Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, was an incredibly close couple and even shared a flying hobby.
Andy Wells, a retired military pilot and a flight instructor, first met the couple in 1987.
“Gene was a licensed pilot, but he didn’t fly for a while, and I’m not sure he ever flew high in the mountains,” Wells told Fox News Digital. “That’s how they came to me, and Gene wanted to repeat, which didn’t take much because he was already a licensed pilot, and we flew together several times.”
Wells said Arakawa were also interested in lessons, partly as spare in the event of emergencies.
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Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa attended flying lessons and had flight certificates, according to their instructor and friend Andy Wells. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
“Then he told me that he and Betsy decided that Betsy would get what we called a pinch course.
Hackman was a pilot for years, with passion for planes.
Look: Gene Hackman and his wife’s flight instructor recall that the couple “joined in the hook”
In 1990 Los Angeles Times’s interviewHackman said he worked aerobatics as a hobby for 12 years.
“I just bought an eagle, a double plane. I wish I could fly more, but I can’t when I’m in the picture for insurance. You can’t be an acrobatic pilot for the weekend … Otherwise you’ll be a former acrobatic pilot,” he said at the time.
Hackman, with Cary Grant, in a skater during the Brut 1973 Film Festival. (Tony Korody/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
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“Gene really wanted to go back to the pilot cab. He could barely wait for him to get on the plane and start the engine. He was eager. He loved planes. He liked to fly, “Wells said.
He added, “He was good. He was a licensed commercial pilot. He had moves.”
According to Wells, Arakawa showed similar interest and flying ability.
“It was great. She was so focused, “he said he gave her lessons.” And she was so sweet and beautiful and smart.
Wells remembered Hackman and Arakawa who were great pilots. (Urschke/Ullstein Bild via Getty Images)
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Wells is an amateur pianist and was “just in awe” Arakawa, a professional pianist.
“I have a baby grandmother, and she played my piano as if I had never heard him before. And that was absolutely inspiring,” he divided.
As for flying, Wells said, “She was just good everywhere. She was great. And so Betsy got stuck with that. Unlike so many people who start the Hitter course, she continued to return and continue to return, and she finished.”
Look: Gene Hackman was “eager” to hold instructions for flight and pilot permit
After a successful pair lesson with wells, would occasionally Meet for other activities In the Santa Fe area.
“I would run into him around town and in the end I think he joined El Gancho Swim and tennis Club. And then he and I became tennis friends. And that was experience. ”
“The two practically joined the hook. So, if it became indulgent, I think she is too.”
Hackman played tennis with Wells, who recalled that the actor was a good player, even if he “knocked out Fuzz” the ball when it came to him. (Ron Davis/Getty Images)
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Wells noted that Hackman also had a lot of physical strength.
“And when the ball came to him, he just knocked the crowd from him every time he came. He was. Of course, he hit several home runs, which is not desirable in tennis.“
He also shared that he would occasionally gather in his house, where he would have “cookies and wine. Gene didn’t really drink anything. He always asked for fruit juice or water.”
Like Hackman Star, He became “cracked”, And wells has not seen him or Arakawa for years.
“The two of them practically joined the hook. So if she became indulgent, I think she did it too. She was very quiet. In any case, if she came out alone and she was in the same store with me, it would be easy to see her. She was small and quiet and very, very, very, very, very focused. I thought she was big.
Wells remembered Hackman and Arakawa who “joined the hook”. (Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Hackman, 95, and Arakawa (65), along with their dog, were found dead in their home on February 26. Sheriff’s Department of Santa Fe district Death considered “suspicious” and started the investigation.
Authorities believe that both were dead more than a week before their bodies were discovered.
