Gene Hackman dead at 95: Iconic actor and wife, 63, are found dead with their dog at Santa Fe home. #2

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I thought this initially but the property is very isolated and the back yard only goes out to open mountains.
google maps
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Imagine the rocks and hillside as echo chambers. The barking might carry. We hear coyotes nightly (and dogs) from very far away.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Only if you let it. Some modern-day hermits thrive through their online contact, some online friends becoming as close and wonderful as in person contacts.

I don't believe all the social advice to stay off the internet Seek out real people. Get bored at parties when all you really want to do is explore the bookshelf.

Sure if tictoc vids are stared at all day. But the internet is a bonanza for ppl with hobbies and common interests. Isolation can be calming and stress avoiding.

We do know from all their friends that GH wasn't communicating with any of them for quite a few years be it social media/text/email/phone.
Hopefully he did have an active stimulating lifestyle in his last years at home.

 

[NuttMegg]

I’ve heard many use the lobster in hot water theory. What starts is often understandable and benign, but the water heats slowly until it’s too late.

Sure and that can apply to nearly any situation, marriage between 30-somethings included. A business partner who becomes intolerable. I haven't seen any clue that one of the Hackmans forced the other to live a way they didn't want to. Let's see......95 and dying in wonderful high desert isolation or in a hospice being turned regularly to avoid bed sores.

 

[Sunshynn]

We do know from all their friends that GH wasn't communicating with any of them for quite a few years be it social media/text/email/phone.
Hopefully he did have an active stimulating lifestyle in his last years at home.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/02/us/gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-santa-fe/index.html

MOO - but they weren't exactly completely isolated.
The Doggy Day Care owner said that he had last seen Betsy in October.
Paparazzi's pictures had them in town in recent years.
Friends had seen Gene out riding his bike just last year and he was doing Zoom Yoga.

"..Until a year ago, Hackman was still riding his bicycle and Arakawa “had him doing yoga and different things at home on Zoom and trying to stay very fit,” Barbara said.."

Being private and being isolated are two different things, imo.

Maybe, since it's been reported that Gene's health was slipping in the last year that Betsy was just being extra cautious to make sure he didn't catch anything by going around people. JMO.

 

[NuttMegg]

We do know from all their friends that GH wasn't communicating with any of them for quite a few years be it social media/text/email/phone.
Hopefully he did have an active stimulating lifestyle in his last years at home.

Oh. I don't think we've heard from "all their friends". How can you know that?

 

[CityKid]

Whether she did or didn't the point is GH was isolated for quite a few years.

At this point, Gene and Betsy are both victims, and their choice to be isolated could have been mutual.

 

[Izzylizzy]

I’ve heard many use the lobster in hot water theory. What starts is often understandable and benign, but the water heats slowly until it’s too late.

IMO:
That is an excellent analogy and explains what I believe may have taken place.


Learn more

"The "lobster in a pot" theory, often used as a metaphor, describes a situation where someone is unknowingly trapped in a harmful or limiting circumstance because they are unable to recognize the danger or lack the awareness to escape, similar to how a lobster easily enters a lobster pot but cannot find its way back out due to its design, essentially trapping itself.

Key points about the "lobster in a pot" theory:

• Gradual change:
  The analogy implies that the negative situation often develops slowly, with the "heat" (pressure or difficulty) gradually increasing without the lobster (individual) realizing the severity until it's too late to escape easily.
• Lack of awareness:
  The lobster, like a person caught in this situation, may not fully understand the danger or potential consequences until it's already deeply entrenched.
• Passive acceptance:
  The theory highlights how people can sometimes passively accept negative circumstances without actively taking steps to change their situation. '

Google Search

 

[Izzylizzy]

Oh. I don't think we've heard from "all their friends". How can you know that?

Many of their close friends have all said the same thing.
They haven't communicated with GH or been with him for a few years.

 

[Izzylizzy]

At this point, Gene and Betsy are both victims, and their choice to be isolated could have been mutual.

IMO:
They certainly are victims and very well could be victims caused by their choices.

 

[Cherwell]

IMO:
From all the comments by their friends it appears that since Covid hit BA kept HG isolated in their home.
That's quite a few years and we don't know if during those years GH or BA were under the care of a doctor, even just yearly check-ups.
A hermit existence can be very unhealthy and leading to neglecting oneself and their surroundings.
All their friends spin their relationship as 2 love birds hiding away in their love nest as mama bird protects papa bird when the reality could be the complete opposite.
Social isolation can cause havoc/deteriorating one's mind and habits.

We know that Gene was not "kept isolated in their home since Covid" because over the last few years there have been numerous photographs of them out and about.

 

[NuttMegg]

Many of their close friends have all said the same thing.
They haven't communicated with GH or been with him for a few years.

Many is not all. One of his children said months. I don't see the point in diagnosing drama. He died. And, since he wasn't tied up, he probably could have escaped. Obviously he was mobile. Did he suffer from dementia? Who cares. He lived, he brought some fine hours into the lives of those of us who enjoy good acting. He lived his life quietly and then he died in the company of his dear friend of nearly 40 years. He made plenty of money to live the way he chose, minding his own business. Should we all have a sliver of such luck.

With some 320,000,000 in the USA, some will live and die in a manner the rest of us wouldn't choose.


.

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

We know that Gene was not "kept isolated in their home since Covid" because over the last few years there have been numerous photographs of them out and about.

I haven’t seen numerous photos. Only Gene outside a gas station looking feeble with a cup of coffee and a snack— and then later I read a friend’s comment that he’d sneak those treats when he could. — The last he was seen according to what I’ve read was walking his dog in December in the neighborhood. Anybody else see anything more recent for Gene?

Didn’t his restaurant partner friend say he hadn’t seen Gene in 5 years?

 

[Cherwell]

IMO:
They certainly are victims and very well could be victims caused by their choices.

How about considering this:
Without Betsy's devoted care, Gene might have died years ago.

 

[Cherwell]

I haven’t seen numerous photos. Only Gene outside a gas station looking feeble with a cup of coffee and a snack— and then later I read a friend’s comment that he’d sneak those treats when he could. — The last he was seen according to what I’ve read was walking his dog in December in the neighborhood. Anybody else see anything more recent for Gene?

Didn’t his restaurant partner friend say he hadn’t seen Gene in 5 years?

Well, I have seen occasional photos of Gene before this happened, on a website that follows famous people in general.
I wouldn't have said so if I hadn't.

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Free choice to live as we please always has consequences. In this case the consequences warrant investigation due to GH’s fame and popularity and the concern of those who care about safety and the well-being of elderly people — not to mention the concern of all families and friends involved.

 

[Eadfrith]

I'm not liking where this speculation is going now.

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Well, I have seen occasional photos of Gene before this happened, on a website that follows famous people in general.
I wouldn't have said so if I hadn't.

Great! Glad to hear. I hadn’t seen so was curious if Gene looked better or was in nicer circumstances than a gas station. I did see the lunch date photo from a year ago, and they both look just fine then.

 

[Cherwell]

Great! Glad to hear. I hadn’t seen so was curious if Gene looked better or was in nicer circumstances than a gas station.

They were just pap shots of Gene out shopping, with or without Betsy. Nobody looks their best when ambushed by paparazzi. All taken since the pandemic, so it's provably false to say that he was kept isolated by Betsy.

 

[Deleted member 235284]

I haven’t seen numerous photos. Only Gene outside a gas station looking feeble with a cup of coffee and a snack— and then later I read a friend’s comment that he’d sneak those treats when he could. — The last he was seen according to what I’ve read was walking his dog in December in the neighborhood. Anybody else see anything more recent for Gene?

Didn’t his restaurant partner friend say he hadn’t seen Gene in 5 years?

April 2024 was the last pics/videos I seen of him walking around. I think tahst the one of him with the coffee and apple snack.

He might of went under the radar for the most part though who knows.

 

[Sadi]

Many of their close friends have all said the same thing.
They haven't communicated with GH or been with him for a few years.

But this could have been GH’s choice too. Maybe he liked living his life with Betsy and their pups, with little interaction with friends. I don’t think he would have been controlled by Betsy, he seemed to be one that would have spoken up etc. if he didn’t like what was going on. I believe Betsy was doing her best to make sure he was happy, loved and cared for. MOO