As the world’s biggest stars pay tribute to film legend Gene Hackman, his non-famous friends in his adopted hometown of Santa Fe are mourning the loss of a ‘kind and generous’ beloved member of their community.
The Oscar-winning actor had spent the last couple of decades living a quiet life in New Mexico with his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog, far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, where he had cemented himself as one of the greatest actors of his generation.
Despite his superstar status, Hackman enjoyed frequenting local hotspots, including his favorite restaurant, Harry’s Roadhouse, known for serving classic southwestern and Mexican dishes.
There, Hackman blended in as an ‘unassuming’ customer who liked to be treated like everyone else and was even considered ‘family’ among staff, DailyMail.com can reveal.
He visited the restaurant so often he even ended up making a cameo appearance on a popular Food Network show when they filmed an episode at the eatery.
‘I’ve known Gene and his wife for over 30 years. He was a beloved, beloved regular of ours,’ restaurant owner Kathleen O’Brien, 61, told DailyMail.com.
Harrowing details of the 911 call made after Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead have emerged. Hackman and Margaret are pictured together in Santa Fe in March 2024
Investigators are pictured at the couple’s $3.3 million Santa Fe mansion on Thursday morning
‘Never presumptuous, always kind and very generous, always quick to smile and make a wry joke. We were always giving them the space to be very private people,’ she added.
O’Brien recalled the memorable moment in 2008 when Hackman visited the restaurant as celebrity chef Guy Fieri was filming a segment for Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
‘That was crazy. They were taping and Gene happened to be coming into the restaurant for a business meeting for a book he was writing,’ she said.
‘One of Guy’s assistants came running into the kitchen as they were shooting, and said, “Guy, Gene Hackman is here!”
‘Guy Fieri ran right out of the kitchen and grabbed Gene and they sat down at the counter and had a conversation for 45 minutes,’ she added.
Hackman retired from acting in 2004 but he would make his final on-screen appearance on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives being interviewed by Fieri.
Fieri described the roadhouse as a popular eatery that attracts ‘all sorts of folks from all around Santa Fe, even Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman’.
Despite his superstar status, Hackman enjoyed frequenting local hotspots, including his favorite restaurant, Harry’s Roadhouse, which was once featured in a 2008 episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, with Guy Fieri
Appearing on camera alongside Fieri, Hackman, who was 78 at the time, called the restaurant ‘a staple’, while noting: ‘Nobody pays me attention, you know, it’s great’
Hackman blended in as an ‘unassuming’ customer who liked to be treated like everyone else while visiting Harry’s Roadhouse, restaurant staff told DailyMail.com
Appearing on camera alongside Fieri, Hackman, who was 78 at the time, called the restaurant ‘a staple’, while noting: ‘Nobody pays me attention, you know, it’s great.’
‘You just kind of cruise in until we come dragging our cameras across your table,’ Fieri joked.
Speaking of her longtime, loyal customer, O’Brien confirmed Hackman was someone who liked his space and peace, but was always polite nonetheless. His wife, however, was less thrilled.
‘Gene was nothing but gracious,’ O’Brien said. ‘His wife was nothing but protective. She was always very protective of Gene and his time and, you know, his schedule.’
She said Hackman and the late actor Alan Arkin were both regulars at the restaurant.
She said Arkin accepted his Oscars nomination for Little Miss Sunshine from Harry’s Roadhouse.
The late actor, 95, had spent the last couple decades living a Santa Fe hideaway with his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dogs, far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, where he had cemented himself as one of the greatest actors of his generation
The entrance to the gated community in Santa Fe, New Mexico where actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead in their home
Gene and Betsy blended a modest life in Santa Fe and the high life in Hollywood at events like the 2003 Golden Globes
‘Gene was just like having a family member here,’ she said. ‘He and Alan Arkin were like family members.’
The two actors would sometimes be there at the same time, but sit separately.
‘Alan would be sitting in the front room of the restaurant and Gene would be sitting in the back porch hall,’ she recalled.
‘People would be very excited, be like, oh my goodness. And I’d be like, “yes, it’s very exciting.”
‘It was very exciting to have them here,’ she told DailyMail.com. ‘Such amazing actors and cherished parts of our community.’
O’Brief cried as she described hearing the news of Hackman’s death and learning that he died with his wife.
Harry Shapiro, the original owner of Harry’s Roadhouse before selling it to his longtime employees in 2023, said Hackman had long been a regular, coming in for breakfast about a once a week.
‘They were inseparable,’ she said. ‘I could not imagine one without the other.’
Harry Shapiro, the original owner of Harry’s Roadhouse before selling it to his longtime employees in 2023, said Hackman had long been a regular, coming in for breakfast about a once a week.
‘He was a really beloved customer,’ Shapiro, 78, told DailyMail.com hours after learning of Hackman’s death.
‘He’d come in with his wife and often keep to himself. We were lucky in that he would come in as a private person, and most people would really respect that. And I respected him.
He was just happy he could be there and just be a customer, not be a star. I felt honored to get to know him,’ he added. ‘He was a great guy.’
Shapiro recalled the déjà vu experience of watching a Gene Hackman comedy one night and seeing him the next day in the restaurant.
While Hackman was away filming, Betsy remained on site while renovation work went ahead at Santa Fe home
Hackman and Arakawa are pictured with Hackman’s daughters Elizabeth and Leslie and at a Beverly Hills movie premiere in 1996
‘One night my wife and were feeling down, and we turned on the TV and watched The Birdcage and we just laughed the whole night,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘The next day, I came in to the Roadhouse and he sat down for breakfast. And I looked down and just started laughing at him. Because he was so funny in The Birdcage and I couldn’t believe I had just watched it last night.’
Neighbor and longtime friend Dan Leniman, 79, told DailyMail.com he and Gene had been close.
Wife Barbara, 75, says ‘It’s been pretty crazy round here.’
She says the last time she had contact with Gene and Betsy was in January at her shop. Barbara owns a shop with Betsy, Pandora’s in Santa Fe.
Barbara says the shop sells ‘home decor, a lot of unique pieces from around the world and from local artists.
Both Hackman and the late actor Alan Arkin were both regulars at the restaurant
We’ve had it since 2001 and it started with Gene, Enemy of the State, working in Central Europe and came back with some pillows and thought it would be a nice thing to do. So we’ve been doing it since then. Betsy’s a silent partner with me.’
Barbara says Betsy would drop into the shop and they ‘would communicate about it.’
Barbara says the last time she saw Betsy was in January at the shop.
Barbara says she has no idea what caused the couple’s deaths.
‘Betsy was very upbeat, very warm, great person. They had a wonderful relationship and we have no idea what happened.’
She says she thinks they have known Gene and Betsy since 1991. Barbara says ‘Dan wrote three books with Gene. We travelled with them, and Betsy and I have been in business.’
Barbara says ‘We are devastated, and they were both very close to our two boys….They were like family to us.’
Son Aaron, 38, said: ‘They were just really great people, real generous. A lot of fun. They, like my mom said, had a great relationship and we’ll miss them a lot.”
Aaron says they are not aware as yet of any plans for a funeral or memorial.
