Gene Hackman, star of Hoosiers, The Replacements, found dead with wife, dog

Legendary actor Gene Hackman, who starred in Hoosiers and The Replacements among numerous other roles, has reportedly been found dead.

Along with Hackman, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were also found dead. The family was in their home in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Apparently, they were found on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 26th. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza would later confirm the news, just after midnight on February 27th.

They were discovered after a neighbor called for a wellness check. Despite the tragic circumstances of their deaths, no foul play is suspected.

For her part, Betsy Arakawa was a classical pianist. The couple had been married for 34 years. She was Hackman’s second wife, previously being married to Faye Maltese.

Hackman is a legend in Hollywood. The star of more than 75 movies in his career, before considering his television and theater appearances, Hackman was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two of them. Those were for The French Connection and Unforgiven, for which he won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively. Beyond the Oscars, Hackman won two BAFTAs awards, four Golden Globes, a SAG award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Sports fans, however, will best remember Hackman for his roles in Hoosiers and The Replacements. In Hoosiers, he played the high school basketball coach Norman Dale who led a small school team an Indiana State Championship. Then, The Replacements is one of his later career roles. Loosely based on the 1987 NFL strike, that movie sees Hackman play the head coach who coaches replacement players.

Other notable roles for Gene Hackman came in Bonnie and Clyde, The Poseidon Adventure, Young Frankenstein, Superman, Mississippi Burning, The Royal Tenenbaums, and I Never Sang for My Father.

A California native who would briefly live in Iowa following his parents’ separation, Hackman new he wanted to be an actor from a young age. Before he had the opportunity to pursue that dream, however, he left home at the age of 16 to join the Marines. He’d eventually be discharged in 1951. A few years later, in 1956, he began his acting career by joining the Pasadena Playhouse. There, he became close with Dustin Hoffman before breaking into TV and films. It would then be in the 1960s when his career took off and he’d quickly become a household name for movie fans.

Gene Hackman was 95 years old.