Gene Hackman died of natural causes, a week after wife: medical examiner

Gene Hackman holds the Cecile B. DeMille Award at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 19, 2003.

AFP / Hector Mata

LOS ANGELES, United States — Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife died of natural causes about a week apart, a medical examiner said Friday, ending more than a week of mystery surrounding the death of one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars.

The bodies of “The French Connection” star and his wife were found on February 26 in their home in New Mexico after emergency services were called to their property.

“The cause of death for Mr. Gene Hackman, aged 95 years, is hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor,” Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, told reporters.

“The cause of death for Miss Betsy Hackman, aged 65 years, is hantavirus, pulmonary syndrome. The manner of death is natural.”

Neither body showed any sign of trauma, nor any indication of carbon monoxide poisoning, which had been an initial suggestion.

Hantavirus presents as a flu-like disease, with symptoms including fever, muscle aches, cough, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea that can progress to shortness of breath and cardiac or heart failure and lung failure, Jarrell said.

“This occurs after a one- to eight-week exposure to excrement from a particular mouse species that carries hantavirus.”

Jarrell said data from Hackman’s pacemaker showed its last activity over a week before his body was found when maintenance workers were unable to access the couple’s sprawling Santa Fe property.

“Based on this information, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18. Based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that Miss Hackman passed away first, with February 11 being the last time that she was going to be alive,” said Jarrell.

First responders found the door unlocked and open, and pills scattered next to Betsy Hackman’s body, which was in the bathroom.

Gene Hackman’s body was found in another room, fully clothed, with sunglasses nearby, indicating a sudden fall.

A dog was found dead in the bathroom, and two other healthy dogs were at the house.

In addition to autopsies, the investigation had focused on piecing together a timeline of the couple’s last days, which detectives said had been complicated by their low profile and their preference for privacy.

Hackman, a two-time Academy Award winner, was credited for intense performances inspired by his troubled upbringing, notching up dozens of movie credits extending into his 70s.

He is perhaps best known as vulgar New York cop Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in the 1971 crime thriller “The French Connection” — for which he won an Oscar for best actor.

He won another golden statuette two decades later for best supporting actor for his portrayal of the brutal small-town sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in the 1992 western “Unforgiven.”