A friend of Gene Hackman has claimed that Gene’s wife Betsy looked after the Oscar-winning actor by keeping him on a ‘strict diet’ in the years before his death at the age of 95
Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy was serious about her husband’s health and kept him on a ‘strict diet’ in the years before his death, a friend of the couple has said.
Acting legend Gene, 95, his wife Betsy, 63, and one of their German Shepherd dogs were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico earlier this week. Currently, there is an active investigation surrounding their death but there are no signs of any foul play.
As the mystery around their deaths continues, friends have spoken out about the star and his wife. Doug Lanham, a friend of the Hollywood star, has revealed Betsy Awakawa made sure Gene ate well, and the actor only managed to enjoy ‘cheat’ foods like steak when he was out golfing.
Lanham owned Jinja Bar & Bistro in Santa Fe, where he originally met Gene, and the star became a co-owner before retiring from the business and selling his share seven years ago, according to Lanham. The restaurant owner described Gene Hackman as a ‘jokester’ who made all the art for the restaurant and also often picked up the bill for diners in the bistro, he told TMZ.
Betsy was found lying on their bathroom floor with an open bottle of prescription pills scattered across a countertop. It remains unclear what the pills were and if they had been prescribed to Betsy or Gene. Meanwhile, Gene was found in a mud room off their kitchen with his cane and sunglasses close by. An autopsy has since been carried out which ruled out any external trauma to both the actor and his late wife.
Gene’s daughters Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter Annie spoke out yesterday following the news of Gene and Betsy’s death.
In a statement shared with the PA news agency, they said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. 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.”
Leslie also spoke to MailOnline and said that there was “no indication” that there was anything wrong with Gene before his death. She said: “Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition,” before adding that her father did not have any major surgeries these last few months. “He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health,” she added.
Leslie added that because she lives in California, it had been a ‘few months’ since she had last seen or heard from her father, who had become reclusive in recent years. Gene lived a quiet and private life with his wife Betsy, 64. “We were close. I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal and everything was good,” Leslie said.
Gene retired from acting in 2004, and his final film was Welcome to Mooseport. During his career, Gene won two Academy Awards, for his roles in The French Connection in 1971 and in Unforgiven in 1992. He was also Oscar nominated for his performances in Bonnie and Clyde, I Never Sang For My Father and Mississippi Burning.
Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News, TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads – or visit The Mirror homepage.
