February 27, 2025 • 8 mins
American actor Gene Hackman and his musician wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead in their home.
Police say the pair had been deceased for "quite a while" when they were found alongside their dog on Wednesday afternoon in the US state of New Mexico.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed be
follow this and our Wide Ranger podcast now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We are talking about, loosely the death of Gene Hackman
and his wife and one of his dogs. Very sad,
very mysterious, but shocking. Ellen, how are you this afternoon?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Very good? How are you guys?
Speaker 4 (00:29):
God? Good? Thank you. So you've met Gene Hackman?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yeah, I've had more than a couple of beers with him.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
To be honest, how did that come about? Ellen?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I was living in Saba Kotakinaballoo in Malaysia and I
had a very good American friend and we used to
take our kids down to the local shert and swimming
pool and have a couple of beers. So we're having
a couple of beers and this American guy comes up,
recognizing my friend's voice, fellow Americans, and can I join
(01:02):
you boys for a beer? Come on?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Was they were shooting a movie? I was called back
twenty one. It was meant to be shot in the Philippines,
but because they were having a little wall with Marcross
at the Keno, they came over to Borne own shot it.
So yeah, for about a week Randy and me and
my wife and kids sat down and had beers with them.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Hell of a night sky, right And did he did
he have good did he have good stories?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Gene Heckman?
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, oh yeah, my son was sitting on his knees
entertaining them. Yeah, jump and the pall with the kids.
And yeah, it was ago about four or five days
from memory, it was a long time ago, yeah, probably
four days. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Was he was he a good drinker? Did he like
his beer?
Speaker 6 (01:53):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Like his spear has got a lot of anchor and
tiger beer in Malaysia.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Yeah, And sorry I missed at the start Ellen about
what what what?
Speaker 4 (02:00):
What year was this?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Uh or seventy of the late seven I'm quite sure
when we came back to New Zealand. So we've been
forty years ago.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yeah, And and so Geene Heckman had some good downtime
on that on that movie shoot, didn't he if he
could be sitting.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
It was a big problem with getting permission to shoot
the movie because I were using aircraft, right, which is
a known in Malaysia, And it took them a long time.
So he he was in the hotel for a couple
of weeks before they actually started shooting. I think the
mate I was leaving to come back to New Zealand
with my family. That I think my mate was a
(02:49):
bavinment or something in the Vietnam, these pubs that they had,
you know, in the movie Have You Got?
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Can you remember any any any good gene Heckman story
from from your time with them?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
No, that was the days before you took the cell
phone and selfies, and we never even thought to take
a sure getting. It was just a mate, you know,
just someone to have a deal with. We had never
even asking for an autograph, Randy and I because both
in southeas staged for many years, so we hadn't seen movies,
you know, European movies for many many years, so we
(03:24):
didn't even know who he was to be honest.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, wow, what a story.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I think. Thanks for sharing that, Allen. Thanks to you
col movie.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
He would have been shooting around that time, would have
been just before he played Lex Luthor and Superman.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Yeah, and then he got really massive at that point.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That was as big break was at least.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
I mean he had been big. I mean the French
connection had been massive. He won an Academy Award ninety
seventy one, so it'd always been really big. But I mean,
the first Superman movie was just gigantic. It was just
a huge global everyone saw it movie in Herold and
the age of you know, superhero movies, well, the first
first run of superhero movies, so you know, he was
(04:03):
about to get pretty pretty goddamn well known after that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, Mary could ask and known to you. Now you've
got an incredible connection to Gene Heckman.
Speaker 6 (04:13):
Oh well, I may as well give you my proper name,
because I've just written a book and it is in
the book my name's My name is Penelope. Yes, I
was living in Europe in nineteen sixty nine and skiing
on Robert Redfoot's Downhill movie and Gene Hackman was on
(04:35):
the movie and he took out my girlfriend, Canebel and
he was a lovely guy. I mean, you know, we
spent a lot of time with him and with rob Redford.
So yeah, I may as well push my book.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
Well, please, what's your book called, Penelope?
Speaker 6 (04:52):
My book is called My Summer of sixty nine.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Summer of sixty nine.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
After the movie, sorry, after the song, yeah, yeah, and
so Adam's song.
Speaker 5 (05:01):
So when you say so, you're on downhill racist, So
you were you were sort of a stunt skier?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Were you a background skilled?
Speaker 6 (05:07):
It wasn't so much of stunt we more did I
was actually going out with someone from the British ski team.
A lot of the time we were just what would
they call it, stamping the peace. We were making the
snow ready for the big races. Yeah. They had real,
real European racing stars there.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
Yeah, skiing on the movie.
Speaker 5 (05:31):
Yeah, no, it Robert Robert Redford looked great in a
ski suit, didn't he. He was He filled out a
ski suit nicely, good looking man and he did the date.
So going any details from the date.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
With Oh no, it wasn't just the date. No, she
was seeing him while we were there. Yeah, and they
took a lot of stills on the movie, so I had.
I had a lovely flot of them sitting on a
sort of wagon or something there.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Yeah, now, amazing. What else is in your book from
the Summer of sixty nine, Penelope?
Speaker 6 (06:01):
Oh well, you have to read it.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I'm just having a look at the bird.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
It sounds salacious.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah, you've lived a life. I'll just read out the
top line of the description A memoir about a tumultuous
relationship in the late sixties in sitch was in a
lovely little Spanish coastal town. Wow, where the party never stops.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
So is it is it? Is it? It's a it's
a biography, is it?
Speaker 6 (06:28):
Yes? It is?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Okay, So and so was you in this, in this,
in this relationship? Yes? Who was that with? If you
don't mind me asking.
Speaker 6 (06:36):
Oh gosh, he's long gone. And so you've got to
buy the book.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Okay, all right, your great said to your great sales.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely what I thought.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
I wasn't going to come on A and I wasn't
going to give you my real name B. And then
I thought, no, spoil your book, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Definitely what what what were movie parts?
Speaker 5 (06:55):
Because I'm sure you're invited to the movie parties back
there in nineteen sixty nine for years?
Speaker 4 (06:59):
What were those movie parties?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Like?
Speaker 6 (07:01):
Yeah, I sent a postcard home to my parents saying
that I was sitting at dinner beside Natalie Wood. Yes,
nat was going out with I think he was. He
was someone on the movie to do with the movie anyway.
She was lovely, you know, they're lovely.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Lovely people, fantastic. So the book is called My Summer
of sixty nine by Penelope Gardner. I'm just going to
read what it sees on the cover, because again, very slacious.
What it doesn't mean to marry the most exciting, unpredictable
man you've ever met after only a few short weeks.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Yeah, yeah, quite an.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
I say I've probably missed most of the silacious cards up. Yeah,
so got children and grandchildren?
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Okay, well, maybe you'd have another edition at some point.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
But Henna, when you're hanging out with Natalie Woods, she
wasn't dating Robert Wagner at that point, was she?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
No?
Speaker 6 (07:56):
Yeah, because of course that man's name escapes me.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Richard Greeson, Grigson, Richard Gregson, anyway, doesn't matter. I'm trying
to remember.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
But anyway, of course, the whole Natalie Wood situation with
Robert wagg ended up in that really bizarre thing with
Kristen Walker walking on the on the water, and then
she ended up dying, didn't she?
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Yeah, okay, as I said, thank you so much, Penelope,
I'll look out for that book.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Fantastic. I mean, this is why I love talk back.
You know, you never know who's going to
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Cool in for more from News Talk st B, listen
live on air or online, and keep our shows with
you wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed be
follow this and our Wide Ranger podcast now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We are talking about, loosely the death of Gene Hackman
and his wife and one of his dogs. Very sad,
very mysterious, but shocking. Ellen, how are you this afternoon?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Very good? How are you guys?
Speaker 4 (00:29):
God? Good? Thank you. So you've met Gene Hackman?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Yeah, I've had more than a couple of beers with him.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
To be honest, how did that come about? Ellen?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I was living in Saba Kotakinaballoo in Malaysia and I
had a very good American friend and we used to
take our kids down to the local shert and swimming
pool and have a couple of beers. So we're having
a couple of beers and this American guy comes up,
recognizing my friend's voice, fellow Americans, and can I join
(01:02):
you boys for a beer? Come on?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Was they were shooting a movie? I was called back
twenty one. It was meant to be shot in the Philippines,
but because they were having a little wall with Marcross
at the Keno, they came over to Borne own shot it.
So yeah, for about a week Randy and me and
my wife and kids sat down and had beers with them.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Hell of a night sky, right And did he did
he have good did he have good stories?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Gene Heckman?
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, oh yeah, my son was sitting on his knees
entertaining them. Yeah, jump and the pall with the kids.
And yeah, it was ago about four or five days
from memory, it was a long time ago, yeah, probably
four days. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Was he was he a good drinker? Did he like
his beer?
Speaker 6 (01:53):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
Like his spear has got a lot of anchor and
tiger beer in Malaysia.
Speaker 5 (01:56):
Yeah, And sorry I missed at the start Ellen about
what what what?
Speaker 4 (02:00):
What year was this?
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Uh or seventy of the late seven I'm quite sure
when we came back to New Zealand. So we've been
forty years ago.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yeah, And and so Geene Heckman had some good downtime
on that on that movie shoot, didn't he if he
could be sitting.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
It was a big problem with getting permission to shoot
the movie because I were using aircraft, right, which is
a known in Malaysia, And it took them a long time.
So he he was in the hotel for a couple
of weeks before they actually started shooting. I think the
mate I was leaving to come back to New Zealand
with my family. That I think my mate was a
(02:49):
bavinment or something in the Vietnam, these pubs that they had,
you know, in the movie Have You Got?
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Can you remember any any any good gene Heckman story
from from your time with them?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
No, that was the days before you took the cell
phone and selfies, and we never even thought to take
a sure getting. It was just a mate, you know,
just someone to have a deal with. We had never
even asking for an autograph, Randy and I because both
in southeas staged for many years, so we hadn't seen movies,
you know, European movies for many many years, so we
(03:24):
didn't even know who he was to be honest.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, wow, what a story.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I think. Thanks for sharing that, Allen. Thanks to you
col movie.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
He would have been shooting around that time, would have
been just before he played Lex Luthor and Superman.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Yeah, and then he got really massive at that point.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That was as big break was at least.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
I mean he had been big. I mean the French
connection had been massive. He won an Academy Award ninety
seventy one, so it'd always been really big. But I mean,
the first Superman movie was just gigantic. It was just
a huge global everyone saw it movie in Herold and
the age of you know, superhero movies, well, the first
first run of superhero movies, so you know, he was
(04:03):
about to get pretty pretty goddamn well known after that.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, Mary could ask and known to you. Now you've
got an incredible connection to Gene Heckman.
Speaker 6 (04:13):
Oh well, I may as well give you my proper name,
because I've just written a book and it is in
the book my name's My name is Penelope. Yes, I
was living in Europe in nineteen sixty nine and skiing
on Robert Redfoot's Downhill movie and Gene Hackman was on
(04:35):
the movie and he took out my girlfriend, Canebel and
he was a lovely guy. I mean, you know, we
spent a lot of time with him and with rob Redford.
So yeah, I may as well push my book.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
Well, please, what's your book called, Penelope?
Speaker 6 (04:52):
My book is called My Summer of sixty nine.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
Summer of sixty nine.
Speaker 6 (04:57):
After the movie, sorry, after the song, yeah, yeah, and
so Adam's song.
Speaker 5 (05:01):
So when you say so, you're on downhill racist, So
you were you were sort of a stunt skier?
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Were you a background skilled?
Speaker 6 (05:07):
It wasn't so much of stunt we more did I
was actually going out with someone from the British ski team.
A lot of the time we were just what would
they call it, stamping the peace. We were making the
snow ready for the big races. Yeah. They had real,
real European racing stars there.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
Yeah, skiing on the movie.
Speaker 5 (05:31):
Yeah, no, it Robert Robert Redford looked great in a
ski suit, didn't he. He was He filled out a
ski suit nicely, good looking man and he did the date.
So going any details from the date.
Speaker 6 (05:44):
With Oh no, it wasn't just the date. No, she
was seeing him while we were there. Yeah, and they
took a lot of stills on the movie, so I had.
I had a lovely flot of them sitting on a
sort of wagon or something there.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Yeah, now, amazing. What else is in your book from
the Summer of sixty nine, Penelope?
Speaker 6 (06:01):
Oh well, you have to read it.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I'm just having a look at the bird.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
It sounds salacious.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah, you've lived a life. I'll just read out the
top line of the description A memoir about a tumultuous
relationship in the late sixties in sitch was in a
lovely little Spanish coastal town. Wow, where the party never stops.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
So is it is it? Is it? It's a it's
a biography, is it?
Speaker 6 (06:28):
Yes? It is?
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Okay, So and so was you in this, in this,
in this relationship? Yes? Who was that with? If you
don't mind me asking.
Speaker 6 (06:36):
Oh gosh, he's long gone. And so you've got to
buy the book.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Okay, all right, your great said to your great sales.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely what I thought.
Speaker 6 (06:48):
I wasn't going to come on A and I wasn't
going to give you my real name B. And then
I thought, no, spoil your book, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Definitely what what what were movie parts?
Speaker 5 (06:55):
Because I'm sure you're invited to the movie parties back
there in nineteen sixty nine for years?
Speaker 4 (06:59):
What were those movie parties?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Like?
Speaker 6 (07:01):
Yeah, I sent a postcard home to my parents saying
that I was sitting at dinner beside Natalie Wood. Yes,
nat was going out with I think he was. He
was someone on the movie to do with the movie anyway.
She was lovely, you know, they're lovely.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Lovely people, fantastic. So the book is called My Summer
of sixty nine by Penelope Gardner. I'm just going to
read what it sees on the cover, because again, very slacious.
What it doesn't mean to marry the most exciting, unpredictable
man you've ever met after only a few short weeks.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Yeah, yeah, quite an.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
I say I've probably missed most of the silacious cards up. Yeah,
so got children and grandchildren?
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Okay, well, maybe you'd have another edition at some point.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
But Henna, when you're hanging out with Natalie Woods, she
wasn't dating Robert Wagner at that point, was she?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
No?
Speaker 6 (07:56):
Yeah, because of course that man's name escapes me.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
Richard Greeson, Grigson, Richard Gregson, anyway, doesn't matter. I'm trying
to remember.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
But anyway, of course, the whole Natalie Wood situation with
Robert wagg ended up in that really bizarre thing with
Kristen Walker walking on the on the water, and then
she ended up dying, didn't she?
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Yeah, okay, as I said, thank you so much, Penelope,
I'll look out for that book.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Fantastic. I mean, this is why I love talk back.
You know, you never know who's going to
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Cool in for more from News Talk st B, listen
live on air or online, and keep our shows with
you wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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