wife, who lived 10 minutes from their New Mexico house. Daniel, 79, Hackman met for the first time in 1992. They formed a close relationship with both the actor and the Arakawa, whom they described as ‘just very nice people’.

The Lenihans tell exclusively people that the last time they heard of the couple was when their son Brendan, 41, spoke two to three weeks ago with Betsy about the coming birth of his second child.

“[Brendan] Betsy told that it was a boy and she was very excited: “Barbara, 75, people told.” It wasn’t a real long message, but then Brendan hoped to hear again soon. ”

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Barbara likes to remember that Hackman is a “Renaissance man” and arakawa “sharp” and “funny, very witty”. After thinking about his friendship with Hackman, Daniel said that the word that comes to mind when thinking of the actor was ‘intense’.

“Gene is a guy that when he had an idea about something we were going to write or do, or something he just wanted to do, you could see from his voice that he had such an idea and he would just impose it as if it was something that the almighty God had done,” Daniel shared.

Their other son Aaron, 38, adds that he and his brother Brendan “really looked up to Gene.”

“He was always extremely nice to us, but everyone else with whom I saw him communicate, I think he was very honest, had a lot of integrity. He was an incredible artist. He taught my brother and I to paint something, and the two were always so attentive.”

Various questions remain unanswered about the death of Hackman and Arakawa.

Although the police first shared that there was no false game suspected, they have since concluded that the suspect findings, including a beaten stove, open pilings and dogs that run through the house “thoroughly search and investigate” justify, according to a sworn explanation for a house search warrant.

According to the Santa Fe County sheriff, Hackman’s pacemaker was last operational on 17 February, which suggests that the Oscar-winning actor was dead before he and his wife were discovered.

Before the couple died, they had a private life for years. The Superman Actor and Arakawa were last spotted together during a rare outing on March 28, 2024. Hackman was depicted with holding on Arakawa’s arm while the couple lunch together in Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe.

Hackman was a double Academy Award winner and received a best actor Oscar for The French connection and one for the best supporting actor in Unforgivable. Arakawa was a classic pianist. The couple married in 1991.