By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, 65, her husband, the Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, 95, and one of the couple’s dogs were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Wednesday, multiple outlets reported.
The AP reported that a maintenance worker who had stopped by the couple’s home for routine work found the door open, and the couple lying on the floor. But in a call to 911, the worker said that he could not get inside the home.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office said that there was no sign of foul play, and gas line testing showed no signs of a carbon monoxide leak. The cause of death remains under investigation.
Arakawa was born in Hawai’i on Dec. 15, 1959, according to the New York Times. Growing up in Honolulu, Arakawa began studying piano at a young age, and at just 11 years old, performed for thousands of students at the Honolulu International Center Concert Hall, which is now called the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. She went on to perform with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, now called the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra.
After moving to Los Angeles, in 1981, Arakawa enrolled in the University of Southern California. She graduated in 1983 with a degree in social science and communication, the New York Times reported.
Arakawa met Hackman in the 1980s, while she was working at a fitness center. After the pair married, Arakawa largely stopped performing in public. She was a private person, staying off social media and avoiding interviews.
In 2001, Arakawa and longtime close friend Barbara Lenihan opened a Santa Fe-based linens and home furnishings store, Pandora’s. The pair ran the store together until Arakawa’s death on Wednesday.
In addition to being a classical pianist and a small business owner, Arakawa helped Hackman with his later work writing historical fiction novels, the New York Times reported.
Hackman told the Writer’s Bone podcast in 2014 that “(i)f in fact I have a style, it came from repeated edits, friends’ suggestions, and my wife’s unwavering, specific read-throughs.
Lenihan told the New York Times that Hackman would write his novels with pen and paper, and that Arakawa would type them up.