Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were an incredibly close couple, and even shared the hobby of flying.
Andy Wells, a retired military pilot and flight instructor, first met the couple back in 1987.
“Gene was a licensed pilot, but he hadn’t flown for a while, and I’m not sure he ever flew up high in the mountains,” Wells told Fox News Digital. “So they came to me, and Gene wanted to get recurrent, which didn’t take much because he was already a licensed pilot, and we flew together several times.”
Wells said Arakawa was also interested in lessons, partially as a backup in case of emergencies.
GENE HACKMAN DEATH: COMPLETE COVERAGE
“Then he told me that he and Betsy had decided that Betsy would get what we called a pinch hitter course. That means an abbreviated pilot course where the person gets just good enough so that if they had to take over the controls and land, they have a really good chance at doing it successfully.”
Hackman had been a pilot for years, with a passion for aircraft.
WATCH: GENE HACKMAN AND HIS WIFE’S FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR RECALLS COUPLE BEING ‘JOINED AT THE HIP’
In a 1990 Los Angeles Times interview, Hackman said he’d done aerobatics as a hobby for 12 years.
“I just bought an Eagle, a two-seater plane. I wish I could fly more, but I can’t when I’m in a picture because of insurance. You can’t be a weekend acrobatic pilot… otherwise you will be an ex-acrobatic pilot,” he said at the time.
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“Gene was really eager to get back in the cockpit. He just couldn’t wait to get in that airplane and start the engine. He was eager. He loved airplanes. He loved flying,” Wells said.
He added, “He was good. He was a licensed commercial pilot. He had the moves.”
According to Wells, Arakawa showed a similar interest and ability in flying.
“It was great. She was so focused,” he said of giving her lessons. “And she was so sweet and beautiful and smart.
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Wells is an amateur pianist and was “just in awe” of Arakawa, a professional pianist.
“I have a baby grand, and she played my piano like I’d never heard it played before. And it was absolutely awe-inspiring,” he shared.
Regarding flying, Wells said, “She was just good all around. She was great. And so Betsy stuck with it. Unlike so many people who start the pinch hitter course, she kept coming back and kept coming back, and she finished it.”
WATCH: GENE HACKMAN WAS ‘EAGER’ TO KEEP UP FLIGHT INSTRUCTION AND PILOT’S LICENSE
After the couple’s successful lessons with Wells, they would occasionally meet for other activities in the Santa Fe area.
“I would bump into him around town, and eventually I think he joined the El Gancho swim and tennis club. And then he and I became tennis buddies. And that was an experience.”
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Wells noted Hackman had a lot of physical strength too.
“And when the ball came to him, he just about knocked the fuzz off it every time it came to him. He was a hoot. Of course, he hit a few home runs, which is not desirable in tennis.“
He also shared that they’d occasionally get together at his home, where they’d have “cookies and wine. Gene didn’t actually drink anything. He always asked for fruit juice or water.”
As Hackman aged, he became “reclusive”, and Wells didn’t see him or Arakawa for years.
“The two of them were joined at the hip practically. So, if he became reclusive, I think she did, too. And she was very quiet. Anyway, if she went out on her own and was in the same grocery store with me, it would be easy to not see her. She was small and quiet and very, very focused. I thought she was great.”
Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, along with their dog were found dead inside their home on Feb. 26. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department deemed the deaths “suspicious” and began an investigation.
Authorities believe both had been dead for over a week before their bodies were discovered.
