SANTA FE, New Mexico, March 7 (Reuters) – Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s and died of heart disease and other factors likely days after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, died of a rare syndrome spread by mice, according to autopsy results released on Friday in New Mexico.
The 95-year-old Oscar-winning actor, 64-year-old Arakawa, and one of their dogs were found dead on Feb. 26 in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home.
Hackman’s heart disease and the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome that caused Arakawa’s death were announced at a press conference at the Santa Fe Sherriff’s office.
“I would assume that is the case,” Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters when asked if Hackman was with his dead wife for a week before he died himself. Hackman’s wife died days earlier, according to authorities, who suggested that his Alzheimer’s might have hindered his understanding.
“It’s quite possible that he was not aware that she was deceased,” Heather Jarrell, chief medical investigator at the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, told reporters.
Arakawa’s is believed to have died around February 11. The sheriff told reporters last week that a pathologist determined the last signal from the actor’s pacemaker was from February 17, making it likely that was the last day of the actor’s life.
Hackman, a former Marine known for his raspy voice, appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage during a lengthy career that started in the early 1960s.
He earned his first Oscar nomination for his breakout role as the brother of bank robber Clyde Barrow in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde.” He won an Oscar for best actor in 1972 for his portrayal of detective Popeye Doyle in “The French Connection,” and in 1993 won an Oscar for best supporting actor for “Unforgiven.”
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