Concert pianist Betsy Arakawa, Gene Hackman’s wife, dies at 65

Betsy Arakawa, an accomplished concert pianist and entrepreneur in home furnishings, was discovered deceased alongside her husband, renowned actor Gene Hackman, and their pet dog in their residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, authorities reported. Arakawa was 65 years old.

The couple resided in a Southwestern-style ranch on Old Sunset Trail, nestled within a gated community offering picturesque views of the Rocky Mountains. The pair, known for their love of German shepherds, had as many as three at a time and enjoyed spending leisure moments watching films together.

Hackman, reflecting on their cinematic preferences, shared with Empire magazine in a 2009 interview, “We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce.”

Denise Avila, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, noted that there were no visible signs indicating gunshot wounds or injuries.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Arakawa began her piano studies at a tender age, showcasing her talent when she performed before an audience of 9,000 children at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall at just 11 years old, as reported in 1971 by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

She attended a private preparatory school in Honolulu before relocating to Los Angeles, where she attended the University of Southern California. There, she earned a degree in social sciences and communication, according to a 1981 column in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Post-graduation, Arakawa performed with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, now recognized as the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, she gave a private performance at a nursing home near Chicago, coinciding with Hackman’s shooting of “The Package.”

In Santa Fe, Arakawa co-founded a store in 2001 named Pandora’s, highlighted by its website as “dealing in functional art — what one lives in, sleeps in, and wraps around on a chilly day.”

Arakawa and Hackman’s relationship began in the mid-1980s after meeting at a gym in California, as recounted in a 1989 New York Times piece. The pair married in 1991, amidst Hackman clarifying past speculations about his first marriage with Faye Maltese.

Responding to such rumors, Hackman stated in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in 1985, amid promoting his film “Twice in a Lifetime”: “By the way, I did not leave my real life wife for a younger woman. We just drifted apart.”