Gene Hackman’s family is addressing the speculation surrounding his sudden death.
The famed actor, 95, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, and one of their dogs were all found dead inside their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on Feb. 26.
Now, Tim Hackman, the son of Gene’s brother, Richard, is sharing that the family is waiting for the results from the coroner’s office before drawing any conclusions.
“We’re waiting on toxicology,” Tim told Us Weekly on Monday. “That will tell us everything. It’s hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I don’t want to speculate. It’s easy to speculate negative theories.”
Despite all of the questions surrounding the couple and their dog’s deaths, Tim added that “the family wants to keep it positive for now and when we know the truth we will deal with it.”
Gene and Arakawa were discovered deceased in separate areas of their lavish home by maintenance workers.
Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed that “based on their body and other evidence on the body, it looked — it appears [that they were deceased for] several days, even up to a couple of weeks.”
The two-time Oscar winner was located next to a pair of sunglasses in their mudroom. Officers detailed in an affidavit that it appeared he had “suddenly fallen.”
Gene’s body had “obvious signs of death, similar and consistent with the female decedent,” police wrote in the report.
Arakawa, meanwhile, was found on the floor of a bathroom near the home’s entry, surrounded by prescription pills. The pianist had “obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet,” the affidavit read.
Police also noted there were no signs of external trauma on either of their bodies.
“There was no indication that anybody was moving about the house or doing anything different,” the sheriff said on Feb. 28. “So it’s very hard to determine if they both passed at the time or how close they passed together.”
During the 97th annual Oscars on Sunday, Morgan Freeman honored Gene in a touching tribute.
“Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work,’” the actor said during the ceremony. “So, I think I speak for us all when I say, Gene, you will be remembered for that and for so much more. Rest in peace, my friend.”
After Gene’s death, many of his peers and friends shared stories about working with him.
Nathan Lane, who co-starred with Hackman in the 1996 comedy “The Birdcage,” told People magazine, “Gene Hackman was my favorite actor, as I think I told him every day we worked together on ‘The Birdcage.’”
“Getting to watch him up close it was easy to see why he was one of our greatest. You could never catch him acting,” Lane continued. “Simple and true, thoughtful and soulful, with just a hint of danger. He was as brilliant in comedy as he was in drama and thankfully his film legacy will live on forever. It was a tremendous privilege to get to share the screen with him and remains one of my fondest memories. Rest in peace. Mr. Hackman.”
Clint Eastwood, who directed and starred alongside Gene in the 1992 Western “Unforgiven,” also shared a personal statement, telling Variety, “There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”
He and his wife’s deaths are still under investigation.
