Gene Hackman’s daughters pay tribute to ‘brilliant’ actor

Gene Hackman’s daughters have honoured their “brilliant” father following news of his death.

The French Connection actor, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and one of their three dogs were found dead by a maintenance worker at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday. Gene was 95 and Betsy was 64.

Local investigators reported there were no obvious signs of foul play. The cause of death is yet to be determined.

But in a search warrant, police officers insisted the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.

Following the shocking news, Gene’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman, and his granddaughter Annie, released a joint statement in which they paid tribute to the two-time Oscar winner.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they said. “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.”

Meanwhile, in a conversation for MailOnline, Leslie emphasised the cause of death of her father and stepmother remains a mystery.

She noted there was “no indication that there was any problem” with her dad’s health in recent months.

“Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition,” she shared, adding that his passing wasn’t “terribly shocking” because he was 95. “He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So, he was in good health.”

Elsewhere, Leslie insisted she and her father were “close”.

“I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal and everything was good,” she added.

Gene was also father to son Christopher from his marriage to Faye Maltese.

After the couple divorced in 1986, the Bonnie and Clyde star wed classical pianist Betsy in 1991.

Gene retired from acting after appearing in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport.