Clint Eastwood has paid tribute to Gene Hackman. The Hollywood actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and one of their dogs, were found dead at his New Mexico home.
Image: X
Gene Hackman's daughters have honoured their "brilliant" father following the news of his death.
The "French Connection" actor, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and one of their three dogs were found dead by a maintenance worker at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday, February 26. Hackman was 95 and Arakawa was 64.
Local investigators reported there were no obvious signs of foul play. The cause of death is yet to be determined.
But in a search warrant, police officers insisted the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation".
Following the shocking news, Hackman's daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman, and his granddaughter Annie, released a joint statement in which they paid tribute to the two-time Oscar winner.
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy," they said. "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. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss."
Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were dead inside their New Mexico family home.
Image: Picture: X.
Meanwhile, in a conversation with “MailOnline”, Leslie emphasised the cause of death of her father and stepmother remains a mystery.
She noted there was "no indication that there was any problem" with her dad's health in recent months.
"Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition," she shared, adding that his passing wasn't "terribly shocking" because he was 95. "He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So, he was in good health."
Elsewhere, Leslie insisted she and her father were "close".
"I hadn't talked to them for a couple months but everything was normal and everything was good," she added.
Gene was also father to son Christopher from his marriage to Faye Maltese.
After the couple divorced in 1986, the “Bonnie and Clyde” star wed the classical Betsy in 1991. He retired from acting after appearing in 2004's “Welcome to Mooseport”.
Meanwhile, Clint Eastwood has paid a heartfelt tribute to the "intense and instinctive" Hollywood star.
In a statement to “Variety, Eastwood remembered Hackman, whom he directed and starred alongside in the 1992 Western movie, “Unforgiven”.
"There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much," he said.
Meanwhile, Nathan Lane, who appeared opposite Hackman in the 1996 comedy, “The Birdcage”, described him as his "favourite actor".
"Gene Hackman was my favourite actor, as I think I told him every day we worked together on The Birdcage," he told "People". "Getting to watch him up close it was easy to see why he was one of our greatest. You could never catch him acting. Simple and true, thoughtful and soulful, with just a hint of danger."
In addition, Dustin Hoffman - who co-starred in 2003's “Runaway Jury” with Hackman - labelled the artist as a "giant among actors".
"I met Gene in acting school, at the Pasadena Playhouse, when he was 27 and I was 19. We used to play congas together on the roof, trying to be like our hero Marlon Brando," he recalled to the same outlet. "And Gene was like Brando, in that he brought something unprecedented to our craft, something people didn't immediately understand as genius: He was expelled from our school after three months for 'not having talent.' It was the first time they ever did that. He was that good. Powerful, subtle, brilliant. A giant among actors. I miss him already."
And in an Instagram post, Gwyneth Paltrow shared a photo from the set of 2001's “The Royal Tenenbaums”, featuring Hackman and co-star Luke Wilson. She simply added a broken heart emoji.