Gene Hackman, star of iconic gay film The Birdcage, found dead with wife Betsy Arakawa

Gene Hackman, the two-time Oscar-winning actor and star of culture-shifting LGBTQ+ film The Birdcage, has died aged 95, alongside his 63-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa. 

The couple were found dead alongside their pet dog at their property in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at around midnight on 27 February, according to the county’s sheriff Adan Mendoza.

Mendoza didn’t confirm the couple’s cause of death, but stated that there is no foul play suspected.

“We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail. This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor,” he told local media.

“I want to assure the community and neighbourhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”

Hackman retired from Hollywood in 2004, but had enjoyed an expansive, era-defining career in the film and TV industry until then, with the actor securing his first role – in anthology drama series The United States Steel Hour – in 1959.

Across the next five decades, he went on to win two Academy Awards, including Best Actor for 1971 thriller The French Connection and Best Supporting Actor for 1992 Western Unforgiven. He also secured three other nominations, for Bonnie & Clyde, I Never Sang For My Father, and Mississippi Burning.

Hackman played more than 100 roles during his extensive career, including villain Lex Luthor in Superman, and scored a slew of other accolades – two BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, and a SAG Award.

His SAG Award was given for his part in the ensemble cast of 1996 gay comedy film The Birdcage, in which he starred alongside Robin Williams as ultra-conservative Republican senator Kevin Keeley.

The adored remake of the 1978 French farce film La Cage aux Folles sees Williams and Nathan Lane as gay lovers and drag bar owners Armand and Albert, who pretend to be a heterosexual couple in order to appease Keeley, who is set to become the father-in-law of their son, Val (Dan Futterman).

The Birdcage was one of the first major box office and critical success stories for LGBTQ+ film. It was celebrated for giving the community on screen representation away from the devastating impact of the AIDS epidemic, which had been portrayed in similarly successful films such as Tom Hanks’ Philadelphia.

Speaking of his decision to retire from the film world, Hackman told Empire in 2006: “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York.

“The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”

In recent years, he has rarely been seen in public, but was spotted in early 2024 walking in Santa Fe with his wife.

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